why we don't have time machines

If I had gotten hold of a time machine three weeks ago, I would have traveled back in time and did a rewind. This is because I have been frustrated and depressed at how some things didn’t turn out the way I expected it to be. I’m generally good at keeping myself calm and composed, but recent circumstances and cosmic coincidences required more than Brack’s TLC and support. Thank God for mothers who come in really handy. So there I was, with tears and matching sobs, I vented out to my mother on the phone, overseas, for almost three hours. By the time we finished the line-burning talk, the heavy heart was gone replaced by swollen eyes.

That was three weeks ago…

Now, if I ever get lucky to bump into a time machine, I’d like to travel through time and do a fast forward. But I guess, even if physics would agree to the possibility of time machines, I don't think these machines will see daylight.

Imagine this equation:
Women (a fickle-minded creature) + Time Travel = ???

Imagine what a world it would be...

Ha!ha!ha! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Time hasn’t stopped for any troubles, heartaches, or any other malfunctions of this world, so please don’t tell me it will stop for you. C.S.Lewis

From our home to yours

The spirit of the Lord
bless you and yours
with the present of peace
this holiday season.

americangreetings

the best gift of all!

a teen is born...

A few days more and it’s exactly thirteen years now when my neighbors gone frantic upon learning my placenta had broken the morning before Christmas. Everybody seemed to be involved, everyone was rushing me to go to the hospital while I’m still enjoying my bath. “I’m having goose bumps, you’re having a baby boy for Christmas,” said our teary-eyed family friend.

Twenty-six hours of labor and my OB-Gynecologist decided for me to undergo what my mother completely dread, the C-Section. She is so terrified of the procedure that she often reminded me to control my food intake while infanticipating so that the baby won’t grow much bigger and that I’ll have no difficulties to deliver normally. Little did my mother know I am more frightened of having a normal birth than CS, scared enough that my cervix, despite regular contraction won't dilate to the last minute, thus had me lying at the operation table instead of the delivery bed.

18 minutes after opening, the baby was out.

A boy was born on Christmas day, with skin as bright as the sun and lovely gray eyes awed by his visitors. For a while we thought he was lucky to inherit the genes of his great, great, British Spanish grandfather who had not gray eyes but blue, until his fourth month, his eyes turned light brown. Gray or light brown it doesn't matter, we're still captivated.

The baby now a teen had grown taller than us but still a baby in many ways. He still loved to hear my stories of him when he was just learning to talk and walk. He recently attended an eight-day sex education seminar in school and when asked how it was, responded, “It’s weird!”

Still very much into his Yugi-oh cards, Abraham is fond of Simpson, Naruto, and video games. He is thoughtful and sweet but sometimes rough and irritable, willful in some instances but manageable. He is kind of jovial which is sometimes irritating especially when he transforms a serious conversion into a joke, but we since have learned to tolerate and enjoy because it’s his comfortable way of expressing himself.

Nevertheless, you cannot discount his care and concern for us, and for his brother. He would see me through the window until I drove-off to make sure I’m safe. He worries when his Dad is not home by 8 pm. One thing he most love to do is pat Lemuel's hair which he said he will continue doing until they grow old. Baam amuses us at how fast he assembles toys or installs/operates eletronic gadgets even without the manual. He loves to run. He loves the subject i hated most, Mathematics.

I could go on and on but I guess what I wanted to say really is, I am blessed to experience all these.

Happy Birthday to you Abraham! More power to our Fact Wizard! We hope you'll be as you dreamed of, making your in-flight announcement as - "This is your Captain speaking..."

Before you were conceived, I wanted you
Before you were born, I loved you
Before you were here an hour, I would die for you
This is the miracle of life. Maureen Hawkin

third in a row...but shall return

Two of my closest friends at work said goodbye a few months ago. Another one is going, the Princess from Ivory Coast whom I loved to call daughter, is bound for Madrid, today.

Frieda introduced me to the books of Shel Silverstein. Whenever the poem “The Prayer of a Selfish Child” comes my mind, it is her I remember. She came to the company as a fresh graduate from UCLA. She is multi-literate in several languages, English, French, German, their native language (which I kept forgetting what it’s called), and soon Spanish, which is the reason she’s flying to Spain, to study.

