A Part Of It

It was two hours past noontime - I finished my bath, spread on a classic moisturizer yet skipped the sunblock, topped with my favorite bb cream and dabbed on my normal amount of concealer. I did all my routine - from base to grooming my eyebrows to that last touch of lipstick on my lips. Everything felt familiar, of course. Except this time i did not have to go anywhere. No paper to sign on, no bus to catch. I’m just here, at home, like yesterday, and the day before that. 

Each day I think of something I’d like to do. May it be to watch reviews of the latest bag collection I’m eyeing on, or to finally practice that pinoy ulam recipe I’ve been meaning to try.. Today, I thought of fixing myself the way I always do for work. When I think deeply on it, I realized it’s something my body has always yearned on - this situation I mean - roughly 10 hours of sleep everyday, no alarm to wake up to, a week of lazing around, I’m free to watch or read whatever I fancy on. Definitely having the time of my life.

Yet today, of everything I’m free to do, I thought of putting make up to my face.

You see, I’m a deep thinker. You can let me sit for as long as you want and I wouldn’t get bored for I let my mind wander. And at night, after reading a few pages to aid me to sleep, I’d shut my eyes and think of places I’d want

 to be. Mostly I think of happy thoughts. Like the dream house I have always wished of designing or the cancelled vacation plan my husband and I were supposed to have two weeks ago; then , every so often, for a brief moment, I remember myself back in my office, staring at the oval shaped window that reveals just the most beautiful office view anyone could ever imagine. 

I realized, I ache to see it again.

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A Visit To Taj Mahal

I may have visited various cities in India yet it was only recently that I witnessed first hand the beauty of Taj Mahal. As with all the other layovers, we were given 25 hours to stay in the beautiful city of Delhi. Touchdown was around 5 in the afternoon plus all the airport routines and road traffic, we were able to check in at about 7 in the evening. I have planned for it prior to flight so I contacted a tourist guide even before our departure. They would normally do a day tour from 7/8 AM until 7/8 PM for the price of 6500 rupees for 3 persons inclusive of toll tax, fuel, parking and tour guide inside the Taj Mahal. They were a recommendation from a fellow crew so it was a plus that he had the experience since we had to adjust our tour schedule a lot earlier since our pick up time for that same day is around 4 in the afternoon. 

With only 3 hours of sleep, we left the hotel at 2:30 in the morning. I do not know about my colleague but I sneaked some shut eye from time to time. By the time of sunrise, we stopped along a souvenir shop which was in partnership with the tour group. Saree rental is for 800 rupees that  I later on found out was expensive since the normal rent price is only around 300; but then again, who would open for us at sunrise? Yes?

Taj Mahal park opens from sunrise to sunset. Even by then, there was already a queue for entrance. Fee for foreigners if I remember it right is 1,100 rupees with additional if you wish to get inside the Taj Mahal itself. Prior to being captivated by its beauty, you’d see the  gigantic Taj Mahal gate “Darwaza-I-Rauza” or also known as the great gate. 

I must say that the great gate made a huge impact when it finally revealed the majestic wonder of the world. 

Can I just say that of all the places I’ve been to, this has the most beautiful history? I mean, it was built  for a lasting love, what could be more romantic than that? 

You would see tourist from different places and even a lot more of their locals. Professional photographers were also all over the place for that Instagram worthy shot. Since we didn’t have the luxury of time, we opted not to get inside the Taj Mahal . It was a lost opportunity indeed but we couldn’t risk to stay longer than planned since we had a flight to catch in few hours. 

After 500 photos and poses, we left the park, returned the saree and traveled back to our hotel at 9 in the morning. When I woke up after 3 hours, we were already in Delhi just few minutes from the hotel. Our driver was professional and respectful. you can google “Unique Holiday Trip India” for more reviews or if you wish to have their WhatsApp number, feel free to message me. 

Needless to say, I had enough time for sleep before our pick up yet for some reason I busied myself with other things. You see, I don’t always go to work with minimal rest but there are places worth the exception. 

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In A World Where Everybody Vlogs

Let’s write.

