I'm Back!

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! :)

Starting 2016 with a move back to Blogger. Wordpress was great and my own domain was cool and all, but I figured it's more economical for me to move back to Blogger since I don't really post much anymore. Imported all the posts I wrote in the 4 years I was away, and you can see it's not much.

Besides, I have likely lost most of my web skills to customize my own blog, so moving to a more simple platform is even more practical at this point. Granted, I still have dreams of becoming a famous blogger, but that dream can wait. And nothing's stopping me from posting regularly except for me anyway.

So, will 2016 translate to more posts for frustrated blogger me? We'll have to wait and see to find out.

Ending this post with what I wrote on my Facebook profile:

"2015 was a journey for me and brought about a lot of realizations, challenges and new opportunities. It was exciting, frustrating, liberating and even disappointing at times but I know I'm ending it twice as happy as when I started. Happy 2016!"
☺"

The Road to Fitness starts NOW

I've always been overweight. I love to eat and I could never commit to an exercise regimen. Back in 2013, a friend and I went on a diet and I successfully lost upto 25 pounds. Sadly, I've started gaining it back over the past few months, and now, albeit lighter than I was before I started the diet back then, significantly heavier {again}.

I started with a few activities, like going back into yoga, making my own meals, and I've seen "some" improvement. Nothing to celebrate about yet, but hopefully I can motivate myself enough to keep this up and really see progress in the next few months.

I said it, and now it's time to make it happen.

Five Years, Now What?

I celebrated a milestone last March 16, my 5th anniversary at the Happy Place. And now I find myself contemplating what's next for me?

It's interesting to note that those five years flew by, it was a tumultuous journey of ups and downs, challenges and opportunities that I, for the most part, deeply enjoyed. I was able to achieve my career goals and meet the most amazing people I know I'll stay friends with long after I've moved on from my current role, But don't get me wrong, my passion for the Happy Place, my role, and what I'm doing is burning as bright as ever. But still, 5 years is 5 years, and maybe I just need something new in my life right now.

Taipei Weekend!

I enjoy traveling. Granted, just a casual traveler, but a traveler just the same. A quick, weekend to enjoy a food trip in Taipei was right up my alley, especially since the weather would still be cool.

It was an affordable trip - we booked our tickets last July for P4,253.14 each. Hotel for 3,708 for two nights (twin sharing). Transportation costs were minimal, since trains were quite cheap, but most importantly, the food was very, very affordable, and very, very delicious.

We stayed at Delight Hotel, it's located near the Nanjing Fuxing station with access to both brown and green lines, making it an ideal base to explore Taipei. We were able to get around very easily. There was a 711 just around the corner, and several meal options around the area (KFC, Mcdonald's, Starbucks among them). There was also a nice sports bar called the Brass Monkey nearby, which serves really good cocktails. Rooms were of a good size, modern bathroom, and very clean. My only concern was the heat was centralized and we couldn't adjust the temperature, which was too hot in my opinion. We opened a window to help, but it still felt warm at times. Staff was very accommodating to our questions, and gave us tips on how to get around. We also arranged transfers with them and everything was prompt and hassle free. Will definitely book this hotel again on a return trip to Taipei.

We weren't able to explore all the sights of Taipei, just the main ones like the Chinag Kai Shek memorial, Taipei 101, Maokong Gondola, Shilin Night Market and Raohe night market. We tried to go to Shifen for the sky lanterns, but only got as far as Ruifang because of the limited time we had left in Taipei.

For the Maokong Gondola, I suggest getting the crystal cabins for a different experience. These are glass bottomed cable cars which give you a very clear view of what lay below. This attraction (and also mode of transportation) is worth checking out when in Taipei, Just 100 Taiwan dollars for a round trip ride across 3(or was it 4) cable car stations. There's a short food street at the end, so you can spend a few minutes checking it out while you wait for the car getting back.

And now for the food, we loved eating at the night markets. You should definitely come hungry! There's so much to try!  Favorites include the pork bun at the Raohe nighr market, grilled scallops, the blowtorched beef and the egg wrapped shrimps as well as the fried mushrooms from Shilin night market. Also enjoyed the pink guavas, very sweet and refreshing. I even tried the stinky tofu, it wasn't as bad as I thought, but still wouldn't be asking for seconds any time soon. Of course, you also need to eat at Din Tai Fung for the xiao long bao and drink all the milk tea you can which you can buy almost anywhere in Taipei.

