Mailed my extra books already to my aunt. We were talking about achy stuff during cold weather, and my right knee hurts sometimes when it's cold, and now, it's 30-40 Fahrenheit (about 5 Centigrade) here :-s OhmyGOD. I should've bought a pair of gloves and a hat, but by that time, coming from Wholefoods, I wanted to look at the ones in Whole Earth, but I wasn't feeling well anymore: I had eaten a sausage patty (gasp!) with a Belgian waffle and some whipped butter and some eggs (with salt and tomato ketchup, of course) for lunch, with some fresh OJ and a slice of lemon meringue pie (ok, just the crust and the lemon jello: the meringue was soft and sickly sweet) and I got a case of the runs. I didn't have milk, so it couldn't be that. My friend Angie thinks it's the pork; I was feeling the need for something more solid, so I ate the sausage patty: boy am I still regretting it now. Just fish and eggs and tofu, I guess. Oh, man. Speaking of food, my aunt went to this chi-chi place that had uniformed wait staff and a piano playing, $42 a head, she said. Yikes. There was caviar, but she said it wasn't anything special for her. And I quote: "They have Caviar. I don't understand what the big deal is about those little round things. Nothing that I can think of. Tasted it and then next......They had rock crabs, shrimp, freshly made sushi, salmon, lobster in little cups with something mixed in it, salad galore, grilled portobello mushroom, onions and eggplant, mussels, oysters , omelet bar and so many things." Whoo, sounds good! But different strokes for different folks, I guess. Speaking of portobello mushroom, I bought some today at Wholefoods with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. Also got creamed garlic spinach, and crab cakes, with thousand-island dressing sauce on the side, I think: not sure. Sounds good, huh??? :-)
I was looking at spending Easter (vacation #3) with my aunt: was figuring 5 days would be good: maybe March 17-21, Holy Monday to Good Friday, or Monday to Saturday, 17-22? Whatever. And this time I'm getting a direct flight! Man: switching planes is taxing! :-/ Plus she won't be going back to work yet, so we can paint the town red ;)
I was thinking of what my parents were telling me about people wanting to take a class under me, and I thought of space heaters: I need to get some: I can't teach a cold class, it's not allowed, especially beginning students. And maybe a little air purifier so the room won't smell of sweat: that's what Pye does in her little studio-room. Was looking at Honeywell, at this baby, at Livingincomfort.com, and at EdenPure. Need need need these.
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Had a weird dream in which I was friends with the Dalai Lama and we were riding up and down this hospital elevator, and I questioned him about the Tibetan religion and why death is such a big part of it and he said I was...not insulting...superceding...something like disrespecting, the core essence of their religion, their reason for being, and he shut me out of the elevator?! Then the dream shifted and in flashback it turned out I had a daughter at a very young age, and life was hard for me (still set in the same hospital), and supposedly my parents disapproved and were unsupportive. And I was constantly trying to make ends meet, running away from my evil lecherous boss. Then I woke up. Weird. By the way, my daughter's name was Sophie/Sofie, I made sure of that. And I remembered thinking the day before that I would want to name a daughter that if I ever had one. So weird.
And NWN 2 is coming to the Mac!!! Woot!
In any case, I'm tired: taking class was good for my (sinus) headache, but my nose is still dripping. So I should get some rest. 4 more days!!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Almost Christmas
As I have grown older, I have come to be more and more jaded about Christmas with each passing year. Too much commercial hype, less centering on what I always felt was more important: family, and to a certain extent, friends.
Well, this Christmas may be different. This Christmas, I am traveling halfway across the world to be with my parents this Christmas, and that...that just puts a different spin on things. It makes the world crazy, but right again. As Bikram says, the right way is always the hard way. 6 more days, and I will be going home for the holidays. Home, where it is warm, familiar, where I can be waited on hand and foot. I used to deplore that, hate that, but for a little break, it can be nice to have someone else cook and clean and launder, and not worry about it all.
