It's Been A Year...

It's my last night at Churchill House and I am staring at my room, now almost empty. Except for my blue lamp, my Wicked mug, a couple of hangers, and my toiletries, I am pretty much moved out. My big wall full of photos from home, postcards and little bits and bobs I have accumulated over the past year remains intact. I refuse to take it down as I am still a bit overwhelmed by recent and ongoing events.

My memorabilia wall

I have recently finished my dissertation and have completed my masters program here in Edinburgh. How time flies. It still hasn't sunk in yet, the fact that I have a Masters degree. I know I am supposed to feel smarter or feel more accomplished but to be honest, I feel nothing. I feel...normal. And I guess because I will be doing another diploma course in October and that would be more of a professional course, in my head, I am still not there. I am not an acoustician yet. I still have a lot to learn and years of experience to gain. As much as I am excited about being done with my MSc, I can't help but feel scared. Recession is upon us and sadly, my chosen career path is one of its victims. I can only hope that in the coming months, luck and Divine intervention will work their magic on me.

It seemed like eons ago when I came to Scotland with Mady and Atejen. I remember how we went to Cameron Toll and bought stuff for my cool uni room. And now, I am moving out and into a new flat that I will call home for another year. Tanya, my flatmate, and I rented a car for this purpose. Bobby the Ford. Keji, my ever dependable Chinese friend, helped. And so together, all four of us (plus a taxi ride for T's amazing bookcase) were able to get everything moved in 4 trips. One major hitch was the T.V that we thought came with the flat was nowhere in sight. We fixed that problem by popping into Radioshack and buying the cheapest t.v they had without so much as a glance (at it). Seriously, I think that was the easiest sale that guy ever made. Tomorrow is a day of our cable installation and an Ikea trip to buy more furniture and some bed linen. I am bouncing with excitement.

Even though I love to complain about this place, I am going to miss it. My view, my best flatmate, Megan, and Tanya's kitchen on the 6th floor. We have had some great times in this place - amazing dinners, funny "whoooomp" stories, late dvd nights, the list goes on. And so as I stare again at my almost empty room, I smile because I realized I have come so far (literally and figuratively) and it clearly isn't over. I have only just begun.

I am going to miss looking at this every morning.

Missing Home

My dear friend and cousin, Ivi Rodriguez asked me weeks ago if I could say a few words about Ormoc City. She was writing an article about the city fiesta and the piece was about people who are from Ormoc who left or who visited and stayed. Without skipping a beat, I said "Yes!" and this is what I wrote...

I am one of those people who never have a permanent address. Ever since I was 13, I have lived away from my hometown, Ormoc City. First, I studied high school in Cebu then I graduated and moved to Manila for college. For 9 years, I flourished in the excitement that these big cities had to offer. I was able to experience chaos and culture at their best and I embraced both with open arms. But amidst the excitement, I would still anticipate summers and Christmases because that would mean that I would get to go home and be with my family. I would be able to eat to my heart’s content and never have to worry about my dwindling allowance. I could walk from point A to point B in five minutes and would be able to see at least 5 people that I know, especially if I’d be buying something from Mercury Drug. Everything opens at 8 and closes at 6 and it still amazes me that after 10 years, none of these have changed.

Before leaving for Scotland, I went home to Ormoc for seven months and as I look back, I consider those months to be one of the best times of my life. When you have stayed away for so long and suddenly you come back, you remember what you loved as a child and you experience the things that you missed while you were gone and finally, you learn to appreciate the little things, the simple things that no amount of money or success will ever buy. They say that home is where the heart is and true enough, my heart is and always will be in Ormoc City.

*****
P.S My dear cousin Monic got married to long time boyfriend, Nacho Veloso last June 20, 2009. I am very happy for the both of them and I wish them all the best. I miss ya Burdaks! :)

Flat Found!

I can't wait to get out of this sh*thole that I have been calling home for the past 9 months. So for weeks, I have been looking for the perfect flat to move into in September. And tada! Tanya and I found a flat last weekend! :)

This is the letting agency's link to the flat:
http://www.factotumletting.com/db/detail.php?Code=8451

So this is the living room.


This is my bedroom. It doesn't look like much but the fact that I have a closet that is an entire wall is just exciting! Although the fact that it is all mirrors is a bit creepy but I think that's an efficient use of space.
The idea is to have it look like this:


So I will be hunting for great finds in charity shops and sales in BHS and M&S for the next few months. Thank God for Pottery Barn and Google. Stuff ideas are made of.

