wednesday wishes: postcard project

For several Wednesdays (though I'll admit, not as many as I'd like), I've been fantasizing about seeing different parts of the world - from a more in-depth look at Warszawa to Ireland to Antigua to across Canada, and more. Though sometimes it's hard to truly get your feet off the ground and explore somewhere new (darn responsibilities), there are certain things that can make you feel like you've been somewhere else, even if you've never stepped foot there. 

One main thing for me? Postcards. I've been collecting postcards for the past two years and feel as though I've been in Singapore, Netherlands, Mauritius, Cambodia, Hungary. And I thought - hey, so many bloggers here are from around the world! Why not unite us - off the Internet - with some postcards? And although this kind of thing has probably been done before, this was born:

What's this all about, you might be asking?

• Leave a comment (or e-mail me) with a message that contains Your Name, Your E-mail, Your Country, and Any Preference? - if there's a continent or any specific country you'd love to have a postcard from, list it - hopefully we can make it happen, cap'n. And under 'any preference' you can list if you want a silly-ish postcard (if you don't list anything, I'll assume you want a postcard that is country-related!). Example:

•  Your Name: Nikolett
  Your E-mail: betterthancoffee@gmail.com
  Your Country: Oh, Canada!
  Any Preference?: Anywhere around the world!
  
  
• I'll e-mail you back and ask for a bit more info (address-related), and make up a list (I'll be checking it twice; and the only ones who will see your address are me and the postcard-sender/receiver).
• I will pair you all up randomly (unless there's a specific preference that I'll try to fulfill - just depends on how many participate!) and send an e-mail to both of you by Thursday, July 8th - so you have about a week to sign up!
• Then, try to have the postcard sent out to the person by Thursday, July 16th - gives you a week to get the postcard, write it out, and send it out! Then just wait and enjoy the postcard :)

I thought this would be a really neat way to connect with each other; plus, postcards aren't too expensive (and if you want to make your own, by all means go for it!) since I didn't want to make a project that would break the bank.

Depending on how many of you sign up (i.e., if there's quite a few), I'll try to pair you up twice so you send two postcards out and get two postcards back. And, on the flipside (i.e., if there's less of you signing up), I'm going to try my best to send out a postcard to everyone who signs up - I'll let you know if this will happen in about a week. That way you're getting a postcard from Canada whether you like it or not, bwahahaha.

If you want to spread the word and make it so you're paired up twice, you can put one of these buttons on your blog!

275px - for code, use this:

<a href="http://better-than-coffee.blogspot.com/2010/06/wednesday-wishes-postcard-project.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt222/betterthancoffee/postcardproject_275px.jpg" border="0" alt="Postcard Project"></a>

175px - for code, use this:

<a href="http://better-than-coffee.blogspot.com/2010/06/wednesday-wishes-postcard-project.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt222/betterthancoffee/postcardproject_175px.jpg" border="0" alt="Postcard Project"></a>

If anything is unclear or you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask :) It'd be crazy to see how many people across the globe we can unite through a postcard! Hope you're interested and I hope you have an amazing rest of the week!

home is wherever ...

I have a confession to make: I adore unbelievably cheesy films like Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (me and my mom watched this week and we both cried at the end) and Where the Heart Is ... they always get me thinking about the concept of home. 

home; noun, adjective, adverb, verb

the place in which one's domestic affections are centered -

deep; to the heart -

Home is where your history begins. Home is where they catch you when you fall. ("Where The Heart Is")

From the time I was born until the age of seven, I lived in an apartment building. The most familiar memories I have there are getting trapped in an elevator when I was four (my first most vivid memory of life), going over to my friends' apartment two doors down without my parents knowing and then having them assume that I ran away from home (the punishment was in the form of a heavy-duty spanking), getting a third-degree burn/scar from chicken noodle soup and going crazy in the jungle gym and swimming pool. 

Then, I moved from that apartment to the townhouse where I've lived ever since. Not a really long list there, is it? But I've found the word "home" can't be restricted to just one single definition of where you have lived and now live. For all the nomads, that would be quite a list. And for all those living away from their 'original' home, who's to say that where they are now isn't their own home, and that it deserves attention too? 

