• Scheduled get togethers by watching Korean Drama kept us sane on weekends and even weekdays. So far, we've watched 3, but I only kept myself dedicated watching to 1 (Itaewon Class). I'm bad at keeping myself interested in hour-long series that I randomly ask on highlights. But nonetheless, it kept us together. A bit of time spent more after watching these series with Kwentuhans. Currently exploring reality TV shows. 
• Reading books were one of my key accomplishments vs. last year. I finished 5 already, and the best one was "Off the Map" by Alanis Bonnet.
• Watercolor paintings have been my weekend hobby and I try to have my hands on a pencil or paintbrushes to work off the rust.
• Getting busy in the kitchen were my favorite parts of the day. Part of my weight loss ambition is to come clean with meals. I'm not going to crash myself into massive diets, just trying to keep a pace on clean eating. I've grown to love being in the fresh section at my grocery visits lately plus some weekend preps like pickling tomatoes and dicing fruits for freezing.
• Another special milestone is graduating a 2-week weight loss exercise program. I followed a program by Chloe Ting and her videos were the right one for my pace. I was kind of impressed of my daily accomplishments despite the fact that I still work after the workout.  

 Destinations like these make me miss home and its proximity to a lot of points of interest. Of how spending a quick afternoon at the beach, or horseback rides up in a cold mountain that's just an hour away. The city life is as interesting as the "provincial life", but maybe at this point maybe i need more of the latter for now.

It's been 5 months since i moved to Manila for work, and I saw myself grown in s short span of time. Adulting hits me like a truck when i got to face responsibilities like bills, budgets and groceries. The good flipside of independence is that I get this chance of doing things without supervision, like getting dressed at 9 to see gigs,going on my first solo trip in Mt. Pinatubo with strangers and that impulsive decision of getting a laser LOL. Between those me-time moments are times of mental paralysis, boredom and loneliness. But I'm trying to get ahold of myself together. My mom and I would have a video chat daily while fondling our rescue cat; I have friends constantly checking out on each other while trying to align our availability on vacations. The best part is that I actually enjoy the things I'm doing at work. Projects takes me a long time to realize, but I'm enjoying the process. I belong to a supportive team, which tells me I'm one lucky person in terms of career. Let's see how life goes for me. But for now, it's been good.

I've always wanted to experience Autumn, so Korea was our pick for this year's international trip. My Mom always wanted to travel through booked tours, which was quite more practical since we were to busy to make travel plans. I've told countless friends that South Korea was not my choice of destination with the perceived pre-requisite of appreciating K-dramas and their music.




So we were with a bunch of people all the time, doing a hop-on hop off on certain destinations. What was cool was that we were able to make friends with a couple named Ysa and Gino, who were our constant table buddies every restaurant we're in. We went to the usual places to go: Nami Island, Little Paris and Everland. I was more excited when we're in Meyongdong where I found grilled Lobster Mozzarella and Kimbap while strolling in the busy streets full of cosmetic shops and fashion botiques.

I'd really love to go back there minus the planned tour, yearning to experience the hassle of looking for directions, asking locals to translate their language and etc. I wish we has more time exploring Seoul on our own, but time and schedules were so limited that we have to be stuck in certain places. I think there's a lot more to see in this country, and I'd be glad to come back to give it another try. Spontaneous planning was something I was so familiar of since, and I realized this instant that all of the fuss of traveling makes up the entire experience. The destination is what we're keeping our eye on, but the journey towards it, not most of us realize, makes the storytelling a lot better.

One of the most exciting things that has happened during my travel was to experience snow for the first time in South Lake Tahoe. Thanks to my aunt who was persistent enough to bring us on a 2-hour drive, we had a good timing to go up there in a perfect snowy weather. The ground was packed with ice that looked like the ones we see in freezer walls yet roads were thawed safe enough to drive on. As much as I want to learn to ski, there wasn't enough time since the gondolas was about to freeze its operations in the early afternoon. Instead, we drove up north to stop by in view decks.

After almost circling the lake, Carson City was our next stop. It was another view to enjoy from desert scenery to outdoor cafes along avenues. It was also my first time to enjoy a fancy hotel buffet at Casino Fandango. To cap off the day, drowning ourselves in lobster, medium rare-cooked steak, NY cheesecake and sushi sounded like a good idea.