Last week had me teaching 12 classes. Holy cow. 12. And of those 12, I taught two triples (three classes in one day). It was a crazy week. Crazy because people were getting sick but good because people who were ok (touch wood) were able to pick up and make it work. And I was one of those people. Yey! This week's teaching schedule of 8 classes has ended for me and I can now rest easy: Sundays are my day off, as per my request, which was duly honored, for which I am grateful for.
I'm almost fully-packed, have 5 more classes to teach...and I'll be on my way home for a little two-week break. A BREAK. And I mean it: hopefully I can be lazy and grow moss or something. Or maybe teach a few classes, take a few classes; we'll see. For now, I've gotta mail Ninang Noli my extra books, try to squeeze in some yoga, get my pre-Christmas massage on Monday, and maybe go out with Beth, check out Lululemon where I heard Bikram yoga teachers have a discount if they present their certificate: can't WAIT.
I just hope I end my last pre-holiday break strong.
Well, this Christmas may be different. This Christmas, I am traveling halfway across the world to be with my parents this Christmas, and that...that just puts a different spin on things. It makes the world crazy, but right again. As Bikram says, the right way is always the hard way. 6 more days, and I will be going home for the holidays. Home, where it is warm, familiar, where I can be waited on hand and foot. I used to deplore that, hate that, but for a little break, it can be nice to have someone else cook and clean and launder, and not worry about it all.
Last week had me teaching 12 classes. Holy cow. 12. And of those 12, I taught two triples (three classes in one day). It was a crazy week. Crazy because people were getting sick but good because people who were ok (touch wood) were able to pick up and make it work. And I was one of those people. Yey! This week's teaching schedule of 8 classes has ended for me and I can now rest easy: Sundays are my day off, as per my request, which was duly honored, for which I am grateful for.
I'm almost fully-packed, have 5 more classes to teach...and I'll be on my way home for a little two-week break. A BREAK. And I mean it: hopefully I can be lazy and grow moss or something. Or maybe teach a few classes, take a few classes; we'll see. For now, I've gotta mail Ninang Noli my extra books, try to squeeze in some yoga, get my pre-Christmas massage on Monday, and maybe go out with Beth, check out Lululemon where I heard Bikram yoga teachers have a discount if they present their certificate: can't WAIT.
I just hope I end my last pre-holiday break strong.
Monday, December 03, 2007
A Week in the Life
18 days to departure (for Christmas and New Year's in tropical Manila)! I taught 10 classes in a week for the first time. It was surprisingly good, but whew am I tired. I taught two 6 am's, which meant I was up by 4:30, to be in front of the desk by 5:30. That night, because I only had late classes the next day, I slept--for 9 hours straight. The next night, I slept for 8 hours. Wow.
Tonight, even after a salmon burger dinner, I still ate A LOT. Seriously. Let's see. One peppermint cup, one peanut butter cup, some peanut butter cereal, a gingerbread man, a fibrey muffin, then a fillet of tilapia and some asparagus. Before this, I was craving sugarsugarsugar; strangely, after this binge, I feel a LOT better--calmer, saner. Does that make sense?! Well, before this, I had some salmon for lunch at the Hobbit Café, then washed it down with a delish Starbucks peppermint mocha frappuccino! Well, it just didn't agree with me. I had the same case the last time when I went to Raven Grill and had a pasta primavera with cheese and salmon. It also had some tomatoes and cheese, just like today's salmon burger had tomatoes and I had a drink with dairy after. Well, today my stomach went on death throes. Man oh man. But I'm better now, obviously! *Makes note to self to avoid tomatoes, caffeine and dairy in the future*
Not using my new computer yet for Internet; will do that once I get it connected to the studio's internet system. But I'm still thinking of what name to christen my new MacBook. Was thinking Tilly.
Apple sent me the wrong keyboard protector, so I am sending it back (thank you, Angelina!). At the same time, I finally rode on the Spiderwick series and You series bandwagons; looks promising. Got them all at least half-off on Amazon. Yey.