Visitors Week

It was a week of visiting guests for us here at Churchill House last week. My cousin Dimple and her husband Ed decided to book a last-minute trip to Edinburgh the day before my big exam. Craving for anything familial and familiar, I was excited to meet them Tuesday afternoon even though I had to rush out of work at 4 to view a flat at half 4, then rushed out of that to go to Hollyrood Palace where we decided to meet. I told them to go around the Palace while they waited for me but unfortunately, royalty was also in town which meant that the Palace was closed to visitors until the 25th of June.

To welcome them properly to Edinburgh, I had Ed and Dimple try Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties (translation: Haggis, Turnips, and Mashed Potatoes) at the local pub, the World's End. Haggis is Scotland's version of what we Filipinos call sisig. It's sheep's heart, lung and liver cooked in a pig's stomach for a couple of hours. It sounds gross but like sisig, is actually pretty good. After scarfing down our food, we walked around the city, touring Calton Hill then the Princes Street Gardens. Around 8pm, I rushed back home and crammed for my Acoustics exam the following day.

Scottish Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties

The dreaded Wednesday came, and my exam was actually not that bad. For the first time in years, I took an exam which asked me what I know. I guess I am really miles away from De La Salle. Anyhow, I met with Dimps and Ed that afternoon and we did the Mary King's close dungeon tour which personally, I found disappointing. I have been on other ghost tours before and I enjoyed them more than this one. That night, to celebrate their last night in Edinburgh, I took them to another famous local pub, called The Royal Oak. It was smaller to the pubs I usually go to but this one is famous for its folk music so for the ultimate Scottish experience, I decided to take them there. Every week, a bunch of old Scottish men would sing these folk songs either in acapella or with a guitar and violin in the background. They would encourage us to sing along, muttering the lyrics so we could join in. Even the bartender would play the mandolin if he wasn't busy attending to the customers. I was told that all the people who worked there knew how to play at least one instrument. It was really cool and we found ourselves singing with the old men and having fun.

Inside The Royal Oak Pub

Megan's friend Sarah was also visiting that week. She is a bit quiet but she is an awesome girl and for her last day here, we took her to Portobello beach where we had proper fish and chips facing the sea, because, as my friend Gwen would say, that's the only way to eat fish and chips. True enough, it was the best fish and chips I have ever had since I've been here. Being in Portobello made me all warm inside even though it was about 14 degrees. And even though the weather wasn't perfect, it didn't rain. So I took off my shoes and ran and skipped and dug my toes on the sand like I did back home. I have never been happier in weeks.

My food and my feet

Birthdays

For as long as I can remember, I always celebrated my birthday. Growing up, I had parties either at our house in Donghol or a pool party at my grandparent's house inviting kids I don't even know. When I was about 5 or 6, I had the "make-your-own sundae", which around that time, was huge because we just discovered the magic of Hershey's chocolate sauce and sprinkles. I even remember having an Easter egg hunt at one of my parties because my birthday fell on the week after Holy week. My parents, bless their hearts, went along with my ideas because my birthday was in the summer and all my siblings and cousins were home. It was another excuse for all of us to get together, talk and eat Nang Doring's food.

When I got older, I grew tired of big parties and just wanted things I could not buy on my own. When I was fifteen, I got a guitar. When I turned 17, my dad bought me my first stereo with a cd changer and 2 cassette decks. It was my pride and joy.

In the last couple of years, I started to celebrate it again only now, my guest list has shrunked to include only my first cousins and of course Ivi and Monica, my remaining Ormoc friends. We would usually just eat pancit, lechon and cake then sing karaoke until our throats hurt. It became a yearly thing then one year, my sisters' tried to spice it up a bit by throwing me a surpise party. My loving father spoiled the surprise over breakfast a few days before by asking me if I wanted a party and when I said no, he told my sister, "See, I told you, she doesn't want a party!". My sister couldn't believe what he did and didn't speak to him for the rest of the day. I was so touched by the idea of the "surprise party", I didn't get upset it didn't push through. So that year, we ended up eating pancit, and lechon and cake, and singing karaoke until our throats hurt.

