I just booked a Taiwan trip for early December. It took me a mere five minutes to make up my mind as the ticket only cost me peanuts (promo fares ftw!). I figure this will be my birthday present to myself this year. I am super extremely stoked that I have spent the whole evening looking for accommodation, reading Taiwan-related threads in travel forums and googling the addresses of Muji and Kinokuniya shops in Taipei. This early I have drawn up a budget and I will make sure I strictly abide by it. I really intend to make this one of my cheapest trips evarr.
What makes this trip even sweeter is that Filipinos can now enjoy visa-free travel to Taiwan provided you are a permanent resident of or a holder of a valid visa from the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand or any of the Schengen countries. Visa fees have already been waived.
I've decided to go alone again this time. Since my Thailand trip last year I have grown hooked on travelling solo. I am also quite excited to experience chilly weather and use my winter clothes again.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A mid-year assessment
Significant events that happened in the past six months:
- C's Manila visit in January
- Boracay vacay with C
- Hong Kong and Macau trip in February/March (hung out with the B's!)
- My barely two-month stint at an international development firm (March - May)
- Being sidelined by illness for a month
- Writing a substandard essay that managed to win something
New music listened to:
HEAPS. I try to listen to at least 2-3 new indie groups on a weekly basis. I am thisclose to maxing out the memory of my Music drive due to extremely active downloading. Preferred genres at the moment are shoegaze, indietronica and a good measure of rock and alternative still.
Good movies watched:
In the vicinity of 10-15. Off the top of my head the ones that really delivered/made an impact were: The Double Life of Veronique, My Blueberry Nights, Sideways, The Royal Tenenbaums, Two Lovers, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Edward Scissorhands (re-watched recently). I download movies regularly and there's still quite a few unviewed films in the queue.
Books read:
Still stuck with the same book (Eat, Pray, Love) for months now! What a massive shame. Re-read bits of Murakami's South of the Border, West of the Sun. Unsuccessfully tried to finish The Fountainhead for the 50th time. Staring at my bookshelf now and there are a multitude of titles calling out to me and I really gotta do something about it. My collection has gotten out of hand and to date I already own a heinous amount of books. My whole lifetime will probably not be enough to finish reading all of these.
Friends made:
A good handful.
Alcohol consumed:
An indeterminate amount, but considerably lower compared to alcohol consumption levels during January-June 2008.
Lessons learnt:
- Remove blinders. Not all that glitters is gold.
- Familiarity really does breed contempt.
- Money can never ever buy fulfillment.
- We reach a certain stage in life when it really isn't cool anymore to become embroiled in Melrose Place drama. I realised this at 26.
- Be thankful for what you've got, because you really do have it good.
- Emo is so last season. Always best to surround yourself with good vibes and happy people.
- Life is too short for mediocre music, books and films and so I have to be extra discerning with how I spend my time when it comes to these things (but of course we still need the occasional tacky song or very badly-made movie to have unbridled fun...ahhh...guilty pleasures).
- C's Manila visit in January
- Boracay vacay with C
- Hong Kong and Macau trip in February/March (hung out with the B's!)
- My barely two-month stint at an international development firm (March - May)
- Being sidelined by illness for a month
- Writing a substandard essay that managed to win something
New music listened to:
HEAPS. I try to listen to at least 2-3 new indie groups on a weekly basis. I am thisclose to maxing out the memory of my Music drive due to extremely active downloading. Preferred genres at the moment are shoegaze, indietronica and a good measure of rock and alternative still.
Good movies watched:
In the vicinity of 10-15. Off the top of my head the ones that really delivered/made an impact were: The Double Life of Veronique, My Blueberry Nights, Sideways, The Royal Tenenbaums, Two Lovers, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Edward Scissorhands (re-watched recently). I download movies regularly and there's still quite a few unviewed films in the queue.
Books read:
Still stuck with the same book (Eat, Pray, Love) for months now! What a massive shame. Re-read bits of Murakami's South of the Border, West of the Sun. Unsuccessfully tried to finish The Fountainhead for the 50th time. Staring at my bookshelf now and there are a multitude of titles calling out to me and I really gotta do something about it. My collection has gotten out of hand and to date I already own a heinous amount of books. My whole lifetime will probably not be enough to finish reading all of these.
Friends made:
A good handful.
Alcohol consumed:
An indeterminate amount, but considerably lower compared to alcohol consumption levels during January-June 2008.
Lessons learnt:
- Remove blinders. Not all that glitters is gold.
- Familiarity really does breed contempt.
- Money can never ever buy fulfillment.
- We reach a certain stage in life when it really isn't cool anymore to become embroiled in Melrose Place drama. I realised this at 26.
- Be thankful for what you've got, because you really do have it good.
- Emo is so last season. Always best to surround yourself with good vibes and happy people.
- Life is too short for mediocre music, books and films and so I have to be extra discerning with how I spend my time when it comes to these things (but of course we still need the occasional tacky song or very badly-made movie to have unbridled fun...ahhh...guilty pleasures).
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