The Female Grinch

Meet the Christmas Grinch. Yup, that's me.

For some reason, I haven't been able get myself to feel the hustle and bustle of the season these past few years. For the past two years, we didn't have a tree up at home.  Our old one just up and died on us.  So it was old and it was a hand-me-down tree from my late father-in-law.  It had to go sometime or the other.  We've justified that since we always spend Christmas in Manila with family, there's no reason for us to spend on decorating the house. We did put up one this year because a friend (ne, you know who you are) told me that I don't seem like a "Chrismas-y" person. This, of course, I vehemently denied. But somehow, I know, that she did see through me. Hence, the tree. And the Belen, the snowmen candle holders, the candy cane candles, the wreaths and all the other decors were resurrected out of storage.

 Is it probably because I'm not a kid anymore? When I was small, I did so look forward to Santa's visit. We didn't have much back then, so finding an apple and candies on the socks I hung on Christmas Eve brought me so much joy. That's right - an apple. They were extremely expensive then so a bite of this once-a-year treat was like a taste of heaven. Ah, to be a child again....

Or maybe it's because, with just 9 days to go before Christmas Day, there's just too much stuff going on, so much to do in so little time.  And by the time Christmas Eve is upon me, I already feel like I'm a pressure cooker blowing my top off and just about to burst. Not to mention wallet-fatigue.  My crisp bills just seem to fly out of my wallet!  

Here's my Christmas checklist:

• Christmas cards sent - NONE. I've decided to go green this year not just to save the environment, but also if I send them now, they'll just be in time for Valentine's. So I might as well send Valentine's cards now.
• Gifts bought - 7
• Gifts still to be bought - ENDLESS LIST!!! I haven't even bought any for my immediate family members yet, so if they read this, I'm sure they will be dismayed (haha!)
• Outfits for upcoming parties - I might as well go vintage, so my closet will be taking a beating from all the rummaging I will be doing since I can't fit in shopping in the next few days.
• E-card with family picture in our Christmas coordinated outfits - see preceding # in the list. I've somehow thought of this crazy idea of doing the coordinated outfits this year, but it's not just gonna happen. And they probably won't - ever.
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The two dots are reserved spaces for some of the things that are escaping me right now. The few that I've mentioned above, I just skimmed them off the top of my head.

When I look at my situation right now, i know this is another Déjà vu.  Oh, wait! Exactly the same thing happened to me last year...and the couple of years before!!! Though this year is more harried because I was even able to send some cards before.  Work has probably been ten-fold this year. It's not much of an excuse, but oh, well, at least I still have one (harhar).

So to avoid getting into the same pit bog again next year, I'll start to work on boosting my Christmas spirit (and my Christmas Fund) right at the dot when the new year is ushered in.   Nobody needs a Grinch in their lives.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The Beijing Sojourn

I am terribly scared of flying.  I hyperventilate, my feet sweat, I have a bum stomach days before the event and I even sometimes get sick. Last month I went on another mid-range flight with hubby, Jove, friends Milet and Lyndon and three other friends of Milet - Carrie, Jann & Heath, whom I met for the first time.  Carrie's husband joined us the day after. You could just imagine the pre-flight jitters I was experiencing.  Surprisingly, the flight from Iloilo, all they way to Beijing, was, in my anticipated-nervous stage, smooth.  We were a cozy bunch =)

The freezing air greeted us when we got out of the airport.  Well, freezing for me. Our guide, a petite lady was named Mary. She was quite chatty, considering that it was already way past midnight. Oh, and persistent, too.  We’ve already pre-booked her for a few tours and she was trying to sell us a couple more.  I have to give her credit, though. She was good at what she was trained to do.  In the end, common sense prevailed and we were able to refuse her offers.  Make that, we made Milet refuse her offers haha!

Please be warned that this post won't be a great source of travel information if you plan on  checking in at Beijing any time soon.  It’ll be mostly a peep into my insights on this trip.

My first impression of Beijing was that the whole city looks so sterile. Its like a mountain of detergent was drizzled over it.  I wondered then if people ever have fun there he he!  Do they ever let their hair down and dance like crazy to the tune of “Dancing Queen”?  The sterile impression was probably a combination of the nippy air and the bright sun. We probably just came at a good time. Where was all the smog and dust that has been reported to fill up every nook and cranny of Beijing? But I can’t get over how clean the place is.  A dream for OC people. It somehow made me think that even the government has this supreme control even on inanimate objects.  The litter practically cower in f—r.

The next morning, we were left to our own devices.  Weather was perfect.  Nice day for a walk in the nearby streets from our hotel. We were smack right in the middle of Beijing, a stone’s throw away from the Forbidden City! One alley proved to be fascinating. It was selling all kinds of Chinese delicacies – scorpions of different species, beetles, lizards, cow innards, side-by-side with candied fruits. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. Good thing we had a full breakfast or I would have been tempted. Yeah, right.

After long hours of walking and taking in the sights the whole day, dinnertime was always something I looked forward to there. We always did hurried lunches so a long and indulgent meal at night was a downright treat for me.  It has to be a restaurant that offers Peking duck because that was what everybody was asking for. Save for me, that is. I don’t eat duck.  Whaaat?!?  I’m in China and I’m not even the slightest bit hungering for DUCK? Yup, you got that right.  The  Peking Duck Café (I hope I got the name right, it was written in Chinese, you see).  The resto’s menu book was a treasure trove.  See my favorite below. I’m practically laughing my head off inside my head.  It’s so, so funny!

Due to hunger, we ordered a ten-course dinner.  Gutom-mata, in other words.  We were bloated by the 7th course. Oh, and in China, rice is usually served towards to end.  The servers probably thought we were a crazy bunch to demand that rice be served by the second course.  The dinners that followed the succeeding days were quite decadent, too, but none measured up to the Peking Duck Café.

There’s a lot more I’d like to share here but they will have to wait ‘til my next post. Ciao!

Getting Started

I have long since wanted to start blogging. Well, originally, it was writing a novel that I really wanted to get going. Although that sounds a bit far-fetched for now. And overly ambitious, to say the least.  I’ve been thinking, I’m leading a fairly boring life and probably nobody would be interested in what I have to say.  But then again, if I would enjoy doing this and enjoy reading what I would be writing here, that wouldn’t be so bad at all.  I just might unleash all those dormant talents I have within me, right?  And I sometimes have a distorted way of looking at things, which just might seem fascinating to others. I’m now into my first post and I’m giddy with excitement! So here goes…..