No... before you start thinking, I have nothing against vlogging. Frankly, I would have created my own YouTube channel too, if not for the fact that I just cannot bear the sound of my voice in my own instagram story. Yes.. so you could imagine my history full of photos and captions and boomerangs, just everything without my voice on it. 

Anyway, it must be Jane The Virgin or the fact that I have not written anything in a loooong time, or that I am still on the losing streak on Mobile Legends, whichever the reason is, I miss writing..... a lot. And watching Jane getting inspired noting down whatever comes to her mind may it be inside the bus or in Rogelio’s shooting set -  it made me miss writing carelessly all the thoughts that flow into me. I believe I owe this blog an update on everything that happened for the past two years. So, I made a list of highlights I wish to cover on:

1. On getting married - YES... I GOT MARRIED. And partly, I believe the stress of all the preparation got me away from blogging; but thinking about it now, from the seemingly endless stressful preparation to the undoubtedly happiest day of my life, I have no idea where to begin.
2. Maldives/Singapore honeymoon - because there is honestly no better place for honeymoon than Maldives. 
3. Japan trip - One my favorite country fyi. Definitely deserves not only a spot on this blog but a comeback! 
4. Taj Mahal Visit - I don’t always report for work without decent sleep but I did for this. Wonder of the world you guys! 

I hope I could cover it all the soonest possible time. I am now on my 3rd out of my 5 days off , just need to do quick laundry, ironing and perhaps one or two home-cooked meals then I have the rest of the day free; so crossing my fingers for another entry tomorrow.  

Anyhoo, ending this post with a photo of my husband and I from our recent trip to Japan. 

Yes. I married the love of my life. 

Stay tuned! 

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Life Lately: Volume 2

Watching: Random Netflix movies  that tickle my fancy. I’m in a serious need of series worth binge-watching. Recommendations, anyone? 💙

Listening: while the lot are into Drake’s “In my Feelings”, I put myself in constant heartsick state with Ed Sheeran’s Happier. The music you listen to may not always have to do something about you. Defensive? Nope. I just anticipate how mind works. *winkwink!

Food: Leche flan is my latest achievement unlocked in the kitchen series! I actually tried a number of dishes last month between my back to back 4 legssss (lol yes motivation is the key), though for laziness reason, I now lost like most of it. Nevertheless, my friends haven’t commented any improvement tips on my leche flan- either it was really that good for a first try or they love me THAAAT much. Haha. Needless to say, I’m planning to make one again tomorrow!

Last Place I Visited: Colombo, Sri Lanka. Seafood was awesome as always but the pairing made me cranky which I believe is a normal aftermath of duty time with 14 hours or so~ good thing I finally got their snow globe edition because I ain’t bidding for it unless I need so.

Reading: None. Sad. :(

Playing: PUBG. wasn’t active as I was before but it is still my most used app in game category. The fiancé was persuading me to get the Nintendo Switch and I’m now like 50% convinced yet still waiting for a new reason to persuade me otherwise!

Random: Turning a year older in few days time and me being totally non ecstatic about it is a constant reminder just how old I’m becoming. Perhaps because life was a little rough lately, but I like to believe I'm handling it well. After all, The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, is it?

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The Surgeon + Little Book Haul (March 2018)

The surgeon is one of my cheap purchases in some bargain section from my last layover, over a year ago in Kuala Lumpur. It was the last left unread on my little book collection, aka - perfect excuse to pause my self-imposed ban on suspenseful, disturbing, thrilling and you know, anything related to such kind of read. After two days of getting engrossed, my craving was well satiated. Too well that I had to double check the locks of all the possible entries in my room and kept the lights on the entire night. Paranoia level x 1000. My rating on Goodreads: 4 stars.


