lessons from a blister

Traveling is love.
It is one of the things that I am passionate about.
Discovering a new city, immersing in a different culture or lifestyle and gastronomically indulging myself with the area's specialties are just a few of the reasons why I make it a point to engage in this quite pricey hobby.
Now I have always had the pleasure of traveling with other people which made my adventures always felt safe so it was with great trepidation that I embarked alone to Illinois.
I have never been and my experience with its transportation system was limited to a few trips to the Metra website. I thought I had it handled. What, with my smartphone and my really good memory, getting from Chicago to where my friend was at, a city an hour and a half train ride away would be a piece of cake.
Well, let's just say I had both feet with band aids on the achilles stuck in my mouth.
So to all my dear first time adventurers and inexperienced travelers, here are the things I learned from a blister:

1. Turn your cellphone off in the plane - that flight attendant sounding like a broken record about turning your phones off was not only meant for everyone's plane safety but also for your sanity when you get to your destination. We have been spoiled by the TomTom's and Garmin's of this world. More so that we can have a navigation system on our smart phones and Google is just a text away. So if your phone is dead when you land and you can't find a charging dock or you don't have time to recharge your phone battery, then you are pretty much screwed. Case in point, me. In an unknown city. Dependent on the kindness of strangers.

2. Know the place you are going - be very familiar with the transportation system, the routes you need to take and any cost associated with transporting yourself to your destination. Do not rely on anything and anyone unless they have lived in the city forever. Do this as a back up too for possible phone failure. Print, print, print maps, maps, maps. If only I didn't depend on my phone so much then I would've saved myself the 15 blocks of walking around in circles to find the train station. Well, shoulda coulda woulda, DIDN'T.

3. Carry cash - credit cards may be convenient but carrying cash can prove to be more convenient at times. Some establishments still don't accept cards as a method of payment and certain situations are made easier with a few bills handy. $1 bills are extremely useful when you rightfully so do no want to tip a cab driver.

4. Pack light or be smarter about the type of hand carry you bring - I thought I packed extremely light for my trip. What with being able to trim down my outfit to the equivalent length of my trip instead of packing an extra week's worth of clothes; plus 3 pairs of shoes, 2 of which were for my friend and then fitting all of it with my bathroom essentials in my gym bag? That calls for some serious pat on the back. Except I packed it all in the wrong bag. Lugging around a pretty heavy duffel bag for 15 blocks is not a pretty sight and neither is it pretty on your shoulders. Walking would have been a breeze if I was using a roller carry all. Being lost wouldn't have been that bad either. Plus, you would want to be able to run really fast if someone or something is running after you.

5. Wear blister-proof shoes - okay, i might as well have said wear comfy shoes, but just to make a point. Before any trip via airplane, I check out what celebrities wear en route to places because I believe that just because one is going to be encased in a closed space sitting down for 2-X hours it doesn't give them the excuse to look like it. Airports are pretty busy places and you want to look as presentable as you can be. It also saves you the hassle of having to change once you get to your destination. If you have never been to a certain place, do not know what to expect and have no one coming to pick you up, then prepare at least for everything to go wrong. Dress fashionably but mindfully as well. Yes, beauty is pain but no one ever looks good limping around.

As of the completion of this article, my blister has healed yet the lessons I have learned from it remains.

comfort food

firm tofu breaded in cornstarch
deep fried
dipped in soy sauce with onions

grab your chopsticks and voila!

nom nom nom nom.

3 more days

hello there Chicago skyline:)

but while i wait, i am shamelessly reading all the posts of http://lolsofunny.com/ while trying not to pee my pants. this site should have a warning: SO ADDICTING.

toodles!

tumbling into tumblr

going crazy over images in tumblr.
couldn't resist signing up against my better judgment.
follow me there.
http://www.redwisdom.tumblr.com/

blog stalker

oui!
http://jessysphotofix.tumblr.com/

i love the images in this blog.
very inspirational.
reminds  me of the wall art i made from magazine pictures that i made sure to hang right where i can see it before leaving the house. she just has her entire blog dedicated to it. :)

one of the pics in her site that i love <3

morose sailor

sailors are typically in blue and white, which makes it a chipper color combination.
my sailor is more dark. red and black. pirate-y actually.

thrifted!