Frieda is almost two decades my junior but we get along really well. I guess because we’re on the same wavelength despite the big age gap. Like me, she is also a tech-gadget geek, maybe more than I am. She changes her IPOD as frequent as Apple releases their newest model. Her digital camera? Conservatively twice a year, or so…

We spent quite a lot of time together in the office but the ones I remember most are the fun we had during our few gigs.

Watching a movie or a stage play is more fun when you go with Frieda. She’s got so much life in her and you could feel the genuineness of her laughs. I love the way she laughed, very much.

Driving and getting lost on your way can be fun too, but only when you’re with Frieda. When someone’s being rude to her, she would ask me to be rude with that person too, ha!ha!ha! No one’s more natural than her.

There were times I would email her in French trying to impress her but I gave up, languages are not for me, only for Frieda.

When she called an hour before her flight departs for Spain, I began to miss her badly…then I wrote this blog.

P.S. She is coming back next summer so the fun continues :-)

With true friends...even water drunk together is sweet enough. Chinese Proverb

sleepless nights...(surviving insomnia)

For as long as I remember, I have been suffering from insomnia since the final three months of senior high school. I recall going to bed with a small AM/FM radio beside my pillow hoping that music will put me to sleep, but to no avail. Most of the times I would stay awake browsing through different frequencies as the radio programs goes-off the air one by one. The time I hear the Philippine National Anthem played by the early morning radio programs, is the time I start to drowse and eventually fall asleep.

The incident that I didn’t sleep for two consecutive nights prompted my grandmother to bring me to the family doctor. I was prescribed a non-habit forming sleeping pill that I would take only whenever I am finding it hard to find that precious sleep (evidently every night, during that time). Because of fear of not waking up, or sleeping directly to eternal rest, the pills ended up expiring in the cabinet while I struggled to live with the discomfort.

Insomnia to me is a disaster and a semi-serious disorder although most would claim; it is not a disorder in its own right. So, for years, I remained awake up to wee hours in the morning and would force myself to sleep when I hear the neighbor’s rooster crow. It’s like I descended from Dracula’s line that I am so terrified of sunlight making sure I’m asleep before the sun peeps out the sky. Fortunately, there were afternoon sessions in my college, I was able to carry-on with my studies without much hardships. I start at 2:30 and finish at 8:30 pm everyday. I wake up at 10:00 everyday, except for Sundays when we go to church, my aunt would literally pull me out of bed at 6:30 am to be able to attend the 8:30 mass.

I managed to move on with this sleeping habit for years, not having to feel the side effect until I worked with HEPC, a Japanese manufacturing company at the Cavite Export Processing Zone. Japanese people are so disciplined you can expect them to be at work early all the time despite a long goodtime the night before, or lack of sleep for that matter. My good friend Debbie (well she is not yet a good friend that time, LOL, I love you Debbie! Miss you too!), then our HR manager, put me on a one-week suspension without pay because of habitual tardiness. This was after serving me with two written warnings, and who knows how many, verbal warnings. After this budget-wrecking punishment, I tried my very best to get up and swipe my badge at 8 am despite the lack of sleep.

Not only did I suffer from insomnia, I also have an unpleasant habit of sleeping with my eyes only half-closed. My mother and Brack observed. Gross or scary? It’s like you would want to put two big coins on my eyes in an effort to shut them. Sounds familiar? It’s what they do to people who died with their eyes open, hahahaha!!! But time passes; people change intrinsically and react environmentally. While I still at times have problem remaining asleep for the duration of the night, I think insomnia (after living within for two decades) finally said goodbye to me for the last ten years at least, thanks to child rearing, I guess.

