heh. Hi. It's me, Tien. Do you still remember me?

I am so bad. My last post was on August 2. WOOPS! Sincere apologies!

But i'm being proactive about this rare-blogging thing Tien does, right? I mean ... i managed to sign in! Baby steps, Tien! Baby steps!

It's been awhile since i've written something, but lucky for me, I actually have three blog posts that I've written over the summer while in Seattle ... but somehow never uploaded them on here.

So, without further ado:

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The Formulaic Norm

I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love right now and it’s getting me in all sorts of mumbled jumbled anti-formula thinking.

In today’s post, I’ll only touch light into one subject. In the book, the speaker wants to live in Italy for three months to learn Italian. Why? Because she likes the Italian language. Easy as that!

Now, commence my thoughts.

At this point, the average American will robotically think the following:

1) No. Going halfway across the globe to live there because you want to makes no sense. No. My formulaic thinking does not comprehend this nonsense.

2) What’s in it for you? Is it money? Are you working there? Visiting relatives?

3) WTF –why in dear god are you doing what you like?! No.

4) WHY ITALIAN?! Why not learn Spanish because its obviously much more practical and it’ll benefit you in so many ways!

I can go on and on, but I’ll stop.

So I’m reading and thinking, why must everything be a practical solution? Why must all your actions be a duty? Why must it benefit you in one way or another?

It’s like what Allan Watts talked about (btw he’s an awesome philosopher, if you have time, google him), we’re all about goals. In high school, we get that 4.0 and do all those extra-curricular to go to that top University to graduate with honors to get that high-paying job to meet that quota to get that high-status position in the company to earn all that cash and when you get there, you look at yourself and you’ve wasted 40 years doing nothing but just advancing, to benefit yourself and to meet that goal because well, that’s what society dictates.

Congratulations, you’ve wasted 40 years of your life not living and loving and enjoying your life. In a sense, our goals are blinding us from what were really suppose to work toward -- to do what we like and to live a life we love.

Bottom line is, do what you want. Do what you like. You don’t need a justifiable reason for wanting to do what you want or liking what you want. You don’t always have to be a diligent soldier and live your life as if it’s a strict diet you have to follow.

Be free.

Liberate yourself.

Do things that bring you pleasure.

Don’t worry, it’s OK!!!!

Loneliness – the subject, not me.

I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love and Elizabeth Gilbert, the author, talks deeply on the subject of loneliness. She heavily craves, no, she needs the comfort, love, and emotional attachment with a partner to get rid of that feeling. She simply cannot be alone, both physically and emotionally. This idea, I think, resonates in our society a lot today. We depend too much in a relationship and way too too much of our emotional stability in someone else.

It mirrors what our society is today and who we are as human beings. We tend to attach the meaning of loneliness with the lack of a male-female (or female-female, male-male) relationship. We always try to avoid feeling lonely by falling into a relationship, rather than coping how to rise from it by yourself.

While I do understand having a partner rids you of that, but it in no way guarantees loneliness will pop up again even while being in a relationship. When you look toward attaching yourself to a romantic relationship to avoid being lonely, you’re only tackling the symptoms, not the problem. Nah meen? It’s like western medicine and how we prescribe pills to get rid of that headache, but we never look at the root cause of it to fully see why we get it and how we can get rid of it not for just one day, but for life. We always look at it in the short-term perspective, never long-term.

So one should always learn how to engage with oneself, something I daresay is a difficult task, yet at the same time, so empowering (and I’m not talking about that kind of self-engaging, ya dirty people). No longer do you depend on someone else, but you control wassup. That in itself, is already an amazing development.

So to all my beautiful womyn out there, don’t fall for a guy because of loneliness. Tackle it yourself, do the beautiful things in life that brings you pleasure, and create your own remedy to kick it out of your life. Once you have it down pat, then fall for a guy that deserves you. =]

WE LOVE VICTORIA! -- but just downtown.

And that’s what we said the entire time we were here. lol but really though! We really adore Victoria.

But just the downtown part.

If I were to describe Victoria, I’d say its like Disneyland, without the Disney. Nah meen??? It’s such a happy place! I feel like everywhere I walk, someone will break down and get down and boogy woogy with a really big smile on their face welcoming everyone and dancing and singing and doing their thang! There are flowers EVERYWHERE!!!! And the harbor is like … RIGHT THERE! which really gives Victoria the clean, crisp air with the nice, cool breeze. Perfect weather for downtown! You get to see the scenic streets adorned with beautiful buildings and decorated with the cute small boats along the harbor. And get this, the Parliament building lights up at night! IT FREAKN’ LIGHTS UP AT NIGHT! THE PALIAMENT BUILDING! It’s like a freakn’ Christmas tree or Eiffel Tower or something! The first time I saw it … my eyes were O.O

Boooyyyy was that sumin’.