Score!!!!!
All of these for $30 and some change.
2 Brand new tops and the other 2 barely looks used.
I am in retail heaven:D

goal #1 starts now

i got paid yesterday and it was both a relief and anxiety-ridden.
relief because i have moolah to spend and anxiety-ridden because i know i have to start making progress towards my #1 goal.
#1 goal being becoming financially secure.
so i started with knowing how much money i had in the bank and not how much money i could possibly spend with my August paycheck.
what's the difference? well, i haven't received my 2nd paycheck yet, so i shouldn't even be thinking of how i can spend that (sadly though, i made purchases in July that i credited for August). but hey, baby steps:)
then i deducted all my living expenses and whatever i have spent already before this paycheck to give me an idea as to my liquid status.
well, that was as fun as pulling my own teeth.
i am screwed.
and it is only the first weekend of the month.
plus, i have an upcoming trip that i would need spending money for.
ugh!
dipping into my humble savings is not an option.
i better get creative if i want to see myself through this month.
so with a heavy heart and a determined mindset, i plow on with the following game plan:
1. hello home cooked meals - spend my limited money on grocery and my somewhat open schedule cooking
2. reduce my carbon footprint - bike to work and to the gym at least 3-4 times per week until summer ends
3. avoid retail stores - i did this quite well last month but then right as July was about to end, I found myself hypnotized by the sale signs and dropped a benjamin in 30 minutes; i was happy with my purchases and they are all going towards my wardrobe revamping but my budget wasn't very ecstatic with me
4. be a hermit - stay at home for the next weekends until my already scheduled trip. luckily I have 10 Red Box coupons, which needs to be used by the 15th. and thank the heavens for Hulu and my co-worker's need to have me babysit her TV and satellite subscription for the next couple of months :)
5. switch tourist mode on - I am going to only allocate $200 for my IL weekend and i am going to try to make it solely a sightseeing, city immersing and people watching vacay (fingers and toes crossed really hard)
5. goodbye red military inspired stilettos -  i hope you are really meant for me and would therefore still be available and at a much lower price in September, just in time for Fall ;)

no to sports

i've never been a good athlete.
i can run. but beyond that, i am a flop.
i would like to think that i can play. decently. but that usually depends on mood, circumstance and did i mention mood?
anyhoo, we had our 2nd to the last company softball game today and we didn't do bad. we were actually ahead by 3, and guess who had to cut the good running short? and at 8 minutes before the game was suppose to end and render us winner?

a. umpire
b. pitcher
c. audience
d. the lousiest player

this is a no brainer.
i just had to strike out, foul and strike out again.
and that was the end of our good inning.
what happened after that? the 8 minutes? well the other team had 13 runs.
so goes my luck in sports.
and even when we batted one more time, we couldn't make our 16 budge even by a mere 1 point.
sigh.
no minor league hopes for me in the future. ever.

cliche outfit

I have never been to an outside concert since I got here to the US of A.

I have always been meaning to go to one and finally the opportunity presented itself.

Not that I was excited for the actual band line up but the idea of doing something different for the weekend made it feel like a treat.

Since it was suppose to be a treat, it called for an outfit. A summer jam filled with pubescent and pre-pubescent kids and adults alike requires the regulatory denim shorts and white top. Luckily, I had those in stock. But to tie up the entire outfit, any outfit for that matter, the appropriate pair of shoes was needed. I didn't want to wear sandals or flats because I knew that it could possibly get rowdy and I didn't want my toes stepped on (That was clairvoyant thinking on my part). 

Good thing that the trusty TJ Maxx in my place just had what I needed (and wanted since last summer but never got around to rationalize its purchase).

Tell me what you think;)

rockin' the Olsen look

Discovered http://olsensanonymous.blogspot.com/ and was greatly inspired by the casual outfits MKA has been sporting. Definitely my style.
Tried my own version sans the blazer.

Ben Sherman White Button Down

7 for all Mankind Denim

Sam Edelman Flats

Tell me what you think ;)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Discovered this site and cannot stop stalking other blogs!!!! :-)
Stalk me too.

bargain!

i am a total cheapskate in terms of clothes...so imagine my delight when i found this:

