I’ve also finished booking the various legs of my trip. Initially, I planned on just winging it. But since I was working with a rather limited time and budget, plus I already knew which among my very long list of cities to visit were my top priorities, I decided booking in advance was the more prudent way to go.

Ladies and gentlemen, my itinerary:

• February 1 – Flying out!
• February 2-5 – Amsterdam (+ Rotterdam day trip, hopefully)
• February 6-9 – Paris
• February 10-12 – Amsterdam
• February 13-16 – Rome
• February 17 – Bound for home

I made it a point to be in Amsterdam during both weekends that I’m there so I can spend time with my friends, the newlyweds Kaye and Bram, who work the rest of the week. In theory, I could actually go straight to Rome from Paris, but I couldn’t find good rates for trains and flights, while the bus just takes so bloody long. I was, however, lucky enough to score a reasonably-priced roundtrip ticket from Amsterdam to Rome on Alitalia, so there you go. This is working out great because I’m leaving my huge-assed suitcase in the de Beijers’ flat, so I can simply re-pack my small suitcase for Rome. No repeat outfits, yey!

I may still squeeze in a trip to Berlin to attend the Berlinale on February 9 through 11, but that’s still all up in the air right now because the one-way flight from Paris to Berlin is much too expensive. I can’t take the bus or train because they’ll take too long and I’ll only end up missing the premiere I’m meant to be attending, making that entire trip useless. If I can make it, though, I’ll be going back to Amsterdam via train from Berlin, which is quite shockingly cheap. Here’s hoping I’ll find a cheap last-minute deal on a Paris-Berlin flight.

Oh, and I’ll be traveling on a first class train from Amsterdam to Paris. It’s under Thalys‘s current promotion – a first class seat works out just a wee bit more than a second class one. I just got myself free wifi for the entire trip AND a gourmet meal for €5 more. How could I not, right? Especially when I’m going to be fed this. So yes, first class it is!

I had also sort of resigned myself to a spate of youth hostel stays and shared bathrooms, which made me feel more than a little queasy, knowing that I don’t exactly qualify for ‘youth’ anymore. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find decent single rooms in decent locations that were still well within my budget. You have absolutely no idea how relieved I am to have my own bathrooms – ensuite!  - both in Rome and Paris. Before that, I had visions of myself running through a freezing hall after I’ve had a shower in a shared grubby bathroom – hair dripping wet and all – just to get to my shared dormitory where my clothes would be. The horror! I probably would’ve turned into an icicle mid-run. So I hunkered down, combed TripAdvisor for alternatives, and thankfully found a few. I barely slept for two nights, mind you. But yes, it does pay to be obsessive sometimes.

As for tours, I’m not really fussed. Of course, there’s no way I’m going to miss seeing the usual suspects, and maybe a couple of museums, too. But other than that, I’ll probably just be taking a lot of walks and photos, exploring at my own pace, lost in my own thoughts. And writing – lots and lots of writing!

Friends, I’m going to Europe!!! Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

It all started when Chin said she’ll get me an invite to the International Film Festival in Rotterdam for the world premiere of Mondomanila, a film by the illustrious Khavn De La Cruz. Before I knew it, I was buried in a flurry of paperwork, trying to get everything sorted out in time for the festival. And well, I did, and I didn’t. To make a long story short, I got my visa . . . but my validity dates were a bit later than everyone else’s, mainly because I was the only one who applied through the Dutch Consulate in Cebu. So right now, while Chin and the rest of the Philippine delegation are on their happy way to Amsterdam, I’m stuck here, waiting for the first of February to come (and missing the Mondomanila premiere in the process – bummer).

Anyway.

I will also be visiting my best friend Kaye and her husband Bram, and I get to crash in their place, Y-E-Y! And of course, how can I possibly go to Europe without side trips to Paris AND Rome??? Even the thought of having to sacrifice Venice and Florence couldn’t dampen my elation – there’s always next time, after all! I’m also hoping to get to Berlin in time for the Berlinale, too, where Pusong Wazak – another Khavn De La Cruz film – is premiering. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my budget will allow it.

If I’m honest, I would say that the past few months have been a huge strain on me. Work, home, and pretty much life in general have all been kicking my ass at practically every turn, and well, it’s been hard. It was all I could do not to lose faith, not to shatter into a million unrecognizable fragments of myself. I really am not as frivolous as most people think, but if I can be frivolous just once in my entire life, this is it. I’ve worked long and hard enough for it, after all. I have made my sacrifices – too many of them, in fact – so how can I not deserve this?

I’ve been raised to recognize opportunities, and take them as they come. And if – for once – I make a couple of my dreams come true in the process, well, that’s just fan-fucking-tastic, isn’t it?

So expect a bevy of new posts and photos by the dozens. For sure, I’ll have truckloads of new stories to tell, and I’ll be snapping away like nobody’s business (though I’ll try to draw the line on decorative switch plate covers, tee hee).

This is definitely shaping up to be a very good year.