I place the meaning of 'home' into situations, into memories, into people, into locations where I just felt at home - comfortable, at ease, having the ability to be my complete weirdo self. Home doesn't have to be where your family is; and sometimes people who aren't related to you by blood can feel more ike a family than those who are actually related to you. Home doesn't have to be that little box-sized place you had to live in for a while in your twenties; home can be that park nearby that box-sized place that you loved to walk through everyday.

So here's a list of things that feel like home to me:

 01. Being with friends

In a way, we're homes for each other - we store memories, secrets, inside jokes. No matter where we happen to be, I always feel right at home when I'm with my closest friends.

 02. Being in his arms

Ah yes, cheesiness :) Even if he's pretending to drop me into a lake, whenever I'm in his arms I feel safe, loved. Just like natural disasters have an unfortunate tendency to destroy people's homes, sometimes I'm afraid that something will happen and I'll never get a chance to be in his arms again; but I try not to focus on that fear too much. (That analogy probably didn't come across too well, did it.)

 03. Surrounded by nature

If I see an insect anywhere near me, I will probably twitch like crazy and head in the opposite direction; but aside from that, I love the idea of plopping down on a blanket in the middle of a park with a picnic and just enjoying the greenery around me. I love sitting on a farm (with plenty of bug spray) and watching the sunset and the array of stars come out in the darkness. I feel this immediate calm that I sometimes can't get from my own 'real' home. {above picture from here}

 04. My actual house

Fortunately, my backyard has a beautiful garden that my mom has created over the years, and when I need a  moments' rest from the hecticness indoors, I come outside and just stare at all the prettiness. My home is madness sometimes, but there are the good moments - having an adorable dog that keeps us quiet since he gets scared when there's too many loud noises, having a TV that has ESPN on it so me and my father can bond over the Fifa World Cup (go Germany, England, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal! ... yes, I root for five teams), and a tiny kitchen where only one person can be at a time but where delicious meals are created.

 05. Poland 

It makes me sad to think that I've only really spent two weeks in the country my parents are from, the country where my entire extended family live (except for one of my uncles, but we don't really talk about him too much). But in those two weeks in 2008, where I met my grandma for the first time, where I met all my cousins for the first time, I felt this deep sense of home in places I had never seen before. The only reason I felt homesick on that trip is because it was a pain in the arse to translate everything from English to Polish; aside from that, it felt like home to me.

06. Reading (don't worry, I read more than Harry Potter)

 

I could be in the middle of nowhere, but if I see a passerby with a Harry Potter novel or see a novel in a passing store, I immediately feel at home. I grew up with these novels and you can call it Harry Pothead or whatever you'd like, but I have such a deep connection with them ... so much so, that I've read the first four books at least a dozen times each. My favourite one? The Prisoner of Azkaban, tru fax.

07. Whenever I'm on a road trip

Even when I'm in a moving vehicle ... yeah, it might sound extreme (or not), but if I'm in a car with people I genuinely like being with and heading out on some random adventure, I feel at home - a spontaneous kind of home where anything can happen, with tons of sights to be seen. I have a tendency to shout out "ROAD TRIP!" when we take an alternate route in our own city ... that's how much I love 'em.

 08. On the phone with my sister

Without stopping, it would take 1 day and 20 hours just to drive to where my sister lives now. But whenever she calls me up randomly just to chat or with a problemo, it feels like she's right there in the same city - especially when we talk for 1+ hours (I hope I'm not murdering your phone bill). She might not actually live with me, but she's my lovely, stylish piece of home that I cherish. Oh, and that above picture is also from Poland with my dad and grandmother joining in on my sudden obsession with European telephone booths.

 09. In bed / On the computer / Music
(note: I wish that^ was my bed, but unfortunately it's not; I don't even have own an iPod hehe. But if you want to see a room tour, it's perfect inspiration for me to clean up :D)

A three-way tie on this one, since I usually like to do all three of these activities at once, hehe. Even if it's a friends' house and they invite me to sit on their bed to chat and browse Youtube vids, I'll feel right at home. And even though the Internet is this huge place with a gazillion bajillion websites, I feel at home when I connect with people from across the world - and I can't wait for the day where I can meet at least a handul of you. Oh, and any place with good music playing is automatically home for me - especially if it's a guitar jam. {above picture from here}

10. Wherever I have a coffee

Yes, even on a city bus like the picture above (and yes, I am a loser who takes a picture of myself enjoying a coffee while sitting at the back of a city bus ... it was a long day). If I have a coffee with me, I'll immediately want to be in that location for at least twenty minutes longer than I usually would just to enjoy the yumminess.

