The sun is out

But it’s cold in Lake Chabot, which makes the surroundings appear gloomy. I expected the sun, but not the gloom. I was close to shivering when i realized I didn’t bring a sweater.Good thing Amarind always brings one, even when the sun is high. He said the weather in the Bay Area is fickle. Now I know exactly what he meant.

In the tropics, I wouldn’t be caught sitting under the sun. I’ve never ever seen anyone willingly sit under the sun. We do everything so we’re not exposed to the heat: we use umbrella as our portable shade, wear scarves and wide-brimmed hats, or stay at the mall until dusk. People don’t like the sun. In fact, when I was in grade school, my teacher made those stubborn students — those who didn’t do their homework and didn’t listen to the lecture — stand under the sun and, if they’ve been stubborn the nth time around, kneel on mung beans under the lunch time heat and endure the pain. I dreaded that punishment so I tried my hardest to always be first in class.

Now, two decade later, I bask under the sunshine especially when it gets colder. I love it: it’s like having your own heater system outdoors minus the bill.

Off to the lake

We’re off to Lake Chabot today to see how much water has increased in the last 24 hours of raining. I bought a light reading material just in case I get tired walking and feel like reading.

I wish the ground were not too wet so I didn’t have to wear rubber shoes. Meanwhile, I’m dreaming of these:

A Series of Breakthroughs

My husband on top of a hill, facing Lake Chabot

I had a series of breakthroughs this week; I encountered some eye-openers that I may have known before but didn’t really bother to apply them in my life.

I was one of those who always say, “I have no time” or, “I am busy.” I always had this silly excuse that I am swamped with work and couldn’t be bothered to do something else. There were times when I felt that my days were too short and wished that I could stretch them longer so I could accomplish more. I had a habit of equating a fruitful day with how many hours I spent working. I forewent time management and ignored other things that equally demanded my attention. I had little time for my family even though I work from home. I was just there with them and not really for them. I always walked fast hoping that I’d reach the finish line sooner.

I completely missed the point: I forgot to walk slowly and feel the air pass through my nose — I even forgot how clean and fresh air is on this side of the world. I forgot how water can be so refreshing and how soap suds help wash out a day’s worth of problems. I forgot to wear a big smile on my face when walking — it was all about walking with my head up high, literally. I forgot how to smile and appreciate smiles from new acquaintances. Yes, I was missing out on so many things.

Then I received news that a close relative died last week. He was 31 years old. Only two years older than I am. Read more

Last week was great

A lot of things happened last week so this might be a bit lengthy. The entire week was lovely and sunshiny (by that I meant to say, just plain sunny) so Amarind and I decided to roam around, not that we really had to, but we thought it was the perfect time to go out and, as the saying goes, “smell the flowers.” So we did, on Tuesday last week, in San Francisco — just like what we had discussed and agreed upon the night before we hopped on BART. Actually, we didn’t really discuss anything. We just, sort of, preempted what each other had in mind and, true enough, we both thought of going to San Francisco.

The truth is, we went to San Francisco because we had to be along Market St. at 5 PM Tuesday for a forum about search engine and social media – topics that comprise 40% of our daily conversation (that’s a lot, considering we also talk about our family, places to go, what to eat, future plans, what to wear, ad infinitum.) And while we didn’t have to be part of that event, we chose to go because we love updates and innovation – things that excite and inspire us. The food was great, but I wasn’t really hungry to try anything major. Amarind offered me a glass of wine and then a bottle of beer. I guess I had four rounds of strong, ice-cold beer and it was one of the engineers from Kenshoo who said, “Hey, that’s strong,” just before my face turned warm from the subtle kick of alcohol.

But that’s another story.

You already know by now, I guess, that I love to devour as much information as I could about a place that I’d like to visit someday, so when I’m already in that place, I will have a sudden rush of déjà vu and let out “oohhs” and “aahhs” as I try to reconcile my experience with what I read. So you can just imagine the level of research that I did on San Francisco — or the Bay Area in general — before I moved here. And, inspite of that, I’m still learning new things and what I thought were gonna be “oohhs” and “aahhs” countenance turned into “oh, really?” and “oh, wow!” sometimes with more !!! at the end.

I’ve been eyeing the Japanese Tea Garden for almost two weeks now or maybe, unknowingly, for a few months now since I first read about it somewhere — in a Lonely Planet guide, most probably — so I was ready and eager to go. It was just a matter of getting there, or at least planning to get there. I thought it would be a great place to take pictures and marvel at the beauty of Zen landscapes and bonsais. And, to tell you the truth, I have never seen cherry blossoms in person so taking pictures of these beautiful pink flowers up-close would have been a treat. Read more

Living in the Bay Area

Pink flowers at San Francisco Botanic Gardens

This blog is not dead. Sounds a bit like Neitzsche but in no way near his cynicism — in fact the complete opposite. I should mark this day of blogging accomplishment ‘coz I didn’t think I’d manage to post an update this early. Trying to sit down to write a blog was a pain and I am grateful that I was able to pull myself out of the ditch. I really couldn’t be any happier now that I am back to the blogging universe.

We arrived in the Bay Area almost a month ago with nothing but essential things for survival: some clothes, a laptop, a hard drive, and the most important: our son, Daniel. This must be one of the most no-brainer relocations from halfway around the world. We knew this would come and when it did, we were ready in a snap of a finger: no dramas, no second thoughts, no worries. The move was upon us. Needless to say, we had to allot a week or two to adjust to the weather, which is beautiful I must say (and I’m like a broken record for saying this numerous times already), and the time zone. Thankfully, we’re at the point now where everything seems like our typical day in the Philippines sans high humidity and without our trusty laundry woman, cook, and Daniel’syaya — people I definitely miss and feel grateful for.

Hello Kitty store at Taiwan Airport

Our flight from Manila to San Francisco was, thankfully, uneventful: as what we predicted, Daniel gave us an easy time all throughout the flight, although there were little tantrums here and there like when he preferred to be carried (I tell you, he is heavy) over lounging on his stroller. Otherwise he was a great traveler. Air turbulence must have played a major part as he just slept soundly almost the entire flight. The only drawback was — fortunately for me, and I don’t mean this in a selfish way — he wanted to be lulled in Amarind’s arms the entire 11-hour flight from Taiwan to San Francisco. Read more