P.S. Pardon the bad photo quality. I took this with my phone because my camera’s memory card has gone a’missing!

Many a time, I have come this close to buying one, but what’s left of my practical self always gets the better of me. However, said practicality apparently flies out the window when confronted with a simple black cape on sale in my local Forever 21, thus:

I have no idea when and where to wear it. I refuse to do so in this country, even with all the rain and the cold weather we’ve been having. It just seems…wrong and incredibly inappropriate. So why did I buy it then? Because I know one way or the other, I will get to wear this lovely thing one day. Never mind if that “one day” might turn out to be months or even years from now.

The important thing is I have a cape hanging in my closet. And I am happy because I have a cape, period.

(Now, excuse me while I look for one in taupe. Just because I like the sound of that – taupe.)

I have mixed feelings about the year that was. My blessings were plenty, oh yes, and I’m eternally grateful. But then, there was also a smattering of heartaches and more than a handful of frustrations that came my way. Goals, plans, and promises were made, while some of the exact same goals, plans, and promises were broken, too.

In retrospect, my 2011 was equal parts sadness and joy, misery and bliss. It was a year of hard work, of discoveries both good and bad, of laughter and tears (many times in the same breath). Was it a good year then? If you ask me, it was! But then, I believe all my years are good, regardless of how bad one or two may be, just as long as they’re not wasted and I learned a thing or two along the way. So really, I’m no expert.

But boy, did I learn! I learned about sacrifice and limits, about faith and taking the reins, and weirdly enough, about Mongolians and Hydraulic Power Units, to name just a few. And that’s the most important thing above all, I believe. Learning and growing constantly and without fail.

This year, it’s all about the Kierkegaardian leap for me, the proverbial leap of faith. I intend to go places, take chances, leap, and leap again.

The world may end this year, or it may not – who knows? Either way, why not make the most out of it, right? I know I will.

1. The prospect of travel.
The Husband and I are off to Hong Kong again in a month! I had my heart set on Peru for the longest time, but now that I’ve finally let it go (for now), I am able to give in to the sheer excitement of traveling again. Never mind that this will be my third time in Hong Kong. Methinks one can never go to Hong Kong enough, after all.

2. Our cat.
He’s a lazy shite, and sometimes, he annoys me to no end, but I love my little boy.

‘Tis not a cat. ‘Tis a stoat.

3. Online [window] shopping.
Because it’s FUN. Regardless if I’m ogling shoes, or random things like red envelope’s cufflinks and Groupon deals.

4. My shoes.
Forever and always. Current favorite:

Jeffrey Campbell Lita in blue distressed leather

5. Awesome stories on my iPad.
Right now, it’s A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s a slow and ponderous read, yes, but definitely one of the most exciting stories ever. I blame Meream for getting me into this.

On a side note, I love reading really, really long series. Probably because I get so attached to characters that I never want to let them go too quickly.

I like writing random, happy stuff like this. Maybe I should do this more often.

Anyhow, Harry Potter fan that I am, I obviously had to get early access to Pottermore. I figured I’d get in on Day 1 without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, by the time the first Pottermore clue was released, I was busy playing Monopoly on the iPad, and I, umm, completely forgot about it. I shame myself sometimes.

So I thought I’d get it on the second day, but somehow I missed it AGAIN! This time I was working, at least, so the shame wasn’t too great.

The next day, I nearly missed it yet again because The Husband and I ran errands all afternoon. Fortunately, I managed to catch it when I got home, and voila! I am no longer a boring, old Muggle! Yey for me!

Here’s proof of my awesome magical self:

Would that this were true. Methinks I probably would’ve enjoyed school better if I went to Hogwarts. I’d rather get a wand and a noseless immortal enemy instead of tacky class rings and a badly written yearbook.

But I digress. I was panicking so much because I couldn’t get the damned Magical Quill to levitate, so I had two different browsers open. (True story: I shamelessly yelled “Wingardium leviosa!” at my computer because my cursor wasn’t cooperating.) But eventually, I did manage to get it to levitate on both browsers, smooth as a 200-year-old yogini, so I ended up with two accounts. I’m giving the other one to The Sister.

Oh, and I got a really good username, as well. Tell me, how cool does ‘SeekerWolf90′ sound? It’s so Harry Potter meets A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, isn’t it? At least, I like to think so. The other one was ‘RoseNewt152′ – blah.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to get to my sorting.

So I FINALLY decided to invest on a new suitcase today. This is a big deal, mind you, because believe it or not, I’m not one to impulse-shop. (I may shop a lot, but I actually do give my purchases a lot of thought for a few days. And yes, that includes shoes.)

Anyhow, it was one of those really awesome ones that, umm, rolls along next to you. It was lavender. It was the size of a portable ekg machine (I think). It was on sale. And it was the last one, or so the guy who sold it to me claimed.

So The Husband and I bought it, after the sales guy’s excellent demonstration, and we lugged – no, rolled – it around SM while we ran errands, and later, to Persimmon in Mabolo where we finally tried Dong Juan. (The burgers were awesome, by the way, in case you’re wondering.)