Houston is nice, once you get to explore it, like what I did last Thursday after a nice lunch at Raven Grill, a nice semi-upscale resto along Bissonnet, in the search for better water bottles (they say bad quality plastic leak out into water molecules: best is supposedly the Nalgene brand), food that doesn't come from a can (because the parents said so), the perfect yoga top (Prana Sabin Racer in Coral Paisley, thankyouverymuch) and a cold-weather mule. I found everything except the top, which I found the very next day, online, after looking and looking for it in San Diego and their online store. I got these shoes in the eco-store, Whole Earth (no relation to Whole Foods the super-expensive grocery superstore): Merrell Encore Chill, size 9.5 in black. Very snuggly and warm, and with a sole good enough to walk the town with, plus with a waterproof exterior (though I just found out it's pigskin, oh well)! I found Bookstop/Barnes and Noble, too, right next to Whole Earth, and as I said, there's this gorgeous cupcake boutique bakery called Sugarbaby's along the same road (South Shepherd) that I visited on my way back, where I got to taste-test a cupcake! I also saw an independent jewelry shop, and a fresh-foods cafe that had a Greek flair to it (Zoë's). And along Shepherd is also Star Pizza, which serves one of the best pizzas in the US, supposedly. You can order by the slice and even choose your own toppings: it's pretty good.
Then last Friday, I went with a friend across town and we walked another friend's two dogs. He has two dogs, and the younger one that he rescued runs in front of cars, and goes ballistic when she sees other dogs. They wore us out, haha.
So if you are ever in the Houston area and want to hang out with me, bring your walking shoes as I do not drive. We can start on a nice leisurely walk by going to the museum district on bus, maybe even catch a movie nearby, or by straightaway walking along Shepherd and stopping at Star Pizza which supposedly serves one of the best pizzas in the US, then walking along further and stopping at Sugarbaby's, a gorgeous cupcake boutique (closed on Sundays). A few blocks more will find us at Whole Earth, a fantastic eco-store, with a Barnes and Noble next to it. If we walk a bit farther, we reach Westheimer, where there is St. Anne's, a Catholic church (I finally found the way to walk there!). Then on the way back, walking along Kirby (parallel to Shepherd), we can turn in to West Alabama, where the eco-superstore Whole Foods is, and either eat dinner (if we still have space!) there, or Tex Mex at Mission Burritos (where they have fantastic fish tacos corn chips, a tortilla soup, and gigantic build-your-own-burritos!), or eat veg-friendly/macrobiotic at Field of Greens. So yes, I have obviously been walking around, haha. Next mission is to stake out Kroger on Westpark by foot and explore the fantastic eateries around, not to mention Tapioca Express!
It's been fogging up lately, or raining the whole day (additionally making the heat/humidity in the room a true balancing act!). Houston weather is weird like that, but it also is humid, something California isn't, making Houston much kinder on the skin than dry California. I do admit, though, San Diego weather is plain gorgeous...except when it comes to termites. I do not want to have to deal with that, if ever. Yikes.
*Purchase-wise: I am waiting for muh Skinny Jeans (will they really make my legs look skinny?), stuff from Dr. Schulze (long overdue!), the Spiderwick box set and fairy book, the two You manual books, Mom's Rex Ray book from Amazon, and the iSkin from Apple.
Sometimes, sometimes I wish time would slow down. Dang, I wish I could be a kid again and have no worry in the world. Growing up is overrated. But then again, it IS cool, just...a bit too in-your-face sometimes, you know?
And now Christmas looms up ahead. What to give, what to give; that is the question.
Tonight, even after a salmon burger dinner, I still ate A LOT. Seriously. Let's see. One peppermint cup, one peanut butter cup, some peanut butter cereal, a gingerbread man, a fibrey muffin, then a fillet of tilapia and some asparagus. Before this, I was craving sugarsugarsugar; strangely, after this binge, I feel a LOT better--calmer, saner. Does that make sense?! Well, before this, I had some salmon for lunch at the Hobbit Café, then washed it down with a delish Starbucks peppermint mocha frappuccino! Well, it just didn't agree with me. I had the same case the last time when I went to Raven Grill and had a pasta primavera with cheese and salmon. It also had some tomatoes and cheese, just like today's salmon burger had tomatoes and I had a drink with dairy after. Well, today my stomach went on death throes. Man oh man. But I'm better now, obviously! *Makes note to self to avoid tomatoes, caffeine and dairy in the future*
Not using my new computer yet for Internet; will do that once I get it connected to the studio's internet system. But I'm still thinking of what name to christen my new MacBook. Was thinking Tilly.