For pasalubong, you can't go wrong with nougat from Sugar and Spice (at Taipei 101) or Milk House (at Taipei Railyway station). They're also known for pineapple cakes from Chia Te, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to try those.

Anyway, I can't wait to come back to Taipei, but it has to be during the cooler months, because I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did if the weather was warmer. And since I'm too lazy to upload and layout pics, enjoy the flipagram I made below. :)

Taipei Weekend!

The Courtesy of a Reply

I have a lot of pet peeves, really I do. Maybe it's me, maybe my expectations are too high, but come on, if I text you, please do me the courtesy of a reply. Ignoring my texts, and then acting as if everything is normal when you finally deem it convenient to send me a message, just pisses me off.

And then you ignore me again?!

Ugh, not even sure why I'm all high strung about this, when I technically have no right to demand anything. Overactive hormones might be a factor, but nonetheless, I expect a reply when I text. Or at least an explanation that actually makes sense. But then again, maybe I don't. Whatever.

Edit: Soooo, there was a valid explanation. And I might have overreacted by ranting, but I'll still keep this post up, it's still a pet peeve anyway.

Getting Back Into the Flow

I've always loved yoga, started practicing when I first started working over a decade ago, but always ended up following this cycle: Attend a class -> get familiar with the poses -> stop paying for classes -> practice at home -> get lazy -> stop practicing.

Anyway, it's been years since I last did a full yoga sequence, and I always wanted to come back, but either felt too lazy, or unwilling to commit (yeah, I have commitment issues). Good thing Deal Grocer came out with a 15 day unlimited pass for P500. It was too good to pass up, given that most yoga studios have a P500 walk in rate per class. :)

So I went on my first class today, a Vinyasa Open Level class. The Urban Ashram yoga studio at BGC was gorgeous and spotless, and quiet, and practically empty, so in short, it seemed perfect. I was also lucky that there were only 3 of us in the class, so our instructor, Mel, was able to really focus on our form over the course of the class.

Let me tell you, it was challenging, tough but not frustrating. My focus, balance, and strength was pushed to the limit, but man did I enjoy it. And the shavasana at the end? I was ready to go back to sleep and just skip work altogether, LOL.

Schedule permitting, I'm taking a few more classes to make the most of my voucher.

Sharing some of my favorites from today's class. :)

Warrior Poses:

Planks, cobra and downward facing dog transitions:

In our class, the flow was different, moving from cobra to upward dog, plank to downward facing dog. Will try the sequence above tomorrow.

I really hope I don't get lazy with this, I completely enjoyed my last class, I just hope I can be consistent this time around. :)

Donate Blood, Save a Life

When I was a child, I was terrified of needles.

I guess every kid dreads getting vaccines, and maybe I was traumatized, but the thought of anything breaking my skin scared the shit out of me. My mind was so attuned to my fears that I once had a 40 degree fever for 3 days, but when my parents brought me to the hospital, it went down to a 37.5 because I was too scared they would hook me up to a dextrose.

Bringing down a fever that high because of a fear of needles? Yeah, I was that talented.

Eventually though, I had to learn to cope, with mandatory medical tests and all that, but every time I had to get my blood drawn, I still felt anxious. But in 2004, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which meant I had to get my blood drawn regularly to monitor my TSH levels. That forced me to overcome my fear, and although still not a pleasant experience, getting stuck by a needle seems routine by now.

Getting over a fear of needles meant I could also do something I always wanted to do, donate blood. Sadly though, because of my hypothyroidism, I'm not always allowed to give blood. So far, I've only been able to donate to Red Cross blood drives at the office, which doesn't happen as often as I would like.

So it was a good thing Red Cross came back to the office today, yay! I happily spent a few minutes of my time to offer up my arm for a good cause, and I can't really think of a better way to spend my morning.  I do hope they come by more often though.

For more details -> http://www.redcross.org.ph/get-involved/give-blood

Words and Wit

I'm a sucker for words and wit.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I can't really say.

For me, words have power, whether it's written or said out loud. It can make you feel, think, realize, manipulate...it can create worlds, build and destroy relationships, boost or crush egos, seduce, incense and pacify. It's no wonder I hold people who can wield words and wit with ease in such high regard.

I'm a sucker for words and wit.

Why write about this now, you wonder? Well, I've been doing a lot of self-reflection lately, of what I'm doing with my life, what I want to be doing, who I want to be with, and it was just one of those things that I realized about myself.