Now, I can make sleep without extra effort, my eyes shut and my mind drifts to quietness as soon as my back touches the bed. Thus this morning’s conversation:

Husband: You were sleeping soundly last night.
Wife: Am I really? How did you know?
Husband: I watched you sleep.
Wife: Aren’t you scared?
Husband: Why should I?
Wife: To see me sleeping with my eyes only half-closed.
Husband: Oh no. I haven’t seen that happen to you anymore. Your eyes were totally shut-off. Like the other night I woke up at dawn and watched you sleep, I just forgot to mention that yesterday morning. You looked so beautiful in your sleep, just like sleeping beauty.
Wife: Smiled at husband :-) (awww! It must be love)

No soda on weekdays

Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and french fries, perfect match for soda! But when I asked, “Who wants soda?” Lemuel replied, “I can’t have soda on weekdays.” “What? Why can’t you have soda on weekdays?” I asked back. “Because Daddy said so,” was Abraham’s quick response. “Oh, I didn’t know that. Since when did he tell you that?” After which, I kept my words to myself and smiled secretly in admiration of Brack’s effective implementation of a rule I never even noticed was observed in the house for a long time now.

I also laid-out some rules but I feel like I have to remind the kids time and again about the rules for them to abide. How come Brack’s were carried-on even when he’s not around to implement it?

I lived with rules too, hundreds of it, when I was growing up. I may have not appreciated most of it then but I treasured it deeply as I transformed into adulthood. As a matter of fact, I feel fortunate that I grew up under the care of a very strict grandfather, for his rules made me see life deeper and differently than most young people do. And while I have yet to discover the secret beneath his’ and Brack’s apt parenting style, I am satisfied that the kids are adjusted to following rules without rebelling. It feels good they are developing one of life’s most important virtues – RESPECT.

Even if they say you miss the fun by obeying rules, I still believe rules are essential to men. Zarah Dizon

pouring-out sentiments

There are times in our lives when we experience conflicting emotions...

This simple eight-liner poem is a semi-finalist in the 2006 International Poetry Contest. A spur of my moment...

Conflicting situations

There are times I miss you

Other times I abhor you

What I feel is so confusing

Taxing my mind and body

Hang on or let go

Forward or backward

In the middle I remain

Won't dare to know

...originality, creativity, imagination, characterization, artistic quality, adherence to line limits, or universal appeal? whatever the judges thought the written words above might have, for me it's just one thing...a releeeassssse....

(grabbed the editor's choice award for unique perspective and original creativity 11/28/2006)

a picture paints a thousand words...

While strolling the fascinating shores of La Jolla last Saturday, my attention was caught by these two couples, appealed more interesting to me than the graceful seals by the children's pool. Two pairs with their backs fronting the camera, left me with questions, what are they thinking? What are they talking about?

I flashbacked 14 years when Brack and I, because of a set-up by our friends at work, spent a day at the very comely Caylabne Bay Resort just by ourselves instead of being with a group of six. We sat infront of the beach just like these two couples below and watched the school of fishes enjoyed their swim up and down the wavy waters. We talked the whole day, took pictures, and basically lazed until the sun came down. We were not even involved with each other that time, Brack haven't even displayed any intention of courting me. But blame it on this intensely captivating paradise, after sunset, by the time we reached flatlands, we were already so much in love. So shy that we're not supposed to be falling in-love on our first supposedly group date, we just bid each other a casual goodbye. Of course my nights have never been the same after that day, and like a whirlwind, we were committed to each other the following month. What a marvelous feeling it is to relive unforgettable memories like this. All because of an afternoon stroll at La Jolla.

How immeasurably nature bind people, match their feelings and make them one...so peculiar, so special. Zarah Dizon

TWO much goodbyes

I don’t exactly remember how we started to be close but there’s one incident that made me see how considerate my blonde officemate is.

Three years ago, marketing and licensing share the same room at our old office in Roosevelt. Mariah is from marketing and I do licensing. One day she approached me, “are you scared of cockroaches?” “Yes I am. In fact I am scared of everything that crawls.” What I didn’t know that time was, a big roach was there beneath my desk, around my leg area and Mariah noticed it and told everybody in the room about it except me. No wonder they were all laughing as Mariah asked me that question. She waited until I got-off my desk and left the room before getting rid of that big roach. There were lots of them in that old building (the same building where most of the shots in Spiderman 2 were filmed) because the tenants at the lowest level were either cafés or convenient stores. When I returned, she told me about the roach and I asked why she didn’t tell me at once, and she said she doesn’t want to freak me out. What a nice gesture! I mean nowadays such is rare. Even friends and family would put you up into something for a laugh…I mean not in bad way but…yes.