So this was the sentimental version of things that feel like home to me and you know I have to ask: 

What does 'home' mean to you?

And what are your plans this weekend?

My plans are pretty weather-dependant and the best (not!) website, weathernetwork.ca, is reporting showers all weekend so if anything ... I'll be a blog-happy person this weekend. Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

and you may ask yourself ...

What the heck have I been up to that I only post an average of once per week? I wish I could tell you I was off on some Hawaiian vacation (hope you've had a blast, Mayra!), but I guess going to the beach is close enough, right? And I wish I could tell you that it's been a ridiculously happy week, but planning your funeral  (for a class!) is no easy task. Sitting there, thinking about your body in some coffin while people say goodbye? Well, it causes me to get way overemotional, so all I've wanted to do is surround myself with friends and be alive.

By the way, if you're wondering, my funeral is going to have a closed casket, shots of strawberry-kiwi juice with vodka, and a eulogy that refers to my dead body in the present tense because I can't bear people thinking of me in the past tense. A+ coming my way? 

Awkward segway is awkward. But I'm switching gears to talk about this blog. The truth is, I'm at a bit of a standstill right here. Everything is kind of up in the air, and there's nothing wrong with that. I want to give this place a makeover, but other priorities come first. I want to know what keeps you coming here, but know that I'll always be myself through every post I write. 

I think right now I just need to take a few steps back but that doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. No siree bob. I'll be trying to post as much as I can with no particular themes in mind. At the tender age of twenty-one, I've come to realize who I am in all of my craziness but I still have trouble finding my 'writing voice'. I think years of fan-fiction has impaired that voice significantly (but if you're ever in the mood for some Harry Potter fanfiction, I'm your girl). Anyhoos, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this but I just hope you can bear with me and I want you to know how much I appreciate you all, connecting with you, and having you here to read my nonsense. :)

And now, a little recap of how I spent my friend's birthday before I head off to celebrate Father's Day! :)

Headed to the beach, where the waters looked tropical.

Took some pictures with The Boy :)

I can haz cheezburger & Greek pasta salad?

Sought shelter under a tree (unsuccessfully) and then underneath a Filipino hammock with three other ladies (successfully) when the sky turned to this and a huge rainstorm came!

Took some silly pictures once the rain cleared up (the birthday girl is underneath my head hehe).

 Posed with my amazing friend while wearing the skirt I won thanks to the BonBon Rose Girls (and Ruche)! Thank youuuu so much :)

Pretended we were the cast of Friends on vacation (I pick Chandler!).

Made a campfire and nom nom nom'ed on a s'more.

 And then took a gazillion pictures of the rainbow that came after the storm.

And here comes the inevitably cheesy message that there's always beauty after a storm, just like there's usually happy moments that come after a downpour of bad times. So I hope you're all happy, or will get to be happy soon :)

What have you been thinking about lately?

And what keeps you happy? :)

Hope you've had a great weekend!

what I value (ba da ba ba ba)

The week has arrived - my "plan your own funeral" project for my summer class is due this week (which means my class is coming to an end this week and I'm thoroughly thrilled for that). Only thing is? I haven't started it. I've had a little too much fun this weekend involving a barbeque/drinkfest at The Boy's place, and then two Filipino graduation parties (i.e. delicious food, precious times with family, and karaoke galore).

Not to mention, the Fifa World Cup has started and even though Poland didn't make it, I'm still watching it like crazy and rooting for my favourite teams - namely: Spain, Germany, and England (despite their mishap).

The main point of this project, I've found, is to reflect on how your funeral choices speak about what you value most in life. The word 'value' seems to be tossed around so easily these days - "value meals" at McDonald's (blergh), getting 5% off some furniture is apparently a big value, the value of a dollar ... annnnd, I've reached the point where 'value' no longer looks like a real word (I hate when that happens).

