Mama, para sa tabi!

Dear Sam,

Guest what?

Your jeepney postcard has arrived. I found it waiting for me at the Post Office (where I am renting a PO box). Thank you, thank you. Here it is, no wear, no tear :)

You'd be happy to know that I featured this postcard in my Postcards Crossing blog. It is a great addition to my Filipiniana collection. Go ahead, have a look!

So, how are you these days? I've seen you aren't blogging as well. As for my situation, for some reason, I could not login anymore to YahooMessenger to chat. I don't know what went wrong. As you know, I'm using Ubuntu-Linux as my operating system. It is a totally different system from Windows but definitely better. The only downside is that I cannot use several programs that are on Windows, and that includes Yahoochat :(

So sorry about this. I hope we can find an alternative to get in touch. Meanwhile, we still have this blog to update (if you're still up to it) or Facebook.

Hear from you soon.


ZJ

Holiday blues

It's nine days before Christmas, Sam, and I am feeling mopey and homesick. Yeah, even if I'm with Rob, I still miss celebrating Christmas at home in Roxas. Nothing really beats Christmas in the Philippines. It is not officially celebrated here so it's just a regular working day. No holiday rush, no Christmas parties, and no exchanging of gifts. On one hand, it is a good thing as I do not like getting trapped into this holiday madness. But, on the other hand, when you think about Christmas as the time for families to reunite, return to their roots, and strengthen family ties, I am sad because I miss all these.

Anyways, this is the path I chose so I have to deal with it. And so, I just make myself busy. I do crafting, photography, and re-started my childhood hobby. I sometimes find myself in the kitchen, which almost always bring me back to the smell of our kitchen in Roxas City :( I have nowhere to go, gah. Lol. I am so OA, please slap me back to reality! hahaha.

I passed by the French Embassy two weeks ago and was delighted to see that the outer wall of the embassy is now filled with colourful photographs. It's because during the month of December, Phnom Penh is hosting the month-long Phnom Penh Photo Festival. Local and foreign artists proudly display their artworks in different venues across the city. Here's the one I saw at the embassy:

Photo originally uploaded to my photo-blog.

These, photo above and below, are artworks of the Frenchman Georges Rousse.

Photo originally uploaded to my photo-blog.

I was actually in a moving car when I took these photos. Only these two came out decently! I have yet to go see the other venues; probably next week na. It's too hot to go out. 

How was your weekend, by the way?

Relaxed holiday weekend

Dear Sam,

How have you been?
It’s a loooong weekend this week because we are celebrating the King’s birthday. It started last Friday, 13th May, and the celebration lasts till today, Sunday. However, since two days of the holiday fell on a weekend, it automatically makes Monday and Tuesday a holiday, too. Woo-hooo for some, but for R, it’s back to work tomorrow.

The weather is pretty much the same, hot, but it also got windy this week. Lots of leaves have fallen off the ground, and I feel like I’m somewhere in Europe as I walk on the felled leaves. Feeling lang ha! LOL.

Today we went to a kid’s birthday party. My friend’s daughter turned two and it was a princess-themed party. See the invite? I didn’t get to see what’s inside because it was sent attached to a message via Facebook. LOL. Of course, the oldies outnumbered the kids and it’s the adults who enjoyed more than the young ones. It was also the first time in weeks that R and I hang out with friends, had some beer and wine and just enjoyed the afternoon with friends. Food was great, too. It was nice to be out of the house again after weeks of staying in in the past weekends. We went home at 7pm.

 

I’m writing this while waiting for the tennis match to begin – the finals match between my boy, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic at the ATP Tour in Rome. The match was supposed to begin an hour ago but there was a rain delay earlier that also delayed the women’s finals match. All the more my anticipation tripled… I hate it when delays happen because I tend to fall asleep and miss the game! Anyways, I just hope my boy wins tonight, or else… hihihi.. Are you familiar with Rafael  Nadal? He is a pro-tennis player from Spain, a leftie and a hottie! He is the new body, errr, model for Armani underwear and jeans. My gosh, he is sizzling hot in the posters! You should go and google for Rafa posters for Armani and you’ll see what I mean :D

 

This is all for now, I’m getting sleepy already and the women’s match is still a long way from being over…I’m not sure if I can stay awake any longer as my eyes are already drooping…

Till next post… I wish the coming week is fantastic for both of us.

 

Cheers,

Z

Flowers for you!

Hi! I know I have been a bit delinquent in posting these days. It’s because I had accepted a new project but this time it is gratis. I’ve been cooped up inside the house for a time now and I thought the project would be a good excuse to get out of the house at least once a week. However, if they ask me to report more than that, then it is another story. I’m paying for a tuk-tuk ride at $3 a pop (one way) and if they’re not paying for my transpo, I’m only limiting my trips to once a week. Well, apart from the costly transpo, there is also the weather that I’m so unhappy about. It is extremely hot at daytime and I cannot be out there in the sun the whole day, no?

Anyways…

I just want to share you this photo of my favourite rose from our veranda garden. I just love this variety! It grows as  big as my hand (as you can see in the left photo) and they smell very nice, too. When the wind blows Rob and I can smell it even if we’re inside the house. Sometimes when we feel stressed from our daily routine, we just go out to our veranda and have our cup of tea there while looking at, and smelling, our flowers. Every single day there is always a newly-opened flower – I think it is better than having all the flowers bloom in one go and have nothing the following days, no?  Thanks to Rob’s green thumb, we have these lovely colourful flowers and green plants in our small veranda. I wish I have a green thumb, too. My only contribution is watering the plants, pulling out weeds and cutting off dead leaves and dried flowers. At least, I am doing something. LOL.

 

And here are more roses for you, I hope it will cheer you up! I’ve taken a photo of them not long ago, so they’re still fresh. Please excuse the lousy flower arrangement and the beer bottles as I do not possess proper vases yet. LOL.

 

Hola!

Hello, Sam. I know I promised to write you right away but circumstances did not allow me to. Well, you know me, I’m easily distracted! Hah.

 

So anyway, if you look at my last post, you will see that it was written last year in the same month (hehehe) and the content was, of course, all about tennis. Hah, it’s no mere coincidence. It is the middle of the clay season in tennis at this time, and of course, I could not miss a single match of my boy Rafael Nadal. He won at the Barcelona Open just last Sunday, his 6th title in Barcelona, beating his compatriot David Ferrer. What a feat for this boy – at 24 years old, he is the second youngest player in the Open era to have won 6 titles or more in two events. The other week, he also won the the Monte Carlo finals – his 7th title.

I hope you don’t get bored when I blabber about tennis. So how are you these days? Did you go anywhere during the Lenten season? I miss the traditional things we Pinoys do during the Lenten. Did you go to the beach? I miss the beach, I miss Kep! It’s been almost a year since we last went there. His schedule won’t allow us, always busy with school. If there was a window of opportunity (finally!) then almost always something would come up. It is better for us to not make plans at all as it’s guaranteed to be broken anyway.

That’s all for now from me here. Oh, by the way, we have a webcam installed and I want to share it with you. The view from that webcam is exactly what I see in one of my windows. If you like to see what’s the weather like, or what’s the traffic like on my side of the world, just click this link and you’ll find out :)

Ciao, amiga. Till next post. Mwah.

 

Cheers,

Zarah