One of my favorite spot downtown is the Market Square.

SO. DAMN. HIP. AND VEGAN. AND MUSICALLY TALENTED. AND UNIQUE. AND FULL OF THE ECLECTIC FRESH VIBE WITH A TOUCH OF OAK AND A SPLASH OF COLOR. Just how I want ‘em to be. I can’t really describe it to you cause standing there and absorbing the sight, listening to the awesome live music on stage, and eating the Indonesian food is just so different from typing it down. So really. You just have to come here and check it out yourself. :)

Besides from the awesomeness that is the Market Square, one other thing I really love is the food. Specifically the Irish Times Pub. OMG ORGASM IN YO’ MOUTH! It’s like. You die, go to heaven, eat really good food there, then fall into a coma, and then dream that you’re eating really good food all while you’re in that damn coma! So basically, it’s like Inception, but every dream stage involves you eating REALLY REALLY DELICIOUS food. So really, you just have to come down here and taste it for yourself. :)

Oh! And I also bought my first alcoholic tea drink in Canada. ^_^

So I’m riding a double-decker right now (my first time! ^_^) heading to the ferry to get to Vancouver. I’m kinda exhausted from all the walking so I’m praying we bump into a trust fund kid and he’d fall in love with me so he’d drive us around with his Maserati.

Update: a guy next to me is speaking French. Muy sexcksii.

Update #2: he just turned around. No (in French). *turns left to look at the building

Update #3: I am on the BC Ferry to Vancouver. They have free wifi and you know how much i love my wifi free.

The lake we're on is soooooo gorgeous!!! I just want to dive in! I'm falling in love with the scenic view...

Operation Canada : Day Fucking One ^_^

5 hours before we left for our crazy adventure, we started planning our crazy adventure. Ooohhhh yeaaaa ^_^

Destination: Canada, specifically Victoria and Vancouver

Five minutes later, we realized renting a car was out of the question because:

1) 1my sister was out of the question since:

a. her ID expired

b. she has three strikes already , which is a big no no -__-

2) I’m out of the question bks one must be 21

So this left us with the ferry or “backpacking roadtrip,” and since I do not work and my sister works for AmeriCorp, going the ferry route would be much more expensive for our poor and hungry selves so naturally…

we opted to just wing it and take the bus! Yeehaaa!

Then out of nowhere, we added Poulsbo, Port Angeles, and Forks to the agenda because our theme for the weekend seem to have been …. “ah shucks, we might as well.” Because really, it was on the way (and so we can get bragging rights)! lol

And so, four hours later, we left for the ferry to Bainbridge Island to take the bus to Poulsbo to Port Angeles to Forks to Port Angeles and then hop on the ferry to Victoria and then jump on over to Vancouver then take the train home! Whew! That was a mouthful! *wipes sweat from forehead

We ventured on this lil adventure with nothing but one bag of luggage, my camera-phone, and a stickynote with the city and the bus number. That’s all. We left blind with no schedule and nothing planned but with our spirits ready for some spontaneous, wicked fun adventures!

And i’m here to tell you that that is OK! You don’t always have to be perfect and prepared and have a whole schedule planned out! SO FORMULAIC! Break free from the mode! In fact, I actually prefer that you wing it (though, it is situational lol). Let me tell you, I personally think that the best trip you can possibly have is with great company, the right spirit, and a map. OH HELLZ YEA!

And also, it’s much cheaper, too! I’ve been paying 50 cents to two dollars for the bus to get from one city to another so imagine how cheap our trip was! The most expensive transportation we paid so far was probably for our ferry to Victoria! And that was only 15 dollars! O.O!!!! Compare that to 80somethingdollars from Seattle to Victoria with no stops in between! OH HELLZ YEA!

So I just arrived in Victoria, Canada and it is absolutely lovely! I love this city already! It’s so happy and springy and the architecture and the harbor just makes it ten times better! THERE ARE FLOWERS EVERYWHERE, TOO! I feel like someone is going to pop out and break into a musical and dance and sing! Oh …. lovely Victoria. ^_^

Reader Discretion: though I speak highly of this going blind ordeal, this is NOT meant for everyone. Please consult with a professional before you not plan your trip. Gluck and have fun!

Hello, lovely Seattle.

Seattle is high on caffeine every hour, everyday – the Gilmore girls should live here!