The story revolves around Catherine Cordell - a physician winning at her career in the present, yet unfortunately, with a dark past. She was raped two years ago. Even when the assaulter was killed from  her self defense, still she find herself struggling for safety. She kept on receiving threats from an anonymous psychopath with ways similar to that of her case and of the three murdered women who also happened to be raped victims. Upon the investigation of these cases and the terrors she received, she met Detective Thomas Moore, who, eventually, became her lover. Lol sorry for the spoiler, but hey, it is something you would sense in the beginning; at least I saved you from wondering if Thomas is the killer or not. I wouldn’t want to spoil any more details of this mystery, so know the rest the of the story by yourself. Just know this grabbed me since page one :)

You know how some people are overly obsessed with buying books and everything ends up inside the shelf, as display, and unread? I cannot blame them, as personally for me, buying books is just as joyful as getting a new purse. But anyway, it is something I try hardly to avoid. When I realized nothing was left unread from my last book haul, I knew it's about  time for another book shopping spree :) yay

 I set my goal on 30 for the number of books I'd like to read for this year. Surely work and other priorities are always there yet I'm not lowering my aim. I'm open to read any sort of genre but my eyes will always search for heartbreaking, tear-jerker, family-related, pageturner kind of read. You will notice it's the common denominator from the four I recently bought.

• Room by Emma Donoghue - I've been wanting to read this for the longest time. I know of the movie adaptation, yet because I believe books will always be better, I settled on the paperback copy first before the screen.

• Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad by Farida Khanam - Alhamdulillah for my conscience and its super discounted price that made me bought this. I wouldn't deny my ignorance of my religion and I'm fully aware there's much I need to learn.

• And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini - I first fell in love with The Kite Runner, then fell even more with A Thousand Splendid Suns - anyone who asked for my recommendation would know that despite my number of heartbreaks from this book, still it is always the first I recommend. I hope this third one will not disappoint.

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - because I gave five stars for Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. She could be my next favorite writer.

So that's all for my little haul. Schedule was a bit tight this month so I haven't had the chance to finish anything yet. Vikings marathon from season two is also on my list, plus there's the hype of PUBG that the boyfriend recently introduced to me. lol. Would you believe I was the first kill in a match with 100 players?  yes, I suck like that. lol anyway, practice makes perfect and skill is learned; plus next month's schedule is a bit chill so in sha Allah I'll have too much time for all these. 💙

Thanks for the read, xoxo

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In Place Where Everything Is Made Of (?) (Guangzhou, China)

It was quite recently when China made their crew visa validity into full year rather than the old, 6 months term. I used to exclude China layover on my desired places to bid, as my attempt to avoid the hassle of visa application. When I heard the good news, I knew it was finally time I work on requirements and explore the country where everything is made of.

There's nothing better in Guangzhou than its legit Chinese food. Asians will always be Asians and  although my mother could probably only mention fried rice as the food I can eat all day, everyday; we, Filipinos know just how well we adapted the Chinese cuisine. So a taste of Chinese food in between kebabs, shawarma and biryani is definitely a taste of home.

The prices of these humongous servings are comparable to that of Phils so even the budget itself feels homey. Alhamdulillah my housemate discovered a halal certified restaurant, so eating Chinese food worry-free, became more heavenly.

Above is the address for the mentioned restaurant. Just present it to the taxi driver as communication may be quite challenging when  you have zero knowledge of their native language. I recommend having google translate app ready and a list of places you would like to visit in Chinese translation.


Of course shopping comes second. I had no plan of buying a lot but the low prices are too much to disregard. With good haggling skills, you can get the items for only half of the prices in our local boutiques in Philippines. I came back to our hotel carrying a plastic full of cheap clothes, footwear and whatnot.
Because we went out straight after the flight plus the 10 degree weather I was not prepared of,  I believe any picture of myself on that day isn't worth sharing in this blog. lol. Still I hadn't went through a full tour of the city, perhaps later, when the temperature will feel like that of Philippines.
Short layover indeed, but I can say no regrets on the hassle of visa application. :)

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Life With Wings : Pros and Cons

I can still freshly recall the days of my admirable discipline when the main thing I prayed for was for me to become a flight attendant. From boosting my self-confidence, to practicing all the easy make up tricks, and maintaining my body weight. Confession: I tried the military diet with little modification, yet the calorie count was overall the same. My fear of exceeding my weight limit was overwhelming I had grown used on having satisfactory stomach, until I got to the point when losing one more kilo and my weight will be under the limit. My undying determination after being rejected on my first attempt is another thing I keep in mind. Remembering such days has become my way of being optimistic on moments when I can no longer picture myself in my all blue uniform years from now. Behind the luxury and glam, flight attendant's life isn't all smiles.