So now, onto some things that I value, in no particular order, so I can get a better handle on my 'funerary choices' (and err, if you can think of any choices for a funeral based on what I value, let me know por favore)!

Having people around me that I can trust and who put their trust in me; to have people count on me makes me feel honoured and makes me hope that I never let them down.

Every single one of you that I've had the pleasure of "meeting" online; whether it's reading your posts, writing to you, reading your comments that make me laugh and make me want to start a scrapbook of blogging adventures; it all means so much to me.

DELICIOUS BUBBLE TEA! ... and food, in general; especially while having quality time with someone.

My health; trying to treat my body as best as I can.

My family. Having been to two Filipino parties this weekend, my close friends were surrounded by family. My sister now lives on the other side of the country and my extended family are half-way across the world - I miss them so much and am                 blessed with any moments I get to have with them.

My friends. Those lovely people that have become my family when I've had no one else; ones I can talk to about anything; ones that don't mind my craziness with taking tons of photos.

Group photo at The Boy's barbeque party shindig :)

Having the opportunity to do things in my life; sometimes it's too easy to take things for granted, but I try not to.

A boyfriend who refuses to let me buy Tim Horton's coffee  in the morning - because he's going to make me a coffee instead :)

The ability to smell fresh strawberries, hear a symphony of violins (this sounds so cheesy), hug someone I love, taste a delicious meal, and see a beautiful view.

Having a Dad who, when commenting on fouls in the World Cup, says, "Sometimes it happens accidentally, other times it's international." Me: "You mean, intentional?" 

Memories; whether the memories are good or bad, being able to observe and learn from the past and reflect on the happy times as well as the difficult moments.

Cuddling with my dog, Shadow. Only thing that's better than cuddling with him is cuddling with The Boy haha.

And I've found I can go on and on, but I'll stop for now. The only choices I've really made so far are: a) when people go to the coffin (which I think I might want closed), they will take a shot of strawberry kiwi juice since that's my favourite drink of all time (OF ALL TIME!); b) instead of just some portrait of me near my casket, I'd want a collage of photos with people I love; c) umm ... more of a happy service than a sad one, methinks.

Okay, this post is officially morbid. But once the planning is through (and hopefully these plans won't become a reality for a long long time *knocks on wood*) and the class is done, I'll have more time for present things, yipee! Finishing this class is kind of my simple smile of the week, though I'll miss seeing my friend twice a week!

What's your simple smile of the week?

And what do you value? :)

a piece of me in june

This month...

I like that I'm starting to have more freedom and relaxation (err, most of the time). Just a couple of days ago I officially graduated from university, diploma and all (of course, my parents are mad that my middle name was omitted from my diploma so I'll have to get a new one, but that's a whole other story). Even though I'm coming back to school for a 1/2 year to do a minor in another subject, it feels good to have accomplished something.

Part of a speech given, which I thought was great given my previous aspiration to be a poet:

"It's a cliché that you should figure out what you love and then figure out how to make a living out of it but it is absolutely true. If you go to work on Monday and you like your job, it doesn't matter how much money you're making - you've won the lotto. Unless, of course, you want to be a poet and that's kind of ridiculous - you'll have to do that on the weekends and get a real job."

Oh, and I didn't trip or fall while crossing the stage, so - go, me! And thanks to everyone who wishes me a happy graduation day :)

Me walking on stage and there's me and The Boy :)

With some fellow graduates :)

My mother and I at the reception.

With The Boy on the left and unexpected gifts from my parents on the right :)

I don't like that on a day of festivity, I got into one of the biggest arguments with my dad because they preferred to go out for a smoke rather than take a picture with me before I returned my gown (which meant no picture with my parents). It resulted in two full days of bickering that I would have rather done without. 

I want you to know that I'm really looking forward to the rest of this month - just in the past week I've gone to Canada's Wonderland and graduated and there's a lot more planned birthday-wise and get-together wise that I'm psyched about. Canada's Wonderland was amazingly fun - full of rides, eating, and my friends braving the SkyFlyer and being lifted and dropped hundreds of feet into the air! Such a fun day even though I was ridiculously sunburnt.