There are coffee shops on every block and with it being the birth place of the mega-global coffee chain, Starbucks, you can see the well-familiarized green lady in a circle on every block. So since I’m here for oh, two and a half weeks, im pretty much spending my down time in some local coffee shop with (here’s the best part) complimentary free wi-fi. ^_^ oh yeaaaa. Can life get any better than f r e e wi-fi?!

I think not.

I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve written on this blog. Apologies. But I do have a reason for that - - I’ve been living my life (as should you!).

So Seattle. Oh, Seattle. If I were to describe it, I’d say it’s a good mix between San Francisco and greens. And when I say greens, I mean trees. And when I say trees, I mean lots of ‘em. I love it! AND public transportation hands down is far superior than what we have back home. But that’s a given. lol. And did I mention it’s free, too? F R E E anywhere in downtown. Gosh I love that word!

Be jealous.

lol.

Jk.

No but really, be jealous.

One thing I love about traveling is immersing yourself in that city. Every single city has its own culture and heartbeat, and living it is one of the best experiences one should… experience. I think that’s one of the reasons why I love going out of Orange County. Finding the nice little perks and surprises that city has to offer. Who knows, you might live there one day.

And I’m not talking about the typical touristy stuff. I don’t want to be that girl in that group in that car that looks like a boat listening to that guy that spits out a lot of information about god knows what. I’m talking about LIVING in that city, not just passing by. Nah meen? There’s something so much more powerful and sentimental when you’re being one with the locals. In light of that, I’ve been living as a Seattleite for quite some time -- taking the light link rail downtown, walking everywhere, and taking the bus everyday with a cup of joe in one hand.

Besides being famous for Microsoft, Starbucks, Ichiro, Boeing, and Kurt, Seattle has a lot of local, quaint stores with even better Victorian-Romanesque buildings and cobblestone roads. I just simply love it! And lucky me, my sister lives very close to everything so it's just a small walk away.

I'm not gonna go into detail about my day-to-day life cause thats not what I do, and simply because I can't remember. lol. Rather, this entry serves as a viral note to self of how I see this lovely city so far and what i've gotten out of it (which will be in my future posts. I promise!).

My stay here is quite longer than your usual weekend trip. I'm here for exactly two-and-a-half weeks visiting the sister. During the day, i'm the solo traveler exploring the city's wonderful delights while my sister is at work doing her thang and by night time, i'm home with her cooking or eating out and enjoying the city in a different light, at night to be exact.

It's been wonderful so far. I love not having to be on a packed schedule and waking up early. I get to enjoy the city leisurely and at my own pace. The joys of having a sibling living in a different city! woot woot!

I'm praying she'll live in Costa Rica next year. tehe ^_^

K. My time here is done! I'm outty! Until next time, be safe, be happy ... goodbye!

*crickets*

China's at it again, folks.

Goddang that China. They’re arresting more innocent people now. Ughk.

First, they arrest dissidents.

Then, they arrest human rights activists.

Now, they’re arresting innocent Tibetan writers, poets, and musicians.

What next, fucking street-dwellers?

Every time I read an article like this, it just shows how powerful the people behind the title are. In an environment where there is one-party rule and the lack of a check and balance system that has the power to overrule one’s rule, anything can happen. It scares the living shit out of me that one human being can have that much power, and even more so, it makes me cringe at the thought that someone whose personality deems it ok to inflict harm on a fellow being is in such a high position.

On the macro level, the political arena is like a dog-eat-dog world, especially when the political system only has a spot for one egoistical, power hungry creep. Someone/group is always trying to get the power, maintain the power, and stay in power by all means. And this trickles down to the micro-business level, too. Naw meen? Nasttyyy shizz, man.

It really scares me though. I guess that’s why I’ve always trailed away from politics. I’ve taken some political classes and have highly enjoyed it because truth be told, that shit is super interesting. But as I get too deep into the subject matter, I find out the brutal, gritty, and misleading side of it. I’m just not talking about countries that have a track record of human rights abuse; I’m talking about those who we don’t even think would act in such a way. Like how we, the US, abuse our position in the WTO regarding certain farming tariffs, which eventually trickles down and leaves the local farmers in Africa poor and their kids malnourished. I’m talking about how a Private Member in Uganda can even think about introducing an Anti- Homosexuality Bill that allows the local government to punish homosexuals with the death penalty. And don’t even get me started on N. Korea, Vietnam, and China.

Oy.

That’s why sometimes I wish Iron Man or James T. Kirk was our leader. Life would be much funnier with them around. ^_^