the road goes ever on...

It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to. 

- "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"

I'm definitely embracing my nerdy side by starting this blog post off with a Lord of the Rings quote. But lately, that road that goes ever on and on has been on my mind (and now I want to do an extended version Lord of the Rings marathon. Anyone want to join in?). 

Friday marked my last day of teachers college, while Thursday was my last day of student teaching ... and my last day of teaching in God knows how long, since the margin for job openings are rather slim nowadays. There's this kind of aching in my heart now to get back into the classroom, even if it is a stuffed sardine portable with 31 students with inexhaustible  energy.

After two months with these grade 5s, it was on my last day that true personalities came out; I really saw transformations in my students, and the shy ones finally let loose and made me smile with their sweet cards and gifts. The best gift? A tissue-paper made purse that had "Channel" written on it!! I know I'm going to go back to visit them, since that school has kind of become my third home (my first and second homes being my own & The Boy's). I learned so much from my associate teacher and it was an experience that really confirmed that I want to be a teacher, even with the challenges and job shortages. 

Now, after a weekend of catch-up and relaxation ... the street that I'm on is Where Next Boulevard. I'm trying not to fret or panic even though everything right now is so unknown to me; instead I'm just going to try my best. Update my résumé, get my references and reference letters together, and apply to as many places as possible.

And in the meantime, find some kind of part-time job, keep going with my graphics/webdesign, look forward to the birth of  my nephew in less than two weeks(!!!), and enjoy life as best as I can.

Yesterday was definitely a good way to start off enjoying life! Me and my four best friends (one I've known since I was 7, the rest I met in my first few years of high school) finally reunited after months and months. That time of being able to catch-up over shopping and Filipino cuisine makes me feel so happy to have them in my life, and truly blessed. 

And the leftover pancit doesn't hurt, either! Here's a few pictures from yesterday and a little collage of my last week of student teaching:

I  ♥ these ladies.

At Max's of Manila; sadly not in Manila, but in Toronto.

I had a quarter of chicken, pancit canton, and garlic rice, followed by a hearty serving of the traditional dessert, halo-halo!

(1) Owl goodie bags for my students that said "Owl miss you" on the back (embracing both my nerdy and cheesy sides in this blog post!)

(2) A few samples of the art lesson for Ancient Greek pottery 

(3) The last day of class full of cards and a chalkboard adorned with "Don't go!" messages

(4) And the classic "Bump It Up" wall of a flower blooming.

My next week is all planned out: a dinner with teachers college classmates as a 'last farewell' (before our grad on June 6), heading to the gym and library as often as I can for working out and getting applications finished, seeing The Boy and catching up with friends, and then ...

Who knows? I know where I want my path to take me, but the road is unpredictable and I have no idea where it'll sweep me off to. All I know is that I want to go to B.C. in August and hopefully get a job sometime soon! Fingers crossed, please! :)

How have you spent your weekend?

How do you deal with the unknown?

Hope you had a great weekend!

that's amore

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say, I really do love the weekends. Especially the long ones. Easter seemed to come and go in a flash, leaving behind great memories of having a bash/"ta ta for now" party for my friend as she goes to Africa for a month, having The Boy come over for Easter dinner with accordion in hand (and my dad playing a few awesome tunes) and a bunny coming to watch us in the backyard, and going out for coffee with one of my best friends at one of the only places open on an Easter Sunday: McDonald's.

This past weekend I embraced my inner zebra with a striped top (that I had just bought a couple of hours earlier) for a wildlife-themed birthday party where I had way too many jaggerbombs but had a blast dancing the night away. 

So before I get into what I really wanted to talk about, here's a little peak at what I've been up to the last couple of weeks (and, um, where the heck did April go?!): 

Admiring Nature: The top row are from my walks back from the gym, and the bottoms two are from a camp we went to as a field trip for the grade 5s. One student said they should "tear the forest down and build a shopping mall" which almost made me weep for humanity, so instead I looked at the lake.

Simple Smiles: In the form of a "congratulations" card from my students on my evaluation day from my faculty advisor (I received a perfect score!), Second Cup for a caffeine fix, a surprise gift from Taiwan in the shape of Taiwan from my dear friend, and pizza ... because pizza is the best.

Easter Weekend!

Rawr! Yes, most of my friends are Asian.

And some silly pics :)

And while I spent half the Saturday in supreme hangover mode, it was Saturday night that brought along the most thoughts ... we spent the evening at another couple's house and got onto a conversation about how we hope that, when we're our parents age (45+), we'll still be in love as when we are now. I look at my parents, who still have such affection for each other after all these years, and hope I'll be the same way. 

While one friend remarked that he would always treat his lady as a princess and give her everything she wants, it got me to thinking about the way I love, and the way I want to be loved. 

When I think about my relationship with The Boy, he treats me with that chivalry from ages past and I am so grateful for that. But when it really comes down to it, I cherish our relationship because we try to treat each other as equals. My feelings for him go deep; I need to give him the love he needs, and I hope he needs and wants to give me the love that I need. I never want to have him suffer to make me happy, just like he shouldn't expect me to suffer hardships to make him happy. If that makes any sense. 

In essence, it's about those small gestures. I'm all about the simple smiles, and while flowers and chocolates and diamonds may be nice, I cherish those smaller things that can be done on a daily basis, almost effortlessly. A squeeze of a hand, a post-it note or text message to say "I love you", cooking a favourite meal. That's the way I love. 

Lately I keep hearing about the 5 Love Languages, so I took the test, and lo and behold, it's physical touch. So, if we ever meet in real life, prepare for a tight hug to show you I care. But it also goes beyond that; I'm not the perfect girlfriend or perfect friend, but I try my best to show someone that I'm willing to go the extra mile for them, because, as L'Oreal puts it, they're worth it. And I am so grateful to have their love in my life.

What's the way you love?

How do you want to be loved? 

Hope you're not having a case of the Mondays/Tuesdays like I am,

and hope there's sunshine wherever you are right now!