I'm a sucker for words and wit.

Then I thought about my past encounters with words and wit... from my frustrations at becoming a writer, an ex who I fell for over games of Scrabble and conversations, to an unreciprocated infatuation I had because of smart and stoic tweets, to work opportunities I passed over because of poorly worded job descriptions, candidates I failed in interviews because of poor communication skills, and more recently, to the guy I went out with because I enjoyed our playful banter only to realize that he was just another douchebag.

*sigh* I'm a sucker for words and wit.

It may seem I only dwell in the negative aspects of my encounters, but tonight since I'm feeling melancholic it's what pops up in my head.

Yes, I'm a sucker for words and wit.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Finding Comfort in the Familiar

I've changed.

Sure, everyone changes over the years, and I know I have made some improvements to myself, made the most of opportunities, achieved goals...but in the process I might have lost pieces of myself that make me who I am. Nothing too serious, but enough to make me question what's the point in getting what you want, when you miss out on things that used to matter?

I'm trying to change that this year, trying to find comfort in the familiar, going back to my old ways, putting in time for things that I used to enjoy and seeing what happens - resurrecting this blog, is one such example. Others, I already know from experience, might lead me straight down a path of complications.

Old habits die hard, and now I'm falling back to old patterns, familiar but potentially detrimental patterns. I already asked my best friend to keep me in check, if it ever comes to that, but in the meantime, I'm determined to have fun and just enjoy. If I'm right, and I have this under control, then I might be worrying about nothing at all.

I Survived Lean Six Sigma!

Going into the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training, while skipping White and Yellow Belt (which are scheduled at a later date), I knew I would need to work double time to catch up. I was very excited to be part of the class but I also felt anxious since I didn't have enough time to do the pre-work, cramming around 20 hours of pre-work over 6 hours and barely getting halfway done. What made it even more daunting was that this was only the 3rd LSS Green Belt F2F class since 2007.

I was right to feel anxious, Day 1 was not much of a problem since I was familiar with the DMAIC process cycle, but by Day 2 I was already feeling overwhelmed. With terms getting thrown around, new concepts and tools being taught at a pace much faster than I was comfortable with, and all the maths involved - damn, it was probably the math that really got to me,

But thanks to simulations, entertaining and informative classmates, and other welcome distractions, I managed to hang on and learn. I did my best to participate as well, volunteering, providing inputs and challenging scenarios whenever possible. If only just to keep my head above water (and stay awake) most of the time.

Things started to clear up again on Day 3, possibly because we did less math and statistical analyses and more RCA and impact analysis, I grasped those concepts fairly well, but there was a whole lot of information to digest. Learning was further reinforced on day 4 after teachbacks and summaries, seeing how everything fit together and realizing that the mastery will come with practice. I guess I needn't have worried at all.

And when we shortened the Sigma Station simulation cycle time from 8 minutes to less than 30 seconds, when at first we deemed 1 minute impossible? That was just freaking awesome, and leaving your instructor at a loss for words with the process improvements your team did, priceless.

I know I'll need to keep reading, re-reading and practicing the concepts I learned to fully say I know Lean Six Sigma, but I definitely know I already learned a lot. Thanks to my awesome and cool instructor, Mr. James Love, Master Black Belt, and my equally awesome classmates who made the learning fun and interactive, and my Sigma Station teammates, we totally owned that simulation. We definitely proved we're "the best class ever." :)

This was, one of the best trainings I've attended in my career, making it worth the extra day at the office and inevitable extra work days to catch up on missed deliverables over the papal visit holidays. I only hope I get to implement a project that's LSS applicable so I can get my certification sometime soon.

[caption id="attachment_718" align="alignleft" width="300"] Souvenir pic with Mr. Love and my former teammates[/caption]

I Refuse To Let My Blog Die

If it means coughing up a post or two per year, then so be it!

I've always had trouble keeping up with promises on updating my blog, partly, it's because of work, partly because of laziness. The desire is always there, and I have draft posts dancing around in my head, but procrastination always gets the best of me and the desire eventually dies down.

I usually wrap up the year with a recap of what happened, but I won't do that this year. I don't want to play catch up anymore so I'll just put in overdue posts when I can. But 2014 was a pretty good year for me, but I can't wait to see what 2015 has to offer.