The point is, as much as I try to deny it, I love my birthday and I always try to celebrate it in any way I can. Being homesick as ever, I decided to go all out this year and went to London with my flatmates and Mandy and saw two musicals - The Last Five Years and The Lion King. Both were fantastic! I know you're thinking, "Wow, really Ida? Two musicals? Can you afford that?". Yeah-uh! Because for the rest of the weekend, we just toured London on foot, went to free parks, watched street performers and had the best time. And on the train back to Edinburgh, we stopped at a charming little town called Berwick-upon-Tweed, walked around some more and I saw the ocean! I couldn't swim in it though so it broke my heart a little. Needless to say, this birthday ranks high with the ice-cream-sundae party and the Easter egg hunt. The only thing that was missing was my family and friends from back home. Add that and it would have been perfect.

Road Trip : York, United Kingdom (day 2)

Fountains Abbey (from google)

Continuing from my last blog entry, Tanya and I have decided to go to Fountains Abbey for our second day in York. The plan was to go on a picnic with sandwiches and grapes with Jeff, his girlfriend Becky and his bestfriend, Claire. Not wanting to get lost this time, we decided to print off directions from another website and chose Jeff to be the navigator.

Aerial View (from google)

Fountains Abbey is Britain's largest monastic ruin to date and it was only about an hour drive from York's city center. It was founded by Benedictine monks in the 1100's and over the years, the abbey and its over 500 acres of land were preserved and passed down to different patrons and generations, growing in beauty and charm as they added more gardens and more buildings. At present, the estate is Yorkshire's first World Heritage Site with the dramatic ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian Abbey, a beautiful ornamental Georgian Water Garden, a Medieval deer park and finally, an Elizabethan mansion.

the water garden

When we finally got there, I couldn't help but be amazed at the beauty and elegance that was Fountains Abbey. The ruins, the park, the marble statues, the white swans on the water gardens. Everything was just perfect. I promised myself though that if anybody were to visit me here, I would definitely bring them to York and show them Fountains Abbey. With the weather turning gray and misty, my photos did not turn out the way I wanted them to and so they do not do the place justice and for this, I apologize. Some of the images are from flickr and google.

the water garden

When we got back from the abbey of course, the weather got better. Tanya and I spent the entire afternoon walking around the city wall. After that, we went to the York Minster where we heard an Evensong. An evensong is an Anglican liturgy celebrated in the late afternoon or evening, parts of which are sung by a choir. They usually last about half an hour and the reason why Tanya and I went to one was that it was the only way to get in to the minster for free. Tihi!

walking on the wall

the York Minster

Road Trip : York, United Kingdom (day 1)

I have always enjoyed going on road trips. It gives you an excuse to drive dangerously fast, sing like a rock star, and pig out like there's no tomorrow. Driving is the ultimate form of independence. With your car, your license, and a tank full of gas, you can drive wherever you want, whenever you want. The minute you turn the ignition, you are in control. It is invigorating and relaxing at the same time. I love driving and I miss having that feeling of control and freedom. Back in college, I used to share a Toyota Vios with my sister, Mady and we called her Britney. She was a bright blue car, reliable, and was very fuel efficient. I loved her with all my heart.

So going back to my original story, my friend, Tanya, and I decided long ago that we are going to go on this road trip to York. Because among our fabulous group of friends, we are the only ones who didn't go on holiday for spring break. We thought we too deserve to go somewhere exciting and so Tanya had this brilliant idea that we will drive ourselves down to York to visit our friend Jeff and go to Fountains Abbey, a place she has always wanted to visit but never found the time to. I told her as long as it's going to be a cheap trip, I am all for it. So, she called the car rental company, booked us a car for the weekend, called Jeff, and we're all set!

When Friday finally came, we were off to a great start! (minus my killer hangover from the night before, but that's another story) We arrived in the car company, signed the necessary papers for insurance, and finally saw our car, a beautiful black Peugeot we named Pierre. We got in, I, the chief navigator ready with my directions and maps on the left, and Tanya, the amazing driver on the right. "Woohoo!", we screamed. I was so excited, I was practically jumping out of my seat.

Pierre, our baby

Now like any other road trip, ours had its share of bloopers. Edinburgh, being the charming little Scottish city that it is, is full of road works, closed streets, and blocked entries. And my favorite, small street signs that changed every 50 metres. And to add to that, the directions Tanya printed off the internet were crap as well so of course, we got a little lost trying to figure out how to get out of the city and onto the highway. After a few frustrated sighs and shrieks of omigod omigod, we found ourselves on the A1 highway and enjoying the scenic route towards York, England.

