plantation bay resort and spa

lucky me, free internet at this resort as well! today was very relaxing. maybe the most relaxing of the trip so far.

my sleep schedule has been so gradeschool since i've arrived in the 'pinas. i go to sleep at 9:00-10:00pm to wake up at 6:00am. oyvey, how am i going to get back on schedule when i get back to new york. it took me a 12 hour nap to adjust to this timezone. =/

so i woke up @ 6am this morning and went to sunday mass at a local church. if it wasn't evident enough with all the churches and fiesta's celebrating our catholic faith, it was arriving at this mass that proved it. the church was packed. people were lining up along the sides just standing, looking in, people piled in at the foot of the church, listening to the word of God. it's amazing the faith that Filipino's have.

after church, we went back to the hilton to pack up our stuff. we said goodbye to, what i nicknamed, the Barbie Hotel, since it was pink. we had lunch at my ninang's hotel then jetted off in our beautiful 'rolls royce' to Plantation Bay.

PB is stunning. the apartment complex housing is surrounded by lagoons and pools and we walked to the beach where we sat watching the sun set, looking at baby crabs, then walked back to our room and sat poolside having dinner. i think we are going off to karaoke now, so i must depart.

now i really do not know when i will find internet again, but know that i've been praying for everyone back home. so keep safe all and i'll see you soon!

cebu hilton resort & spa

currently in cebu city, staying at the hilton. but relocating tomorrow to plantation bay resort. i can't write much since i'm on the clock. but to share a very short recap, in the past few days i've been healed by a medium, been thrown into darkness at a ferry port, been to maybe 15+ churches, eaten on a floating riverboat, and shit...more?

ugh, im tired from all the traveling. i've obviously done more than that i'm just blanking right now since i've done A LOT. i'm really enjoying my stay here in the philippines. cebu is a beautiful island and i'm making it official here and now: i plan to marry in a cebuan church. so if you're lucky enough to be invited to my wedding, be known it's a near 20 hour plane ride from new york. lmfao. your jaw must have dropped, mine still does.

i'm homesick in some ways. i miss clean restrooms. lol, i keep mentioning this, but i took it for granted. i also miss my friends and family back home. i do not miss school at all, but two days after i return i am heading back to my second semester of university. anyways, i need to head back to my room. i want to open comments, but i like thinking that is sort of a personal-public journal rather than a public-personal journal. if you understood that.

till i find internet again.

tita's internet cafe

greetings from a breezy internet cafe. i would like to tell you where i am, but i can honestly say i don't know. but let me recap my past few days.

i arrived in the airport and began suffering from a huge headache. i left new york in 17 degree weather to arrive in the philippines with 85 degree weather. i can happily say that the temperature has gone down since then. the first day was spent giving plenty of "mano" and going to churches. i believe we visited three the first day. i also had my first tricycle ride in nearly 10 years. very refreshing. also visited tatay's grave in the cemetary which i found very interesting. the cemetary was filled with people living next to the graves, people roaming around on their bikes like it was normal that they were living next to corpses. oh how american life has spoiled me.

among other things that life in america has spoiled me with, i haven't had a hot shower since hong kong. every morning is a cold shower morning. plumbing is very diffucult as well. my headache hadn't gone away so when we went up to baguio, after the long winding drive up the mountain, i fell asleep in the hotel for nearly 12 hours. jetlag for sure. but baguio will always be my favorite city to visit because it's a city up in the mountains, 60 degree weather, and just plain beautiful. i was awoken to rooster crowing, something you'd definitely not experience in new york. we also visited the lady of manaog shrine in manaog. very crowded.

so my trip so far has definitely been a spiritual one. i must be breaking some sort of record: "most churches visited in 2 weeks." i think i've already gone to 10 and it's only tuesday. i am happy to say i am healthy, probabaly losing weight, and going to Mall of Asia tomorrow. lmfao. unfortunately, i doubt i'm going to come back tan. i'm just going to come back with major jetlag.

i have a serious case of jonas fever so thank you to marie and cama for sending me messages.

my cellphone is quite dead. so thanks if you said you were trying to call. anyways, off to visit more churches. till whenever i can ind intenet again. peaceee.

currently in Hong Kong.

my sixteen hour flight is over and done with and i'm currently in hong kong for the night. there is a wonderful traveler's lounge that JFK does not offer (at least i don't think) which includes a bed, internet access, showers, and a buffet for a minimal price ($1200HK, haha, you do the exchange rate) funny fate messed with me while on the plane. they gave us the options of choosing our own movies and of course the options included "Superbad", "Love Actually", and "Bourne Ultimatum". freakkiin fate, =/. my advice for going on such a long flight: don't do it. take as many connecting flights as you can. lol, ok, i know that seems tedious and annoying and too long, but i realized my head couldn't take 16 continuous hours of switching between watching a movie, reading a book, or sleeping. they had a countdown on the corner of the screen which did not help at all. when i thought i had slept the whole flight, it said i had slept a half hour. the good thing about thse long flights is that the food has gotten significantly better. mind you, the last time i've been on this long of a flight was back in '99. i epecially liked how they gave out milano cookies. now that's what's up.

there will be pictures up eventually. wish we could have gone out to hong kong tself but this will do. i've already found funny things but even more curious things about hong kong i wish to one day explore more of. their airport chapel is facinating. one of my major goals is to one day be able to read their gossip magazines. yes, that is my only goal. i'm a girl of simple pleasures. gossip magazines, no matter the language, is one of them.

i really need to learn army time. 21:24? oyvey.

New Year!

2007 was a great year. I was the BOMB school prom planner (at least i think so). I graduated from high school. I'm happily in college. Just a lot of big events in my life. So here's to 2008!

My only new year's resolution is to be happier and most positive. I don't care if you think it's lame cause I think it's pretty true to who I want to become this upcoming year.

I spent New Year's eve with my family in Times Square...ok,ok! I was actually on 52nd and 7th ave. =]

It's something you should do at least once in your lifetime. It's something you need to experience at the stroke of midnight. The streets are filled with, at least for that minute, a sense of companionship.

Times Square, I love you.