a piece of me in august

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those months where, at the end of it, you just think, "Huh ... where did that month just go?" I also have a feeling it's going to be an emotional next few weeks for me. But onto the little survey that I've tried (and failed) to do each month!

I like ... that I'm going to Vancouver tomorrow for a fortnight! My flight leaves in the afternoon (EDT) so wish me luck that I land safely -- twice actually, since I have a stopover in Calgary! I'm so excited to see my sister after almost a year apart. And I like that I'll be meeting Kym later on this week! :D I also like that my birthday is coming up (last day of August) even if turning older makes me feel a little err ... old.

I don't like ... that tomorrow will be my last day with Shadow. I'll miss you so much buddy. And I don't like that I'll be spending two weeks without seeing The Boy; times like these I'm grateful for things like MSN and telephones (sorry I can not hear you, I'm k-kinda busy)!

I want you to know ... how relieved I am to be finished work. As much as I love my co-workers, this was the worst month in that office at summer school due to the principal. In a nutshell, we compared the place to the situation in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where the principal was Umbridge. Her parting gifts to us on the last day: a pack of gum, a blue pen (and I'm a black ink writer all the way), a chocolate bar, and a Tim Hortons' gift card (the only part I can appreciate). 

I've planned ... to stay strong during this month despite the ups and downs, the confusions regarding my future educational-wise and thinking about how much emptier my house will be without that loveable pup. Oh, and on a more positive note, I've planned to take A GAZILLION photos while I'm in Vancouver AND I'm bringing my laptop so that way I'll have more frequent blogs about my travels!

I want to say to someone special ... I'll miss you.

And now here's some pictures of my long weekend - Friday was spent celebrating the last day of work with a staff mass and a catered lunch, Saturday was spent having an awesome-food/what-the-eff-is-this-movie night (Memento = great, The Return = WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS MOVIE NEVER SEE IT), and then Sunday and today were spent having quality time with Shadow and with The Boy, exploring waterfalls and then having a barbeque. All in all, a good way to spend a weekend in Ontario before jetting off to British Columbia!

Signs like this kept us sane. Srsly. Dumbledore = old awesome principal. Umbridge = new crazy principal. McGonagull = our awesome vice principal. And me and my co-workers are Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

A group photo with my amazing girlfriends on our movie night :)

Two hikers in front of a waterfall :)

Now, I have to ask:

What do you have planned for August?

Me -- well, I've already explained above but in a nutshell it's to spend as much time with loved ones as possible, and to write a lot more blogs posts! Hope you all had a great weekend!

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? ;)

a piece of me + easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Whether you celebrate it or not, I still hope you have an amazing day. While I confess to eating lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies, this day is really all about celebration for me and my family and a reminder of our faith. I hope you have an amazing Easter Sunday :)

And on that note, I'm taking part in something the lovely Toothfairy started (and I hope you're doing okay, lady!) and that is ... A Piece of Me on the first Sunday of every month. So here goes!

This month....

I like: that school is finally winding down, that it's only been the first week of April and I've already gotten the chance to catch-up with people I love to be with, and that the weather is starting to feel like spring!

I don't like: that my multimedia thesis is due this Thursday. Gah, where did the time go?! *must work on it*

I want you to know: that I'm finally gotten the answer to one plan, and the back-up plan is already in order (makes it sound like the J.lo movie ... but I swear it's education-related, not baby-related, thank goodness).

I've planned: to take this time to stop worrying so much ... and to read all the American Lit books I still haven't read yet since my first exam is this Saturday, gah! And I've planned to start planning out my summer :)

I want to say to someone special: Don't be so hard on yourself, you're amazing and I want you to feel better. Annnd to another: I love you. 

Now, here's a little recap of pictures from my weekend so far :) I don't have any pictures of the eggs or our basket so far but these are mostly from a little BBQ this weekend (my first of the year + my meal for me and The Boy) and then an outing with friends before we headed back to one of their houses to go on ....