From then on, Mariah and I became good friends at work. She is a very good listener and adviser; this is despite the fact that I am much older than her. She’s got patience listening to my stories and experiences. Most of all, she’s an excellent movie critic. We both have Netflix and regularly I would ask her for good movies and I liked her recommendations, she usually classifies them as: this is what’s good for you and your husband; good for you; good for your husband; and of course, those good for the kids. She’s a graphics designer and a couple of times I would ask her help with my picture layouts, company stationery (she custom made one for me), colors for my EDGAR tables (HTML files), and many other extras.

Mariah is so easy to be with, straight, and simple. She is most lovely when she is blushing red. She is one of the few full-blooded whites who loved Filipino food, even her preference of spaghetti sauce had switched from the American-Italian style to the sweet tasting Pinoy sauce with hotdogs. I told her, she crossed over, and I appreciate her more for it. Last week, she moved to the clean air of Portland…

Almost a year ago today, my boss told me someone’s going to help me with my department’s load. He said this person’s sort of not challenged with her present duties and looks for more interesting tasks, like those in licensing. Perfect timing, I said to myself, as that time, upcoming projects and current ones were pushing for the same deadlines.

Fera is a natural beauty, young, ambitious, and willing to learn. Step by step I taught her the expectation and routines of the department. Some she got fast, some took time. Work wise, there were times we had friction, but beyond work, we became the closest of co-workers, sharing each other’s daily happenings, worries (we both are worriers and she is my younger version), sentiments about life, politics, our countries of birth, marriage, careers, money, and almost every other topic under the sun. Fera, like Mariah, is so accommodating and treat her friends well.

She saved the last hugs for me…my make-up washed with tears. She relocated to Flagstaff with her fiancée…a month before Mariah left.

Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes is certain for those who are friends. Richard Bach

friends and birthdays

To Norman and Mariah...

Fly free and happy beyond birthdays and across forever, and we’ll meet now and then when we wish, in the midst of the one celebration that never can end. Richard Bach

To Debbie...

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Alphonse Karr

To Kristine...

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. ~Author Unknown

To Lorie...

"You're not getting older, you're getting better."
-- Unknown

IN SUMMARY, TO ALL:

Believing hear, what you deserve to hear: Your birthday as my own to me is dear...But yours gives most; for mine did only lend Me to the world; yours gave to me a friend.~Martial

Days of gloves and apron (a mother's back to school experience)

The kids have just started a new school year, Abraham is now a 7^th grader and Lemuel is in 5^th grade. So far, both enjoyed being back in school after a 3-month break. They had to change from a year round track to a traditional track that is why they had an extra month of rest. For them, it was a long summer filled with long and short trips, lots of e-games, DVD, and TV hours. We let them enjoy their vacation to the fullest but from time to time reminded them of the house rules once they go back to school. A typical school week in our household is:

• No TV, video, or computer games from Monday to Thursday. Leisure activities start Friday night to end on Saturday night.
  

• Bed time strictly at 10 PM, up time is exactly 6:15 AM, without extension.
  

• Home works are priorities and free hours will be spent on advance readings of class lessons or reading a book from the California Reading List of their level.

Aside from $5 for every “A” mark at quarter's reporting period, we recently implemented a new incentive for reading. A dollar for every book finished with at least ten vocabulary words and its meanings written on a sheet of paper after reading. As of this writing, Lemuel, the more enthusiastic reader, had finished four books for the week. He earned $4 plus lots of hugs and kisses from Mommy.

Abraham showed a big improvement too, aside from his 3.667 GPA last semester, he showed more enthusiasm doing his home works, he is also more obedient and inquisitive in a good sense.

Maybe this is because they/we had a very good summer that they/we can still savor every moment of it, it was exciting and relaxing at the same time. We treasure the experience and somehow made an agreement that we will try our best to keep the momentum and maintain a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere at home despite them being back to school. The children promised to cooperate. So for over a week now, both Abraham and Lemuel keep up with the family schedule and sticked to the rules. A far cry from the scenario we had last school year, and the neighbors are enjoying it most. And although they missed hearing my voice in the mornings and at night, I’m sure they still prefer silence. I/we hope this set up stays for until the end of the school year – forever is better.