The second part of that adventure came when we reached our exit on A59 en route to York. We called Jeff, who doesn't know how to drive by the way, for directions. "Just exit on A59, go straight until you reach the city wall, then when you go inside, turn left." Okay, seems easy enough. But after about 10 miles, we didn't see a freakin wall. So I asked, "Jeff, is the city wall a proper wall?". "Yes", he replied. Right. So after long debates of what a city wall looks like, I called Jeff again and told him that we are not hanging up until we see his face. About 5.15pm, we finally reached his doorstep.

York's City Walls

After the "mandatory rest period" of 1 hour, Tanya and I explored the city and went on a ghost tour, which actually ended up being a comedy tour. Oh I loved our guide, I called him, Mr. Fancy Pants. He was fabulous. He took us around several spots in the city while trying to scare us with his ghost stories. But he did it in a sarcastic tone and he made fun of some of the people in the group so we ended up laughing instead of being creeped out and scared. He even convinced us to line up across an Italian restaurant, wave at the customers, and when we got their attention (some of them even waved back!), we all shuffled in front of the restaurant's windows and at the count of three, we made faces with our tongues sticking out at the customers, "Bleeeeeeeh!". It was the silliest thing I have ever done in my entire life and I loved it! After the ghost tour ended, Tanya and I decided to get pizza and ended up eating at the same restaurant we made fools of ourselves. This was proving to be a really fun trip and we are only at day one.

Me and Tanya exploring the city wall

Mr. Fancy Pants

Sunny Day in the Park

This is how a sunny day in Scotland looks like.

couple walking their baby

Bianca under the tree

a sculpture by a Filipino

And here I am, enjoying my view, while lying down with Bianca.

After an awful week of cold wind and fog, today reminded me that Edinburgh is live-able. Thank God the sun came out! I was beginning to think that Spring will never arrive.

Jinny Getting Married

My sister, Jennifer, got married yesterday. It is the first of the many weddings I will not be able to attend this year. With my family busy with the preparations, it was Paulo Cortes who updated me with what happened at the ceremony. Thankfully, I had to work so I did not have time to process what was going yet. At night though, when I talked to Atehan, then my mother, then Atejen, then Mady, the tears came as I laughed and listened to their stories. Everybody looked beautiful especially Atejen wearing her dress which is a creation by Boy Abad. She cried as she walked down the aisle, and Nolitz was beaming the entire time. At the reception, there were so many guests they had to set up tables in the garden. It's just a bit sad that Papa didn't go. He wasn't ready to let go of Atejen I suppose and so he had to deal with it in his own way. Later on, after the speeches and dinner, the party started. Mady was in rare form, they said. Pissed off her face, she took over the mic, (shared according to her), and did her own interpretation of the The Corrs' Breathless among others. My brother, Kito, had another dance showdown with bestfriend Ega and other cousin, Enyong. And everybody just danced to the "un-modern" songs played by the band of Msgr. Damayo with the gay vocalist. In short, I missed another epic Larrazabal wedding.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my plans for the future. With just my dissertation to worry about, I have started to apply for acoustic jobs and have even considered doing an internship and possibly another diploma course on Acoustics. And with planning and replanning what I'm going to be doing in the next few months, I realized I might not be able to go home as soon as I thought. And though I know it is better for me to stay here, times like these always make me wonder if it is indeed worth it.

Oh Holy Week...

It's Easter Sunday today and although I have plans to cook dinner with a few friends tonight, I can't help but feel homesick. In my family, Holy week comes second to Christmas for the most important holiday to look forward to during the year. While other Catholics fast, reflect and pray during this time, my family likes to go to some remote beach paradise so we can bake in the sun and drink the night away while singing cheesy telenovela-inspired love songs with the karaoke machine.