And let me just end this post by saying, December 31 is my most hated day of the year... I hate firecrackers, and I mostly spend the day and New Years Eve indoors, and cursing people who fire off firecrackers on our street.

 

Merry Christmas Darlings!

Just a quick note to greet everyone Happy Holidays! :)

Am I Too Old?

Of course not.

But it sure felt like it, when my friends and I dined at Stella last night. :(

I'm going to China this October with some friends and friends of friends, and since we didn't know everyone, we decided to have a China group meet and greet to get to know each other before the trip. We decided to dine at Zong, at the Fort Square (previously Fort Strip), to start off the China experience on the right foot. After a savory and filling dinner, we transferred over to Stella for some Chocolate Almond cookie dough (one of my favorites) and some Vahlrona chocolate cake.

Stella usually has a very laid back ambiance, and targeted for casual dining and family meals. This is in stark contrast with it's neighbor, Rocket Room, their detached bar except for the small hallway that connects the two of them together. Now, I do understand that a bar like Rocket Room would have a different ambiance, music blaring from their speakers at sounds enough to shatter eardrums, it's totally fine since it's a bar. What's not fine was for that same ear-shattering music being played at the Stella side, making it difficult for anyone to carry a conversation without shouting.

I was seriously, seriously disappointed. This was the first time I've ever been to Stella where it felt like the restaurant owners were punishing it's customers by blasting loud music into our ears.

I actually requested one of the waiters to tone it down, since we weren't at Rocket Room, and they did turn off one of the speakers but it didn't help much. That was how loud it was. Even the waiters seemed frazzled by the loud music, and other patrons were obviously not enjoying the aural assault.

What's more disappointing, was that whoever was mixing drinks that night was probably a rookie, because my friend and I ordered the same drink (American in Ipanema), and it couldn't have been more different. The alcohol in my drink was so strong it overpowered other flavors, while Chie's was more fruity and had a better flavor. Maie's Grassy Knoll cocktail originally came out tasting like ginger water, and this was a drink that she used to like a lot. She sent it back, asking for some more lemon, when it returned, it still didn't taste like the normal drink she ordered, so she asked for them to make it again. It was still sub par, but she just stuck with it, figuring it wouldn't get any better.

The noise level became so uncomfortable, we had no choice but to leave early. I felt old.

Stella used to be one of my go-to restaurants, but after this experience, it would be hard to come back, let alone recommend it to my friends. What's the point in separating Rocket Room and Stella and giving them two very distinctive identities if you're just going to turn the entire place into a bar atmosphere anyway? I was so frustrated, disappointed and irritated...I don't ever want to come back.

Mitsuyado Sei-Men: Different, but not to my Liking

In an effort to keep up with my "try a new restaurant every month" goal, I'm always on the lookout for different and new places to try. Granted, I am on a diet, but I pretty much feel that if I don't cheat, I might give up altogether.

So, my sister (and cheating buddy) Tere recommended we try Mitsuyado Sei-Men along Jupiter. I was intrigued because it supposedly served really good tsukemen, which wasn't something I've tried before.

First, the good: I liked the ambiance, it's simple and different from the typical modern Japanese restos, with a "street food" feel to it and service was prompt and courteous.

Unfortunately, that's all I liked.



Again, it's not a ramen house, their specialty is tsukemen or dipping noodles. Basically, you dip noodles in a broth of your choice. I already read the reviews that their ramen was bad, so my sister and I opted to go for the specialties, the double cheese tsukemen and karash tsukemeni as well as their gyoza, which were all highly recommended. The double cheese, for me, tasted odd, and not Japanese at all. You can see in the picture that it was served with a topping of parmesan as well as two dips, a cheese sauce, not unlike the ones you eat with nachos, and a broth that was described as a tonkotsu broth with yuzu (citrus). The noodles, for their part were quite good and tasted fresh and of good quality, but I felt that the cheese sauce actually cheapened that flavor. The broth was a mix of sweet and sour which I really did not enjoy.

My sister's spicy Karashi was marginally better, but not by much, there was an overpowering flavor of (sesame?) oil, and it was a bit too spicy for me . Their gyoza was standard fare and nothing to rave about, I neither liked it nor hated it.

I'm not a fan and won't be coming back.

 

Cheat Score: Totally not worth it.

Where: 22 Jupiter St. Jupiter, Makati, Matro Manila.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen - Rainy Day Comfort at SM Aura Premier

One rainy evening, I convinced my sister to try this newly opened ramen joint in SM Aura.