What is really “Back to School” for a working mom like? These are the days when my electronic gadgets are replaced by the phenomenal gloves and apron. As soon as I park the car, no time to change clothes, I hit the kitchen and prepare food for the following day, for today’s breakfast and dinner were prepared the other day. Dinner is served shortly, pans, plates, glasses washed afterwards.

Back to school means getting up at 5 AM to reach the office the earliest possible time and leave the soonest possible time too. Back to school is mothering on a tight schedule, as I put it. It also means not having to worry about putting-on weight despite overeating because the carbs will be burned naturally by running to the office parking lot each afternoon, which is two blocks from the building by the ways, because Abraham is already waiting at his school’s parking lot. And I should be there sooner, for my cell phone will keep on ringing every five minutes. Challenging, yes, but mothers are made to endure anyways, I enjoy school days actually, and I love being of service to my children. Back to school is challenging for fathers too – I’m sure they have their own story to tell…

By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacation less class. Anne Morrow Lindbergh

if we had a girl...

we should have named her MARIA VERONICA, her nickname will be Nikk...just maybe she will look like this baby... adorable...but then, two is enough for us, and we're too much happy having two boys :-)

Suri Cruise

wonderings and wanderings

When Brack woke me up a few minutes before six a.m. I asked him when can we have a vacation that all we'll do is sleep and eat. He told me, "Not now, when we retire, for now, you have to get up because we have a lot to cover today." Although in slight somatic distress from the eight hours road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco the day before, I acquiesced and took a quick shower. After the continental breakfast at the Hotel, we're off the road. It was a day of bridges...Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular of all, Bay Bridge is the longest at eight something miles, but the San Mateo/Hayward Bridge awed me much. It's a mixed prodigious and tranquil moment I had crossing it. I could elucidate but I chose not to, rather urge you to visit San Mateo, cross the bridge, feel it, and experience that feeling.

I stand on a bridge of one span and see this calm act, this gathering up of life, of spring water and the Muse gliding...Denise Levertov

Brack said I cook well, the children agree, but my clam chowder seemed inferior to the clam chowder served with sourdough bread at the Fisherman's Wharf. Downtown San Francisco with its narrow hilly and crooked roads is so alive with people and stores, not like Downtown Los Angeles which seemed like a ghost town on weekends.

Northern California is enticing; I'm zealously looking forward to my next visit.

That was last week...

Saturday night, Abraham and I were here...

The American Idol Summer Tour at the Staples Center

Sunday, we were here...and there...

Coronado Island, Old Town San Diego, Balboa Park, Seaport Village

And if you've watched "Last Days on Earth" tonight like we did and heard the smartest men of science talk on the final days of the planet and how humans will be extinguished, you might slow down and decide to smell the flowers. You wouldn't expect to hear scientists saying something of this effect, "look for love because it'll be very difficult for someone not to have someone to hold onto when that time comes." A lot of people were asked on what they'll do and what's important to them when the final day comes...there were a lot of answers...but one word was mentioned the most...family.

We're just glad, our wonders and wanders, gave us these bonding moments...















...even this duck wanted to bond... it walked towards Abraham and Lemuel several times, seemed to enjoy being photographed. Abraham enjoyed taking pictures, Lemuel wanted to hug it.

...reaching for the world, as our lives do, as all lives do, reaching that we may give, the best of what we are and hold as true...Philip Larkin

(Click on each picture for a larger view, then click Back icon to return to the blog)

a thousand things...Part 2

…running here and there. So much to do for a body and mind undergoing midlife transformation (or crisis? LOL)…just seemed to be lacking time, rushing and constantly stressed. I need to talk to a neutral person…and hear what she or he might say about this totally mind boggling changes. And how do you know you're in that stage actually? assume that you're going to live until 80 and by 40 you are in your midlife? hahaha!!! I am not an actuarian, nor a mortality expert...just a thought.