Apple sent me the wrong keyboard protector, so I am sending it back (thank you, Angelina!). At the same time, I finally rode on the Spiderwick series and You series bandwagons; looks promising. Got them all at least half-off on Amazon. Yey.
Houston is nice, once you get to explore it, like what I did last Thursday after a nice lunch at Raven Grill, a nice semi-upscale resto along Bissonnet, in the search for better water bottles (they say bad quality plastic leak out into water molecules: best is supposedly the Nalgene brand), food that doesn't come from a can (because the parents said so), the perfect yoga top (Prana Sabin Racer in Coral Paisley, thankyouverymuch) and a cold-weather mule. I found everything except the top, which I found the very next day, online, after looking and looking for it in San Diego and their online store. I got these shoes in the eco-store, Whole Earth (no relation to Whole Foods the super-expensive grocery superstore): Merrell Encore Chill, size 9.5 in black. Very snuggly and warm, and with a sole good enough to walk the town with, plus with a waterproof exterior (though I just found out it's pigskin, oh well)! I found Bookstop/Barnes and Noble, too, right next to Whole Earth, and as I said, there's this gorgeous cupcake boutique bakery called Sugarbaby's along the same road (South Shepherd) that I visited on my way back, where I got to taste-test a cupcake! I also saw an independent jewelry shop, and a fresh-foods cafe that had a Greek flair to it (Zoë's). And along Shepherd is also Star Pizza, which serves one of the best pizzas in the US, supposedly. You can order by the slice and even choose your own toppings: it's pretty good.
Then last Friday, I went with a friend across town and we walked another friend's two dogs. He has two dogs, and the younger one that he rescued runs in front of cars, and goes ballistic when she sees other dogs. They wore us out, haha.
So if you are ever in the Houston area and want to hang out with me, bring your walking shoes as I do not drive. We can start on a nice leisurely walk by going to the museum district on bus, maybe even catch a movie nearby, or by straightaway walking along Shepherd and stopping at Star Pizza which supposedly serves one of the best pizzas in the US, then walking along further and stopping at Sugarbaby's, a gorgeous cupcake boutique (closed on Sundays). A few blocks more will find us at Whole Earth, a fantastic eco-store, with a Barnes and Noble next to it. If we walk a bit farther, we reach Westheimer, where there is St. Anne's, a Catholic church (I finally found the way to walk there!). Then on the way back, walking along Kirby (parallel to Shepherd), we can turn in to West Alabama, where the eco-superstore Whole Foods is, and either eat dinner (if we still have space!) there, or Tex Mex at Mission Burritos (where they have fantastic fish tacos corn chips, a tortilla soup, and gigantic build-your-own-burritos!), or eat veg-friendly/macrobiotic at Field of Greens. So yes, I have obviously been walking around, haha. Next mission is to stake out Kroger on Westpark by foot and explore the fantastic eateries around, not to mention Tapioca Express!
It's been fogging up lately, or raining the whole day (additionally making the heat/humidity in the room a true balancing act!). Houston weather is weird like that, but it also is humid, something California isn't, making Houston much kinder on the skin than dry California. I do admit, though, San Diego weather is plain gorgeous...except when it comes to termites. I do not want to have to deal with that, if ever. Yikes.
*Purchase-wise: I am waiting for muh Skinny Jeans (will they really make my legs look skinny?), stuff from Dr. Schulze (long overdue!), the Spiderwick box set and fairy book, the two You manual books, Mom's Rex Ray book from Amazon, and the iSkin from Apple.
Sometimes, sometimes I wish time would slow down. Dang, I wish I could be a kid again and have no worry in the world. Growing up is overrated. But then again, it IS cool, just...a bit too in-your-face sometimes, you know?
And now Christmas looms up ahead. What to give, what to give; that is the question.
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