This is not my first time to miss one of our annual island get-aways but I suppose being in a non-religious country during the event that practically inspired my faith just didn't feel right to me. And since being in this God forsaken country means never having to enjoy a warm day at the beach anyway, I decided to do a religious practice that I have not done in years. I messaged my Maltese friend Julienne and convinced her to do the Bisita Iglesia (7 visits to churches) with me on Good Friday. Julienne, who is also a Catholic, tells me that they do the same thing in Malta and since she was homesick as well, she said yes to my brilliant plan. The only problem is, can we find 7 Catholic churches in Edinburgh? With the power of Google earth, I had a list of 9 potential Catholic churches within minutes. But then, I found out that 3 of these churches are so far we would need to take a bus in order to go there. We don't have the time or money to do that. So, Julienne and I decided to just walk around in the hopes that maybe, we might just discover a "secret" church while going to the other 6.

And so began our mission to go to 7 churches around the city. We braved the Scottish wind, encountered homeless weirdos, tripped over the cobblestoned streets, and endured starvation (okay, LIE, Julienne was the only one who fasted, I couldn't last 5 hours of walking without food). The point is, we were the only idiots in the entire city who seemed to be doing the bisita iglesia. And that made me sad. There was even one church that was closed! On Good Friday! And they call themselves Catholic. Tsktsktsk. It was actually funny because we ended up praying outside the church door, using its cross carving as the well, altar cross and we couldn't stop laughing. We counted that church anyway.

Around 5 o'clock, we have already visited 5 churches and just needed 2 more. But it was too late to go anywhere else and the bus times have been changed due to the road works around the city. We decided to cheat and had tea at Starbucks instead. It was the best damn tea ever. Around 7pm now fully recharged, we walked to St. Mary's Cathedral where we joined the congregation for the Stations of the Cross completing our Bisita Iglesia. Well, minus one.

School's Over But The Real Work Has Begun.

I can't believe school is over. I am officially done with lectures, hand-ins, and tutorials. Well, I still have a couple of hand-ins after Easter and an exam in May but I want to focus on the present. So, right now, yes, school is over. It has gone by so fast and right now, on my first Saturday off. I am thinking, okay, what now? I'm bored. I guess I have been a workaholic the past few months especially during the last 2 weeks of term where I hid in Studio 4 at Alison House, the music building. I barely had the time to talk to my friends and since I was away from home, I have been living off the restaurants and bagel shops around the uni. I haven't seen my kitchen cupboard until yesterday and I haven't replenished my fridge shelf until a couple of days ago. Although, if I am to be completely objective, life during my undergraduate years in La Salle was way waaaay waaaay worse but I suppose I am not 19 anymore and so my body can't take the sleepless nights and stress the way it used to. Plus, the hole I have been burning in my wallet is just frightening.

Months ago, I have been promising myself to go out there and get a job but due to my schedule, I couldn't accept jobs that were offered to me. It was a stroke of luck when I passed by the Apple reseller store, Cancom, a couple of weeks ago. They were looking for some part time sales associates and so I decided to apply hoping that my certification as a Mac Technician would give me an advantage. A week later, they emailed me and interviewed me. Another week went by, they told me I was one of the finalists for the job. I bombarded heaven with prayers that I'll be accepted. I needed this job! My friends are all going home for the Easter break and some are doing travelling in the coming months. I can't be bored and alone. Finally, the manager, who is a lovely gay man, called me about a week ago to offer me the job. I started last Thursday and today was my second day but my first try on the shop floor. I still needed practice handling the "till" which is the cash register and there is so much to learn about all the products in the store. But all in all, I think I did pretty well for my first day. I was able to sell a couple of data cables, software, accessories, and my very first Macbook! It is just so overwhelming. I am living the ultimate international student life! I love it. Now with my new fancy job, I can save and maybe go travelling in the summer. *Cross fingers*

Intruder Alert

Last Thursday, around 9pm, some random guy entered my room without knocking. Mandy and I were in my room after dinner doing our ISE project when I heard the the doorknob turn. Before I knew it, some Scottish guy poked his head in, and when he saw my shocked face, he fumbled an excuse about my flatmate, Mikio. He quickly asked me where he was and what time he will be back, and when I called Mikio (who was in the kitchen, next to my room), he told me he didn't know the guy either. I went back to my room and called Quianna, my friend on the 6th floor and she told me to call security right away in case he is someone of "suspicious character". Five minutes passed and then Quianna called me again because her flatmate saw the same guy in their kitchen and even stole his water! Anyway, we called the security office in Pollock Halls which is a good 15minutes away. So of course, by the time they got here, the guy already got away. It's really ridiculous how we don't have our own 24 hour security guards here. I mean, I get it, the crime rate in this country is pretty low. But that is just unacceptable considering the amount of rent we have to pay every month. What if he was had a gun?! What if he was incredibly drunk and decided to kill me? Or Mikio? Or Glen? And of course, it had to happen to me on a night before 3 hand-ins. I cannot believe my luck sometimes.