Oh, and we also stuffed in [the suitcase] the wifi modem the kind lady from PLDT gave us earlier after our application for a new landline and DSL service was approved. After dinner, we called a cab, and after securing said suitcase in the boot, we were on our merry way home.

This was when it all went downhill. The cab ride was nice enough, and so was the old cabbie. There wasn’t even much traffic, too, which was strange for rush hour, so we got home fairly quickly. It wasn’t until a full five (or more) minutes after we were home that The Husband realized that we’ve left the suitcase in the boot.

The Husband, of course, tried to run after the cab. But of course, it would’ve been long gone by then. I called the cab company (I, at least, remembered that much), but without a cab number, they couldn’t do much, unless the cabbie turns over the suitcase to their office once he finds it.

And the irony of it all? Before we even got off the cab, the kind old driver even reminded us – ever so kindly – to check our belongings! Here’s hoping he’s kind enough to give them back. Or at least, turn them over to the cab company office.

Last week, The Husband left his phone in a cab, but we got it back the next day from the cabbie’s wife. Will we be that lucky this time around? I don’t want to think about it.

Right now, we worry about the PLDT modem the most. They were running out of wifi modems, and the lady had to pull strings to rush us through the waiting list because The Husband kind of frightened her. Buying a new one isn’t an issue, but will they still have one available for us at such short notice? They’re going to come over to connect our phone and Internet lines any day now!

And then I have to worry about buying yet another suitcase before next month’s Hongkong trip. I don’t know how to justify another purchase to myself, I just don’t.

I am so stressed right now.

- Posted using BlogPress on Agrippa, the iPad

I’m gutted, of course. (Okay, more like completely heartbroken.) But I’ve already decided to go for it next year, which will give me a longer time to prepare and get my stuff in order. Hopefully, by then, Chin and I can go together. You know what they say about clouds and silver linings and stuff.

But enough of that. I haven’t done an outfit post in a while, probably because I’ve the attention span of a gnat and rarely ever commit to anything that doesn’t involve a fat payout of sorts. But I do miss indulging my little fits of vanity, so here you go.

White tunic used as top, Forever 21; Skirt from The Maze; Green brogues from eBay

The green brogues were ridiculously cheap, by the way. I got them for less than $7 on eBay, so I got a brown studded pair, too. (The D&G glasses were not [cheap], but they’re prescription so that’s completely acceptable. Completely.)

Hey, if I can’t have Peru (for now), I may as well have shoes! Or so I keep telling myself. Otherwise, I might end up in one of those bipolar rehab treatment centers. My mood swings have been insane!

P.S. Speaking of shoes, I’m having a little shoe sale on eBay. Lots of gorgeousness up for grabs, including these too-big-for-me babies that I love to bits. Selling any of my shoes breaks my heart, to be honest, but I’m taking comfort in the idea that they are going to better homes. So if you’re a size US5.5 or EU36, do take a peek.

The next few months had me moaning to anyone who’d listen about how much I craved – no, desired – red velvet cupcakes, but couldn’t find any in my city. My craving got so bad that I took to lamenting over the absence of red velvet goodness in my life on Twitter where the ever-so-pretty-and-seriously-awesome Kaith put me out of my misery by telling me exactly where to get ‘em. And that’s how I found The Cupcake Theory.

There are very few things that would compel me to leave my bed on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and apparently, cupcakes are among those things. I ordered a dozen red velvet cupcakes for P480 to split with The Sister and The Bestie (who just had a baby literally over the weekend), and now I regret it. I should’ve ordered two [dozen], or kept them all to myself (evil laugh) because as it turned out, 4 cupcakes are just not enough. They were so scarily good that I swear, I went into spasms.

Mind you, I’ve been so great at sticking to my diet the past month or so. Eating 3 cupcakes in less than 24 hours is not good, not good at all. At this rate, I might need to bust out the yoga pants again.

As of this writing, I’m down to my last red velvet cupcake. And believe you me, it is as sad as it sounds. I mean, look at it!

The Husband just tried to nick it, and I ended up clinging to his leg like a child before I fell on his badly injured big toe. Which, by the way, he had to go to the E.R. for yesterday after a little accident with our gate. So much drama for a cupcake, I know. But if that isn’t proof of how good this cupcake is, I don’t know what is.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go plop down on the couch, put on Game of Thrones on the PS3, and eat my last cupcake. Envy me.

Thighs. ❤❤❤

My nephew is a little ball of fun, is he not? He’s just a little over 4 months shy of his third birthday, but he already looks like a six-year-old. He’s smart, funny, and so precocious that it is impossible not to love him. I adore him so!

Obviously, he’s quite the movie buff. His mum managed to take these most of these photos when he wasn’t looking. Wouldn’t they make fun invitationbox.com holiday photo cards? I bet his Nana (grandma) would think so!

Auntie loves you, Xabier! ❤❤❤