 In front of the fountains and the mountain and the ... I don't know what else rhymes with those words.

The Drop Zone and a delicious funnel cake my friend shared with us :)

I've planned on doing a lot of designing and website-tweaking over the next few weeks, as well as start and complete my final project for my class ... and to try to have a lot of enjoyable days, too.

I want to say to someone special all my friends graduating - congratulations! And to another - I'm glad I got to meet you.

Sorry I've been a little out of it, but know that I love reading each and every one of your comments and love connected with you all - I'll be back at it soon! 

What do you have planned this month?

And how's your hump day going? ;)

my week in a nutshell

Here's what I've been up to in the last week, with the moments divided up into lists of the 'good' and the 'not-so-good', or just plain weird. Hope you've all been doing well!

ROMANTIC: Cuddled up in bed with The Boy and watching Buffy, and at that moment where you see Buffy and Angel kiss, I feel a pair of lips pressed to my arm and I smile, thinking that he's kissing my arm. 

NOT-SO-ROMANTIC: Realizing that it's not exactly a kiss but him drooling on my arm because he's fallen asleep since we're watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer at 1am. 

COOL: Sitting on the bus after my night class test on the way to my boyfriend's place to celebrate his birthday (yay, happy birthday!) and it's all dark and I'm on the verge of spacing out when I see this bright light strike my eyes that's coming from the other end of the bus and I think maybe I'm about to have a wicked daydream.

NOT-SO-COOL: Realizing that 'bright light' is in fact a woman (I'm still unable to guess her age) who had the bleachiest blonde hair I've ever seen which contrasted with her wrinkly tanned skin and her black/sparkly Ed Hardy shirt (I'm not even kidding). Her hair was blinding.

YAY FAMILY MOMENT: Eating breakfast and then my Dad comes downstairs and goes, "Good morning!" (Seriously, this is a yay family moment.)

NOT-SO-YAY FAMILY MOMENT: Getting up to clean dishes and then Dad proceeds into a lecture about where to place towels in the bathroom when I'm taking a shower ... blergh.

YES, I'M WEIRD: Both on Saturday and Tuesday at two different friends' houses, the first beverage I ask for if they ask me if I'm thirsty is milk. I've always been a milk drinker. 

YES, IT GETS WEIRDER: So my friend gave me a glass of milk and I chugged it in less than twenty seconds. She looked up and went, "You're already finished?" and then asked if I wanted a refill ... I made sure to drink that second glass slowly so I wouldn't rid her of all her milk.

PRIORITIES: My midterm is finally done and so this month will be full of planning my funeral (a project for my night class) and designing a site for Kym, aka herrohachi, whoop!

"SHE NEEDS TO SORT OUT HER PRIORITIES": I'm graduating this upcoming Monday afternoon but all I can think about is going to Canada's Wonderland on Saturday and riding the rollercoasters and hope that there's no rain so we can go on as many rides as possible.

And now, for a list of places I'd like to be today rather than go to night class:

(consider this my Wednesday Wishes on a Thursday haha)

Any of these places. Let's also add Poland, Vancouver, Hungary, Indonesia, and Philippines to that list! {picture via here}

Stopping to smell the gorgeous flowers. {image via here}

Or maybe just going back to sleep so I can continue that dream with the Supernatural brothers (it was ridiculously odd though and involved them getting diseases, but no matter). {via here}

Or having a sweet backyard office called an archipod to do some designing in. {more info here}

More than anything, I want to dip my feet into the water and run around with my friends while watching the sunset. {photo via here}

Where would you rather be right now? 

Remember to be happy where you are, though!

I was really surprised to see I wasn't alone on my views about teenagers - it's weird because, although when I look back now I know I was a crazy teenage lady, but I grew from it (for the most part), and I guess I just fear teenagers nowadays won't learn? I dunno (ahh Manju, us and our 'i dunno' phrase haha).

Ah, I can't wait for the weekend. I have a feeling this month is going to go by as fast as May did and that worries me in a way, but I know I have lots to look forward to ... and hopefully a trip to Europe by the time August rolls around! Hope you all have a great Thursday!