Retreat at Dalmally

This sheep is not glad to see me

Last weekend, I went on a retreat with the Catholic Students Union. The retreat was held at Craig Lodge in Dalmally, which is a three hour drive from Edinburgh. I was supposed to back out at the last minute because I had dizzy spells, or a viral hangover as the doctor described it, the entire week last week. But since it was my idea, I had to go or else Bianca, my Filipina friend, also a member of the CSU, will kill me. So by 5:30pm, we were on the road. Father Tim was our designated driver and oh my, I really hate how the British people drive. They like to drive fast and only use the breaks when they feel like it. So imagine poor little me with my head all light and fuzzy having to deal with the winding road and Father Tim's "hard-breaking" driving skills. That was by far the longest car ride I have ever been on my entire life. The minute we got to the lodge, I ever so discreetly sneaked out of the dining hall where the welcoming committee was, to, well, welcome us, and just vomited in the bathroom until there wasn't anything left in me to vomit. I immediately felt better afterwards. Maybe that was what I needed after all.

Anyhow, we kicked off the retreat with supper that consisted of soup, bread, and tea. Ooooh boy. By this point I knew I will be starving the entire weekend. Thank God Bianca brought dried mangoes and other goodies with her! Otherwise... Well we all know what happens when I get hungry. So the retreat's theme was about the 7 deadly sins but because we didn't have enough time to discuss all of them, we only focused on 4 - Pride, Envy, Covetousness, and Greed. We had a lot of time to ourselves too which was perfect because the Lodge was literally in the middle of nowhere so you are forced to be alone with your thoughts a lot. My favorite part of the retreat though was when we did the Stations of the Cross up a mountain. Yes, a proper mountain, where one false move could send you rolling down like Maria in the Sound of Music. Every time we stopped to pray, I was panting and gasping for air. That was no easy climb. Naturally of course, the last station was at the top of the mountain. And from the top, the view was breathtaking. You could see snow peaked mountains, lochs or lakes, rivers, green fields, and a few houses. We took our time and a lot of pictures before heading back. For our last night, we played Charades with the staff and volunteers of the lodge. After that, we played Sardines in total darkness, which I think cured my fear of the dark forever. We couldn't really drink because they had a strict "No Alcohol" rule. No matter, when we got back in Edinburgh, we met up again at the Southsider pub to finally consume some beer and cider.

For most people, Valentine's Day means going on a fancy dinner date, receiving beautiful flowers, cheesy Hallmark cards, or an ugly red heart-shaped pillow from Blue Mountain. Clearly, I am not most people. I went on a date with Jesus instead.

with Father Bruno, Father Tim, and Julienne

Dancing Queen

I love to dance. Those who know me pretty well know this fact. Unfortunately though, I am not blessed with this talent and so secretly, I have always wanted to take dance classes. Jazz, salsa, samba, hiphop, even ceilidh dancing! Back home, dance classes were too expensive or they were held in really posh places or I was too shy. I don't know which excuse I used but I always had one whenever I would think about enrolling into a class.

Last term, I decided to be cool and so I took up ceilidh dancing. It was by far the most Scottish thing that I did since I came here. Every Thursday, I would walk to St. Peter's Church, which was about a 15min walk from my residence, and dance for an hour with locals and other eager beaver foreigners. I learned how to do the Virginia Reel, the Flying Scotsman, and my all time favorite, the Belgian dance. It was so much fun to twirl and spin and to skip and hop with strangers but my favorite dance partner is my flatmate Megan. Because let's be honest, most white people can't dance. But you didn't hear that from me. And then I got tired of ceilidh dancing. Well not really, I am usually busy Thursday nights because most of my submissions are on a Friday morning so I haven't been to ceilidh class in a month. But since I have been eating so much lately, I decided to do be more active. I don't walk around the city as much as I'd like to because it's just so damn cold all the time and that's why I end up stuffing my face with whatever I can find.