A month ago, someone left a comment on my contact page inquiring about the pros and cons of being a flight attendant. I apologize that it took me a month to respond but I've spent my days recently only in 36000 ft, otherwise, on sleeping off.

So, I figured, for some reason, it's always better to begin with the downside:

• Health -  changes in timezone, jetlag, not to mention  the long hours of standing which is why I never considered knee-high stockings. The variation in working hours is a major con as well; today I'm having a night flight, tomorrow I'll have an early morning one. How do you adjust your sleep with that? Sleeping pills has become best friend of some, but no matter how naturally made the label claims to be, I always choose the natural way. I believe I have mastered the art of changing my sleeping pattern. 

• You are never home - on most occasions. Alhamdulillah for our company, they give us the eventuality of going home every once in a while. Some girls do it monthly by the way, yet only after the headache of bidding and trading. Even with such benefit, the probability of being home on every family occasion there is, is impossible. I remember spending my 25th birthday alone in our apartment, relying on the internet connection to bury the truth that despite my gratefulness for all the blessings I received, there was a small part of me that wished I was in somewhere else. The number of monthsaries I spent physically together with my boyfriend is countable within my fingers. I missed both of my parents' birthday last year; and for this year's record, I might not be present on my niece' first ever graduation day. 

• Pleasing people - is the most usual thing you'd do next to breathing. I remember my old teenage self reblogging typographies on how we should never care what others would think and we are not obligated to please everyone. You may wonder how I survive my everyday work, but I believe that's what maturity does to people. When you start a customer-oriented job, you must prepare yourself  with abundance of patience for people who will blame and complain on you on every possible reason there is. Being open-minded and putting yourself into their shoes help most of the time. Certainly there will be instances when people will become too irrational on you and the thought of it won't easily just go away. Emotions will overrule your senses.I do not tolerate inferiority, but daily and slowly, I'm learning not to take things personally; and maybe, just maybe, I think this has become my fate for me to learn and practice the beautiful patience and understanding (which actually makes me think this could pass on the positive side).

• You do not get to practice your profession - Obviously a personal note because this is something I miss on random nights. Sure I had passengers with headache, fever, and all that, but these are incomparable on the adrenaline of saving someone in the middle of life and death. 

Plus side:

• Travel - I've been on destinations I never  thought I could visit before. Explored 13 countries in my less than two years experience in this job; and the likelihood of adding more to that due to other destinations we operate, plus the perks of free and discounted tickets is a major plus. I was never the wanderlust enthusiast and travelling wasn't my top reason why this has become my dream, but as I experienced exploring city one after the other, I understood why someone would save up for it. 

• Going Home - every once in a while, apart from our yearly vacation is still so much better than going home only once a year. Other professionals weren't blessed with such privilege and this is one of the main reasons why I chose this career and my company.

• Salary - I tried submitting my application as a nurse abroad, and with my three years of experience in my profession, I was offered with only half of my salary today. Their basis is something I have no idea of, but same thing happens in the Philippines - newly hired flight attendants earn more than newly hired nurses.

• Different set of colleague every working day - with an exception of my flying partner of course. Conflicts in workplace could be something unavoidable; the good thing is,  the bitch I flew with today will be as good as non existent for the next months or years or forever. Unless I become very, very, very, unfortunate, I will get to work with her again the next day. 

• You get to learn a little something about other nationalities - Flying to other destinations means interacting with their people as well. Between the small talks and greetings, plus good observation, you can differentiate one nationality from the other.

• Upgrading your interpersonal skills on the next level - I wasn't always good with small talks and I believe I still am. Obviously I'm still not the "ma-PA" type, yet because I work with various kinds of people everyday, it taught me well how to adjust and become more friendlier. lol

So I think that's that. Please know that everything here is based on my personal experience, so the pros and cons may vary with each person. To end this post, here's a caption I posted just days before my graduation way back in 2016 <3

All these new experiences make me feel that I'm living up to my full potential :-)


Nothing but love, xoxo

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