Will be back after this road trip to Frisco :-)

Birthday Vanities

They say that if you want to stay young, you should lie about your age. Much as I want to, I was so vocal of my age before that it’s too late for me to lie about it this time. Better yet, I’ll just stop counting for I did, celebrate another birthday last month. Upside? Wisdom and experience, I’m a year wiser. Downside? Eye cream, night cream, moisturizers, and every other product I am used to seeing my mother use are now occupying most of my dresser space. Scary…

What’s with birthdays anyways? A week of treat. This is what I like in Uncle Sam’s country. If it’s your birthday, you can expect to have lunches, dinners, and treats without shedding-out a single cent. Very much different with how birthdays are celebrated in the Philippines – its either you throw a party at your home or take your friends and family someplace to have a good time, in both cases however, you most probably will pay for it.

Kristine started my birthday week with a lunch at Pasta Primavera.

The day of my birthday was a Pirate party at AON Center.

Friday was lunch with good buddies in Accounting Department, again Pasta Primavera.


Weekend was a buffet with family and relatives.

Speaking of birthdays, I share birth month with a close friend from high school – igan Bu. I haven’t seen her since the high school reunion in Cavite City, our hometown, in 2000. Bu came to the west coast for business and we got to see each other in Long Beach. Imagine the scene at Westin’s Room 946? Loud? Nope! Worst!!! It was a night of flattery and complementing each other by saying…”Igs, maganda ka pa din!” (Friend, you’re still beautiful!) “Ikaw din igs!” (You too Friend!) Not only that, Brack had to stand at different corners of the restaurant just to get the best angle of us, trying hard to hide the undesirable fats. What do you expect from certified vain people anyways?

But it’s not all vanity; they say too that July-born women are more loving and caring than women of other birth months.

Here, look at igan's luggage-full of just purses and shoes, yes exclusive for just purses and shoes to use for a five-day business trip with matching pirate treasures…she has a big bag, or a chest, full of these thingies she calls “happiness.” Isn’t that loving and caring? Of oneself it is – and vanity is the right word. No matter how it started – it ends up to the V-thingy. Well…it’s our birthday – so just bear with us on this blog.
Igs, thanks for these lovely thingies on my ears and neck :-)

To me fair friend, you never can be old. For as you were when first your eye I eye'd, such seems your beauty still. William Shakespeare

P.S. Big hug and kisses to all my friends who remembered me on my birthday with their emails, ecards, phone calls, treats, and gifts :-)

I crossed over!

Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. Miriam Beard

The airport is nice, the rental car, perfect, just 7 miles on it, but within the first hour of landing at Orlando International , I was already complaining about the heat. The drive to Kissimmee made me wonder, “What’s special about this place?” Greens all over but it is incredibly boring.

When we were still planning for this trip to Central Florida, my mind was fixed on seeing the place for possible relocation. Having heard a lot of good things about the state from friends and relatives, I strongly persuaded Brack to support me, initially he said I should wait until I see the place first, but he gave in to my prodding and said, "We’ll go wherever you'll be happy."

While driving, I had scenes of this talk flashing back in my mind. Right there and there, I retracted my statement and said, there is no way I’m going to live here. It is just not me. I am used to juggling time, running here and there, and being cast in a place where there seemed no life is just not my thing.

What are we going to do for the next seven days, look at cows and horses? “I’ve never seen a cow for so long now!” MM said. “Look Mommy! The bus stop is on the grass; the people got off and are walking home. Doesn’t make any sense riding a bus if you’re going to walk home too.” Abraham was laughing hard…Within the first hour of arrival; the four of us had the best laughs of our vacation. From there, with motives entirely different from the plans, I just thought, I’ll just make the most of this one week. Happiness or enjoyment for that matter is a frame of mind anyways.

Until we…

Reached Solivita
An upscale retirement community which boasts of several golf courses, a fitness and entertainment hall, several swimming pools, a bank, and other facilities and services meant to make the lives of the not so young ones more convenient but as classy, or even more fancier, as the world outside. Solivita, Venezia, and its sister subdivisions is where you find houses with lakes or preservation forests in the backyard. This is where you find smiling seniors live – where golf carts are a must (a ride Abraham and Lemuel enjoyed much with their Grandpa). You don’t need to go to the Himalayas to experience beauty and serenity, just get a home in Solivita – close to paradise – right in Central Florida. This is what I told my boss when I went back to LA.

Went nuts at Coconut Palms Beach Resort in New Smyrna

The sand is compact, walking is not as tiring as when you’re walking the beaches of Redondo and El Segundo, you can ride your bike through the sand, and the water, much more clearer.