Yesterday after class, I went to the university gym with my friend Quianna. We attended the hiphop dance class which was being taught by this short hairy white guy who I think is from Aberdeen 'cause he keeps saying "Yeah?" all the time but Quianna thinks he is Spanish. And what was so funny was that Quianna was the only Black person in that entire class. There were a couple of Asians there but mostly Europeans and Americans. Majority of the class were women too. And I reiterate... Most white people can't dance. So for an hour, we were busting our moves to Rihanna, Neyo, JT, Mario, and Beyonce. You gotta love the British, they are so behind the times when it comes to music. Anyway, the dance routine was actually pretty easy so we didn't have any trouble learning it. And except for his high pitched whistle, I really liked the instructor. I had to laugh though when we were doing the "chest bump" because as you know, I am not really gifted in that department either.

I just love the fact that this city has given me the chance to do the things I have always wanted to do. Again, Edinburgh has given me one more reason to love it even more.


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On a totally unrelated note, my sister Hannah has given birth to a beautiful baby boy yesterday. :) I can't wait to see the little guy!

Coffee yeh?

(photo taken from: http://www.elephanthouse.biz/index.html)

I had a very nice chat with David Taylor, owner and manager of the Elephant House, this morning. I applied for a part time position as one of his staff in the cafe made famous as the place where J.K Rowling wrote her first few Harry Potter books. (How cool is that??!) He has a Filipina wife and has been to the Philippines, "countless of times", he said. He has a house in Pangasinan and a restaurant in San Fernando, Pampanga. He has even been to Ormoc, Leyte, my home sweet home. As of the moment, he still doesn't have any vacancy for me but promised to give me a call in a few weeks when one of his full time staff will be leaving so I can take her place. Coffee, tea, or me? Hahaha. I can't wait!

A Sunny Day in Scotland

I woke up with the sun shining on my face and thinking "Graaaaaa, init!". But then I realized my pillow was right next to the heater. (Oh, so that explains the heat.) But the sky was clear, the sun was out, it was too good a day to waste. So I took a shower, changed into my "walking outfit" and downed a bowl of cereal in record time while chatting with Jessie and Atejuni on YM. With my ipod filled with new tunes I downloaded last night, I began to jog up Calton Hill. While climbing those ridiculous steps, I can't help but think that it was a stupid idea to go alone cause no one would take my picture! Then, I saw this guy, about my age or older I suppose, taking his picture with his camera perched on a rock on self-timer. Brilliant! I could do that. Then I had another idea, so I walked up to him and asked if I would like to take his picture. He said that he was fine and then asked if I wanted him to take my picture. Aha, it worked! So that's how I met, Juro. My new friend from Serbia.

Me and the National Monument

While being each other's photographer, we got into talking about Edinburgh, school, career plans, everything basically. I found out that Juro is in Edinburgh on holiday with friends and that he studies power engineering in Serbia and was on a 6 month exchange program in England. He loves to travel and has been to Cuba, America, Spain, Greece, and other interesting places. He told me that he is planning to go to Thailand in February and so I gave him tips about where to shop and where to eat in Bangkok. In return, he told me which places in Europe I should go visit, comparing them to the cities he has been in America. I was quite surprised when he said that he didn't like Vegas and that the only great thing about it was the Hoover Dam. I am a fan of hydraulic power plants and after watching the NGC Megastructures episode on the Hoover, I vowed to myself that I am going to go there someday. Talking to him about it made me want to see it more.

After having exhausted all our photo taking abilities, we had drinks (me a hot chocolate, him a warm whisky) at local pub called, The Last Drop. I told him about my huge family (his mouth dropped when I told him I had 7 brothers and sisters), my degree, and my plans for the future. He laughed when I shared stories from my childhood and was appalled when I described Sisig and the Behrouz' Ox Brain. It was really nice talking to him because he is very open-minded, smart and well traveled. Around one o'clock, I told him I had to leave because I still haven't done much for my Csound assignment. So we said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch through Facebook.

I think the best part about studying abroad is the different people that you meet and having to hear their stories. It's not so much what you learn in the classrooms but what you take in from the experience of being in another place and another culture. This is what strengthens your character and molds you into being who you want to be. We are here in this world not because of career or money or power. We are here because we want to experience life and to have our stories heard.

Me and my new found friend, Juro.

Ode to Ysabel

I have a plant.
Her name is Ysabel.
She is a kalanchoe.
This means I only have to water her every 10 days.
She was a Christmas gift.
From JC, my Malaysian friend.
I hope she won't die.
Like the "others" before her.