.. Chat Roulette. Let me just say, that place is simultaneously hilarious and creepy! We ended up finding a bunch of hats and having a 'hat party' which made some laugh and others just switch automatically. But then we kept a "hat party tally" and tried to get the other person/people to put on a hat ... I think we got about five (score!). There was one guy from southern California that was fun to talk to, two guys from the Netherlands who put on a magic show for us (so ridiculous!) and a boy from China who was in class and we spent a good fifteen minutes just showing each other money and the like from our respective countries. Oh and there was peen. LOTS of peen. Gah.

On that note, pictures!

 Thanking the chef for thoroughly cooking the burgers?

Would you like one? Condiments: lettuce, tomato, hot pepper, pickle, cheese, bacon :)

Feeding Shadow some leftover bacon ... makes him do all kinds of tricks :)

Only a portion of the crazy meal we had with my friend, and another friend with her boyfriend.
We had calamari, shrimp, bruschetta, and pita flatbread stuff, all with soup.

Oh, and then we had a Skor Ice Cream and Brownie dessert (like the pose there!).
Needless to say, I had severe stomach problems the rest of the night :(
But I suppose it was worth it!

Having an impromptu photoshoot after church :) Such an awkward pose, but I love it.

Wearing a dress from a Filipino festival last summer that my friend got for me :)

The flowers in front of my house are blooming :)

Hope you've had a beautiful weekend!

a piece of me & a picspam!

This month....

I like: that I'm able to have some fun nights out with my friends and The Boy before school really kicks in!

I don't like: how teacher's colleges decide what your 'prerequisites' are. I really wish there was some easier way to explain that what I do does involve computer studies. I'm getting all nervous that I won't be accepted.

I want you to know: that I get a week off from school next week and I am stoked.

I've planned: to finish at least a quarter of the papers due next month so I can enjoy MUSE and Final Fantasy XIII in March without a crazy amount of deadlines!

I want to say to someone special: Please hang in there. I know how you feel about him, but give yourself time to see if he's worth it. And I love you.

If you'd like to take part, then  just take a look-see here for Shirley's A Piece of Me game!

This busy weekend definitely made up for my hermit-like weekend beforehand. Going to a charity ball on Friday was amazing. Last night was spent drinking some delicious Bubble Tea and going off to see "Dear John" with my close friend (not a great movie, but still a great night). It's nights like these that make you temporarily forget the stressful moments going on in life, and I'm so grateful for those times.

And now ... onto the picspam. I was looking forward to the charity ball my school was holding probably for the last six months or so. I haven't attended a formal since high school and figured since this is (hopefully) my last year, I'd go. Fortunately, The Boy came as my date and we met up with a bunch of close friends to eat some yummy food, dance the night away (though we mostly took pictures and sat hehe) annnd...

I got a wee itty bitty drunk. We had to buy little ticket stubs for our drinks before you actually went and got the drinks, and my friends kept giving me them. A mixture of drinks = crazy, loopy, and can't-really-walk-properly me. It was a fun night :)

And Manju wanted to see my haircut -- you can't really tell how it's cut because I asked her to curl it, but it feels a little lighter and my bangs are finally above my eyes, which is a relief. So yes, brace yourself for some random pictures.

 

Our really sad-looking dinner that I made for us since the ball didn't have a formal dinner.

I made some yummy bruschetta, breaded chicken, and butter-and-herb chicken. Plus cheesecake.

Nom nom nom.

A group photo of all the ladies & gents ... next to a palm tree!

The theme was Egyptian, which meant lots of shirtless guys pretending to be Pharaohs.

 

Climbing a pyramid (or attempting to anyway)!

And The Boy being Avada Kadavra-ed!

Me and my closest friends. I've known most of them since high school (one since we were both seven).
They mean the world to me :)

 

A look at the crazy dance floor with the blinding lights!

 

This is how I dance ... I will gladly share my techniques.

 

The casino portion of the ball. One of my friends ended up winning a whole lot! :)

And one of the last photos of the night ... priceless.

After the ball, most of us went into my close friend's Jeep. And that's where I exploded in a fit of snorts, apparently. And we kept talking about deer. It was definitely a random and fun way to end a great night :)

How were your weekends? 

Hope you've had a good one :)

P.S. Last day to enter the giveaway is tomorrow!
P.S.S. Thanks for all your additional ideas of how to avoid going psycho crazy ... definitely forgot to mention reading a book or watching a movie/TV show. Which is what I feel like doing now instead of doing homework ...