I had made a list of my favorite activities. Six years later, as I was listening to the cast of the Sound of Music sing about their favorite things, I started thinking: what do I love to do now? I'm adding to the old list because I had fun reading what I've written a long time ago. I haven't changed a lot, I realized... My favorite things six years ago are still true today except that I just don't have the co-hosting stint for Rotary at Your Service anymore.
Taking the road less traveled (and getting lost while at it).
I've got this road map that I take with me when traveling in the Philippines. When I have enough time and fuel, I normally go through the secondary roads rather than the main highway. Naturally, I've been lost quite a few times... sometimes with my now 95-year old grandma in tow. The adventures I've been on! Seeing Mount Malarayat behind sunflower-lined roads; the emerald rice fields between Tiaong, Quezon and Padre Garcia, Batangas; the sunrise over faraway mountains in Central Luzon; the sunset while under the lengthening shadow under the trees somewhere between Balagtas and Batangas City, Batangas; the city lights of Makati City; the view of coconut trees along the Mak-Ban road; the unknown spring I passed while lost deep in the mountains of Cavinti, Laguna.
This penchant for taking the unbeaten path puts my brother's and my father's driving skills to the test when I'm navigating family road trips. Once, in an attempt to avoid the holiday traffic jam, we left the freeway and drove through the back roads, literally. We saw acres and acres of farmland and lots of heads of cattle with only the occasional barn piercing the foggy skies.
Thankfully, I've always been kept safe when I get lost, and my family too when I get them lost.
I've got this road map that I take with me when traveling in the Philippines. When I have enough time and fuel, I normally go through the secondary roads rather than the main highway. Naturally, I've been lost quite a few times... sometimes with my now 95-year old grandma in tow. The adventures I've been on! Seeing Mount Malarayat behind sunflower-lined roads; the emerald rice fields between Tiaong, Quezon and Padre Garcia, Batangas; the sunrise over faraway mountains in Central Luzon; the sunset while under the lengthening shadow under the trees somewhere between Balagtas and Batangas City, Batangas; the city lights of Makati City; the view of coconut trees along the Mak-Ban road; the unknown spring I passed while lost deep in the mountains of Cavinti, Laguna.
This penchant for taking the unbeaten path puts my brother's and my father's driving skills to the test when I'm navigating family road trips. Once, in an attempt to avoid the holiday traffic jam, we left the freeway and drove through the back roads, literally. We saw acres and acres of farmland and lots of heads of cattle with only the occasional barn piercing the foggy skies.
Thankfully, I've always been kept safe when I get lost, and my family too when I get them lost.
Photographing landscapes (and going to great lengths to get them).
Who wouldn't, with a view like this?
To take this photo of a beach in La Union, I hiked a rocky ledge and took the shot while sitting on an unfinished staircase on top of that ledge. That is, after my physical therapist saying that I'm not supposed to exert effort on my injured right foot.
Who wouldn't, with a view like this?
To take this photo of a beach in La Union, I hiked a rocky ledge and took the shot while sitting on an unfinished staircase on top of that ledge. That is, after my physical therapist saying that I'm not supposed to exert effort on my injured right foot.
(Window) Shopping.
Friends say that I could smell a sale because I get good deals when I buy clothes and shoes. I've learned my bargain-hunting shopping skills from one the best: my Mom. It takes patience and the urge not to buy items when they're still full price. On weekends, on my way to the grocery, I normally wander around my favorite stores just to check out what I'd like to buy when the seasonal sale comes along or to search the clearance racks... or I go to the factory outlets close by.
Friends say that I could smell a sale because I get good deals when I buy clothes and shoes. I've learned my bargain-hunting shopping skills from one the best: my Mom. It takes patience and the urge not to buy items when they're still full price. On weekends, on my way to the grocery, I normally wander around my favorite stores just to check out what I'd like to buy when the seasonal sale comes along or to search the clearance racks... or I go to the factory outlets close by.
Dinner with my peer group.
This is a recent development. In the leadership course I took, we were grouped for a period of active learning. My group met almost every other week to discuss how we applied what we learned in class and challenges we face when what we wanted done didn't work out. Since most of my friends from school have left Los Banos, being with them is the first time in a long while that I felt I have friends aside from my lab-mates. After the course, we decided to continue meeting; I'm looking forward to have dinner with them again.
Drinking steaming hot chocolate milk on a cold day.
This is a recent development. In the leadership course I took, we were grouped for a period of active learning. My group met almost every other week to discuss how we applied what we learned in class and challenges we face when what we wanted done didn't work out. Since most of my friends from school have left Los Banos, being with them is the first time in a long while that I felt I have friends aside from my lab-mates. After the course, we decided to continue meeting; I'm looking forward to have dinner with them again.
Drinking steaming hot chocolate milk on a cold day.
Yum yum! I love hot chocolate. But I never knew how much I appreciate having one until I, who's always been in the tropics, arrived in a strange new city, in the middle of winter, without a friend to talk with. Sad and cold, I still opted to drink cold chocolate with whipped cream in a cafe one weekend (something I used to do with cousins every Sunday). While I settled into a couch, a server dropped by to let me try a cup of the cafe's hot choco milk with a marshmallow... it was heavenly! From then on, every time I felt sad, I'd drop by that cafe specifically for the hot chocolate milk and the marshmallow. Many years later, I still get the hot chocolate on cold days... I buy the packets of powdered chocolate with the mini-marshmallows in them. Yum yum!
As I've written down many years ago, I'm writing my favorite things to remind me of what I am thankful for. Thinking about my favorite things and knowing that someday I'll enjoy reading this, makes me look forward to the year when I write about them again.
When a rough day comes, I recall Maria's song: "I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so sad."
As I've written down many years ago, I'm writing my favorite things to remind me of what I am thankful for. Thinking about my favorite things and knowing that someday I'll enjoy reading this, makes me look forward to the year when I write about them again.
When a rough day comes, I recall Maria's song: "I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so sad."
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