Calton Hill Climb

I have always wanted to climb Calton Hill since I got here. Before coming to Edinburgh, I would google for images of the city out of curiousity and these beautiful pictures taken on the hill would come up. One of those photos is the one I am using for my header (see top of page). I have never gotten around to climbing it last term because it was always dark and dreary and quite depressing. This morning, my two friends, Stephanie and Dave, and I decided to walk up to Calton hill at 10 in the morning. It was quite a challenge getting out of bed but after reaching the top, I must say the view was worth getting up for.

The hill is located at the center of New Town and overlooks Hollyrood Palace on one side, and gives you a magnificent view of the sea and Inchkeith Island (which I also plan to visit), on the other. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson's Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the New Parliament House and the City Observatory.

This is a photo of the National Monument in the middle of the grounds.

This is the view of Arthur's Seat from the hill. Arthur's Seat is a dead volcano in the middle of Hollyrood Park and is the main peak of the city. It is quite popular to walk there since it gives amazing panoramic views of the city and it is an easy climb as well.

Portuguese Filipinos

Alex, my Portuguese flatmate, always insisted on calling me a "Philippinian". Last term, we would have endless debates about how people from the Philippines ought to be called. He told me that he couldn't call me a Filipino because they were biscuits in his country. Now, Alex can be a pain in the arse sometimes and he loves teasing me in the kitchen with my mad cooking skills (i.e me cutting myself with the butter knife and burning myself with the damn faucet all the time). So naturally, I expected the Filipino biscuits to be one of his stupid antics to get me annoyed. But when he knocked on my door a few days ago, back from his holiday in Portugal, he thrusted the pack of Filipinos in my face. Omigod, he really wasn't kidding! I just had to laugh.



Alex: See Ida, I told you and you didn't believe me. We eat Filipinos for breakfast.
Ida: Oh shut up, Alex.

The Year That Was... 2008

My older sister, Ate Jen, started a New Year tradition of recalling the previous year's events and writing them down. These events can be big or small, happy or sad, they can be family related, work related or just something personal you have experienced or realized during the past year. I have picked up this practice and started when 2008 began. As I bid 2008 goodbye, I have made my "The Year That Was..." list and so I begin.

* Ate Hannah's Wedding to Shawali - Jan 12
* Ate Juni's Wedding to Martin - Feb 23
* Worked for Atejen - Kodak (RBS ) and Ormocnet (Mac Support)
* Mac Certification Training/Exam - end of Feb - Mar
* Best Holy Week Ever with the Ialcoolcuz in Camotes - Holy Week in Mar
* Dos Palmas with Atejen - April
* Opening of Tsilys! - April
* Worked for Kuya Igoy (Home Sweet Home Spa start-up) - April
* Ate Hannah is pregnant! - May
* My honor was defended thanks to my brothers - June
* Home Sweet Home Spa officially opened - June 2
* Tito Bebot (Jessie's dad) passed away
* Opening of Ormocnet Naval - Aug
* Atejen became engaged to Nolitz - Aug
* Kuya Igoy's Kristo Rey Park proposal was approved - Aug
* My Despedida Series began - Aug
* Discovery of the beautiful Canigao Island - Aug
* Mady came home to work for Papa - Sept
* UK Trip with Mady and Atejen! - Sept
* We watched Wicked in London! - Sept
* I start my MSc program in Acoustics & Music Tech in the University of Edinburgh - Sept 16 :)
* Atejen's pamanhikan - Oct
* Anaura left for the States to work - Oct
* Ivi left for Australia to look for opportunities - Oct
* Opening of Cafe Oramoca - Oct 31
* Maan pregnant again! - Nov
* Atejovit joined Sycip - Nov
* Monic became engaged! - Nov
* Death Cab for Cutie Concert - Nov 16
* Kuya Igoy graduated from AIM
* Erica, our obese yellow Labrador retriever, died after giving birth - Dec
* Went to London with Megan and Tanya - Dec
* Watched Wicked again and Phantom of the Opera - Dec
* Atejuni is pregnant! - Dec
* Cooked my first Christmas dinner - Dec
* Maica got engaged! - Dec

A lot has happened in 2008 not only to me, but to my family as well. And as 2009 starts, I can only cross my fingers as I await what it has in store for me.