I ordered the Ajitama tonkotsu ramen and Tere ordered the black garlic tonkotsu. Both arrived promptly which was good because by that time (almost 9pm) I was ravenous.



The noodles were thinner than the normal noodles in other ramen joints. You also have a choice of normal or hard noodles, personally I prefer the hard (al dente) noodles. The ajitama was very flavorful, i loved it, but if you're not fond of eating eggs, stay away from this dish.

Tere's black garlic tonkotsu was a bit too oily for me, and the flavor tasty, but not to my liking. Tere preferred this over my Ajitama though, so I guess it's a matter of preference.

We also got gyoza and it was also very good, probably one of the best I've tried.

We ended the meal with a scoop of sea salt caramel and green tea ice cream, which were both so good and would be reason enough for me to come back.

And since I mentioned I'm on a diet in my last post, I'll be rating the cheat meals I post if they were worth it or not.

Cheat Score: Worth it!

Where: Level 2, SM Aura Premier, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Geekyobserver goes on a diet!

You read right, I'm finally serious about dieting.

I was never thin, but I do know that I was in better shape in the past. I mean that literally as well as figuratively.  This isn't going to be a long post about me feeling the pressure to be thin or to lose weight, or that I felt insecure about myself  or that I got a health scare that is forcing me to rethink my lifestyle. I just simply want to make it public that I am on a diet - I read that this would increase my accountability to the goal.

It's simple, I gained weight in the past because I love to eat and I'm too lazy to exercise and now I want to do something about it.

Two years ago, my older sister lost over 75 pounds in 6 months following the Cohen Lifestyle diet. I was definitely inspired, but wasn't inspired enough to actually follow it. That, plus there was a significant financial investment involved, but I think it was really because I wasn't prepared to go though with it. So, I waited, until I finally decided to start last July 1, 2013.

I still didn't go on Cohen, but I did reapply some of their "rules", nothing that you really can't find out on your own, so I might not have the "prescribed" amount of food that Cohen has, but generally I follow the basic rules of no sugar, no dairy, lean meat and veggies, drinking lots of water, no preserved foods and eating 5 hours apart (to digest the previous meal effectively).

I even break the rules on the no dairy rule but this time I choose non fat or low fat milk. :) This is really because in the Bon Appetit diet, and even in the nutrition seminar I attended, milk is considered as part of a healthy diet.

So, I guess I'm really just following a lower calorie diet, and I'm finding it quite manageable so far.

To date, I've lost 20 pounds since July 1, 2013. I'm targeting to lose another 10 by end of September, but I'm a bit off track on that goal - especially since I do tend to cheat a bit (weekends and holidays). :P

But hey, 20 pounds in 1 1/2 months? I deserve to reward myself a bit for that. :)

Oh, and I found this really good article on lifehack -> 10 Unconventional Diet Tips: How to lose 50 pounds in three months and I do agree with the tips he shared. Granted, I doubt I'll be losing 50 pounds in 3 months, but it's effective nonetheless.

2012 Revisited

Time passes so quickly! It's almost the end of February, so I figured it was the best time to take some time, and look back on the highlights of the past year. Admittedly, this is very much delayed, but here goes. :)

To be honest, 2012 flew by so fast I could barely keep up, probably one of the most highlight-filled years of my life, and probably because I celebrated an important milestone last year, I turned 30!

I started the year on a pretty low note, with a bad viral infection that had me taking antibiotics going into the new year, missing a family reunion and being downright miserable. But it picked up...some highlights:

• Mamma Mia @ the CCP, although I honestly think this could have been staged by Filipinos, it was still a fun musical to watch.


• PBA All Stars Game (DLSU vs ADMU), which La Salle won, btw. :) It was really great seeing the old 4-peat players play against their rivals, especially since those players were the ones I followed while I was still in La Salle.


• Anawim Outreach with the ASAP team, always a good, uplifting experience.


• La Luz sith the ASAP team


• Getting paid for a blog post, hahaha, hopefully won't be the last time.


• Bellarocca with Jeng! Santorini-inspired, and totally relaxing vacation.


• Getting my Asus Transformer!


• Ria and Fen's wedding.


• Forbidden Broadway @ RCBC, very, very funny!


• Rock of Ages @ RCBC, with Mig Ayesa. Total rock-fest, will definitely catch this again in 2013.