It was “Hula Night” that time. Pizzas, cold drinks, and the funniest, good looking male participants from the audience really made it hilarious. Because all seats around the pool were already taken, we had no choice but to seat at the bar counter. Brack and I were both wearing shirts with the word “Hawaii” printed on it, Auntie Maggie was wearing a sarong, you couldn’t blame the contestants to think we were the judges of the Hula Dance Contest, after all, we looked like island natives anyways. One guy approached me for quick Hula lessons. I told him the last time I danced Hula was when I was in fifth grade and I’m pretty much sure that they’ll be asked to do a different Hula number this time. Still the other guys were convincing Brack to come join them so there’ll be more to laugh at. On top of the free and crazy entertainment, I won the raffle and went back to Auntie Maggie’s Condo by the beach with two nice shirts. That night I told Brack, "I’m loving it here."

Went to the Outlet Shopping Complex

I didn’t buy much. But there was a strong feeling of life…there is retail therapy in this place, and I’m going to survive here…definitely loving the place!

Visited Gatorland


If you’re serious about nature and reptiles, particularly gators where Florida is famous for, this is the place to go. By the ways, that tortoise behind me, it talks…no it doesn’t! I'm just kidding. It’s just the first time I heard a loud tortoise sound. There are a lot of them in this place, even in Solivita.

Spent some thrilling hours at Old Town Kissimmee

“This is it! I loved everything I see here!” This is where you can say, “Only in America!” The bull ride (although the bull is not real) is such an exciting sight.The riddle that I can’t solve at the Grimm Haunted House made it more frightening. Half of this haunted house tour, I walked with my eyes closed. I held onto Brack firmly so scared to detach myself from him. (I do it everytime we try a scary tour or ride, and he is so thrilled to see me like this.) The bikers with big tattooed bodies and flashy motorbikes, splendid! I’ve seen all these before in the movies. It is overwhelming to see in real life. The shops, the karaoke place…my first visit to a wax museum (what? yes! why flew 2,000 miles when the original Hollywood Museum is 11 minutes away from our house in LA?) It was a Thursday night and you wouldn’t expect so much action in Los Angeles or Hollywood on Thursday nights. I definitely love it here!

Drove to Cape Canaveral

NASA is here. The day I looked like a fool trying to do the simulated moon walk at the Astronaut’s Hall of Fame is like a flashback to the best times of my childhood. The time when I do not worry much, the time when fun is real fun. You bet, looking stupid at this picture is so worth the experience. And if you do not want to look and feel stupid like I was, try seeing the space movies first and observe how astronauts walk before trying on the no-gravity walk.

Meeting John Blaha, a retired astronaut with nine space missions on his portfolio is something to remember (by the ways, we were talking when this picture was taken - noticed our lips?) .

Strolled at Downtown Disney

Disneyland Resort in Anaheim is one-fifth of the size of Orlando’s Walt Disney World. Downtown is where you find Gloria Estefan’s Bongos Cuban Café and Wolfgang Puck’s Resto. The Memorabilia shop which sells stuff of actors, musicians, politicians, and other famous people, is worth spending your time with. Beware though, strictly, no photography allowed in this store.

There are a lot more interesting and lovely places in Central Florida that I never get to see. But I don’t need to visit it anymore. I don’t need more amazement or entertainment. I am already touched by the friendliness of the people there, their smiles and relaxed attitude made me realized that this is the life I wanted. So much better than rushing or running, so much better than the busy life in LA. I can do well here. I know I will.

Forget the hurricanes, you will have at least a week’s warning before it actually hits you. The insurance will cover anyways. Earthquakes cannot be predicted, an unforeseen risk of living in California. And besides, Central Florida is not a hurricane favorite destination, if it is, why would Disney, Sea World, and Universal Studios chose to locate there in the first place.

Eight days in the sunny state and I changed my view of life. This is me. I prefer the luscious greens than the crowded buildings. I prefer to watch the cranes than the cars on the streets of LA. I find more harmony in a sincere warm smile than the cold “How are you?” Did I say the place is also very clean?

I (we) left my (our) heart(s) in Orlando and I’m (we're) flying back to stay...