Juicy Couture Cotton Dress - $13.74
Kensie Aqua Belt with Pineapple Buckle - $5

I am so proud of myself:)

don't worry...be sappy

ooooookay.
humble moment at work today.
remember when i said i have mood swings worse than that of a bipolar?
well...i didn't know that it affected other people that much. maybe i did know and i just was too involved in myself to correct the situation.
i have always been feisty and temperamental and bad enough, it manifests itself in a 5 year old kind of way. the raising of the voice, the unreasonableness, complete with foot stomping and the occasional walk outs. yep. not proud right there.
well today was one of those days. first 15 minutes at work too.
my day started right. biked to work. felt good about my carbon footprint and the calorie meter for the day. liked what i was wearing. had a hop in my step when i was climbing the stairs to my joke of a desk. and then my boss asked me to take a quiz.
for some reason i get very defensive when i feel like my intelligence is being questioned. and that happens quite a lot at work. not my intelligence being questioned but my assumption that it is. and when i get defensive, i get territorial and start hissing like a loony lioness. loony because most of the time this is hinged on unsupported data and i am just reacting on my feeling of being second guessed. yes. feeling. feelingS with a capital S.
anyhoo, while i was wasting my energy debating over something that didn't merit such an exhaustion of my saliva, i realized i was wrong and started laughing. at myself. out of embarrassment.
one very verbal co-worker made a comment about how a happy me was a happy office. and a much closer co-worker piped in and said that a happy me was a fun me. jerks.
more of ouch to me. it didn't really pinch my ego that bad but it did get me thinking. i've always prided myself on my professionalism and that was one of the things that has made my company promote me easily. but where has that gone? where is the sweet little ol' me who used to not say much and just bitched about stuff at home?
i need to find her. stat!
because i like my happy self. i hate being grumpy and letting my annoyance get the best of me. or the rest of my day. i want to learn how to choose my battles, to not raise my chances of getting a heart attack every time something doesn't sit well with me, to be the perfect model for grace under pressure.
so yes, knowing that i am not exactly anyone's favorite person when i start to see red was a bitter pill to swallow.

i will learn how to breathe. from my mouth.

preface

first things first.
i need to get my life in order.
i have had enough whining about what the meaning of life is for me.
i am taking it by the balls and shoving it down anyone's throat who gets in my way.
as what a good friend said, identify your goals and eliminate anything and anyone who stops you from achieving it.
so here goes.

1. financial - every time i read a money magazine it only disheartens me. i know i know. i am not getting any younger and the numbers say that every year that i leave off without considerable savings or investments will only make it so that i suffer in the future. but what's a girl got to do? i cant turn back time. neither can i lie about not wanting to be comfortable. so i have come up with a compromise. unless i hit a jackpot in the next 2 years, i am defining what comfortable means to me.
a. comfortable means being able to travel without touching my savings account. every month. not that i would be able to do it liberally. but just the option of being able to is enough for me.
b. comfortable means being able to buy a new pair of shoes every 2 weeks without cringing.
c. comfortable means being able to buy something, anything (under $100) without doing much mental calculation of how much i have left in my checking account
d. comfortable means being able to send money to my mom and tell her to just have a good time
e. comfortable means being able to take my friends out to dinner just because i want to

so how will i achieve this? i am still trying to determine that (sequel).

2. physical - i want to be all muscle. no fat. except in the boobies and the ass. i want to have the discipline to eat whatever that doesn't make me feel like crap 30 minutes after or worse, the next day. i want to look 10 years younger than my age. i want to be aesthetically pleasing for as long as i live. i want to be healthy. i don't want to limit myself when i am in my 50's to certain activities befitting my age. hell, i want to be that 70 year old lady who still runs and walks in her bikini like she owns the female shower room. yep, she looks that good for 70.

my health plan is underway :)

3. mental - they say learn a new skill everyday, try something you have never done before and start a new hobby as much as you can, to keep your mind young. a good body has to be paired with a sound mind right? it doesn't have to be something useful nor does it have to be complicated. it just has to be something that will create more neurological pathways and jolt your tired mind to excitement.

i am enrolled in Spanish classes. Si!

4. spiritual - i am a naturally happy person. i am as moody as a bipolar too. it doesn't take a lot to make me smile. or annoyed. i find joy in the simplest things. but get irritated as well at the most trivial of matters. damn it. i need therapy.
well #1 goal is going to make it hard for me to afford that, so might as well put my Psychology degree to work.
i need to learn that i cannot control people. i either have to accept them for what they are or not be with them. not that i cannot feel anything if they have wronged me or stop myself from giving a friendly unsolicited advice, but i just need to let them be. i don't have as much of a problem with friends. friends i can easily accept, but romantic interests? it's easier for me to trust a total stranger. i don't know why. like i expect so much from them because they have to match what i have envisioned them to be when they are with me. ugh. talk about dysfunctional.

well, i can analyze myself more or i can just try to be a way better person than who i am now. but how do you do that? seriously. harder than you thought it would be right.

aren't my goals achievable? yeah... let's see how this goes.