• Going back to DLSU to do interviews...first time back after 9 years, and there was a certain sense of accomplishment being there and interviewing soon to be graduates for prospective jobs.


• Diablo 3!


• Watching The Fray in Manila


• Boracay with the Family

and last but definitely not the least, my biggest trip to date, to celebrate my 3 decades of existence, the Rome-UK trip. Thanks to our gracious hosts in Rome, tita Mildred and tito Enrico, and tito Sol, tita Elise and our Manchester hosts, tita Este and tito Tim. Also discovered one of the best tour providers, Expat Explore for our UK excursion. Definitely a separate post needed for this trip, but I still need to find the time to do it.

It wasn't all highs though... one of my cousins, Cathy, succumbed to a rare illness after over a month in the ICU. Rest in peace ate Kels, we'll miss you.

Now, 2 months into 2013, we're faced with new challenges, new highlights.. it's going to be a hell of a ride I'm sure, and I just can't wait to see what 2013 has to offer.

2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge

In an effort to get back into the habit of reading, I took on the Goodreads reading challenge. For the year, I'm challenging myself to read at leas 75 books.

I actually bought a Kindle Paperwhite to help me with this goal. :) I just need to wait for it to be shipped, so for now I'm using the Kindle app on Jarvis (my Asus Transformer pad) until I get Snow, which will be the name of my new Kindle.

I also discovered that Amazon has a Bestseller list that lists down the top 100 Paid and Free e-books. This is a n excellent (and legal) way to score free e-books, or make a note of titles worth purchasing. The list is updated every hour.

Since this discovery, I already downloaded over 35 titles for free and bought around 15 titles from Amazon.com, and I'm expecting to get a lot more in the future.

So really, this 75 book target, should be easy for me. :) I actually wanted to go for a 100, but since I haven't been reading much lately, I decided on a more modest target.

Wish me luck! Happy reading!

Expat Explore - 7 Day Great Britain Tour: Excellent Value for Money!

My older sis Maitz and I went on the Great Britain tour from Oct 3-10, 2012. I was celebrating my 30th birthday on the 9th and I thought what better way to spend it than travelling to places I've never been? So, I was on the lookout for tours and sample itineraries that we could go on, and I found Expat Explore. I was just blown away by how much cheaper it was than other tours, so I did my due diligence, checked out some reviews and booked it right away, months before our scheduled travel date.

We were a bit anxious at the beginning, but we shouldn't have worried. We were picked up at Ibis Greenwich on time, and from the moment we got on the coach, we knew it would be a good trip. When we did our introductions on the coach, almost a third of our group were "repeat customers" of Expat Explore, so we knew we were in good hands. Our tour leader, Paul and our driver Gary, were excellent companions, telling us about the sights, insider tips, places to eat and such, and took us from place to place with great efficiency. The trip was well organized, and it's an excellent way to meet new people.

There are some caveats, because of the number of places to visit, there are times you feel rushed, but I think what's good about the tour is that you get to "sample" the places and then you can decide which ones to go back to at a more leisurely pace. With the price, we were prepared to stay in small inns/B&Bs, but surprisingly our accommodations were quite decent, with Holiday Inn, Premier Inn, Ibis and Caledonian hotel. Hotel locations were good too, especially the Premier Inn in Cardiff and the Holiday Inn in Edinburgh. We were also pleasantly surprised that we had full English breakfasts all the way, and there were even some dinners included in the cost of the tour, and we also had great walking tours from local guides and got to ride a punt in Cambridge. Really, really excellent value for money, so I will not hesitate to recommend this to others, and am already saving up for the 17 day Western Europe tour. :)

Expat Explore Great Britain Tour
Day 1: London – Cambridge – York
Day 2: Hadrian’s Wall – Jedburgh – Scottish Borders – Edinburgh
Day 3: Edinburgh (Free Day)
Day 4: Edinburgh – Inverness – Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle – Scottish Highlands
Day 5: Highlands – Loch Lomond – Liverpool
Day 6: Liverpool – Stratford – Upon-Avon – Wales
Day 7: Wales – Bath – Stonehenge - London

I Need A Breather!

Yeah, I get tired too.

Every once in a while. work just gets on my nerves and I feel like everything just keeps going wrong and things are beyond my control.

And if you still haven't noticed by now, things that I can't control, tend to upset me.

Yeah, I'm upset.

The only thing that keeps me going now is that I know I've been through worse, and I know it will get better soon.