Happy 11th Anniversary... not.

So we just wrapped our 11th anniversary celebration.

What's supposed to be a happy affair was marred with ugly memories here and there.

It started when I got approached by RR for a "quick" talk with friends about a family issue that they've been facing. I felt ambushed by the situation and didn't really feel that I had the choice to say no. I was left with no choice at all.

Needless to say, the "quick" talk wasn't quick and it actually set us back 30min or so from our already very tight timeline. To make matters worse, it left me with anxiety and bottled up stress that wasn't really on my cards yesterday -- it was our anniversary after all.

I felt so "walked over" by the situation -- that RR didn't say no, that I didn't say no. I'm angry at my husband and I'm angry at myself. I'm angry right now -- my keyboard knows and feels my anger. It's almost 3am and I still can't sleep. I'm still filled with so much anger and regret about how the situation was handled. We didn't have any power.

I was so disappointed with the domino effect that the situation caused -- we didn't have enough time to prep, I was not able to do my makeup well. For an event that doesn't really happen often, it's sad that it played out this way.

And just when I thought the matter couldn't get any worse, the favorite tita caused a stir with the seating arrangement. I TOTALLY get why she wants to be seated there -- it wasn't because of any of her "palusot," it was because she wanted to be in an "important" seat.

But if the earlier situation taught me one thing, it's that we must draw the line and set our limits for people. For that "tita" - she has reached my limit. She has reached the line and I will not let her overstep it. Not during our event, not during something we organized and paid for. It's a non-negotiable for me.

Good thing my Mama stepped up and handled the situation for me. I don't want to lose two battles in one day.

Sadly, I think I'd like to forget this day rather than remember it. Happy 11th Anniversary? I guess not.

Shanghai 2.0

Hello again, Shanghai!!!

So just to be transparent... I was SO anxious about going to China again. 

Lately, I've been enjoying traveling to the same place over and over again because I can just chill, I know what to expect, I am not pressured to have a checklist of things to do/places to visit - lots of reasons! Top of the mind reason is that we can try to live like locals. And it's interesting to immerse into a different culture and be in a different day-to-day life for a few days.

And China isn't that. It's unfamiliar, it's different... which means there are lots of things that we have to prep!

But come Day 0, wow! (Okay, not really Day 0. That's another story. Lol) Shanghai, you've proven once again why I loved you the first time we visited.

Shanghai is a right mix of old and new, simple and grand, unique and familiar.

We loved going around like locals - now becoming more familiar with the metro and the tools that we needed to thrive in their mind-blowing cashless culture. Now we have data signal 24/7 and we have Alipay so it made life so much easier!

It was extremely cheap to go around - bus only costs P16 and train is P24 minimum. And the Didi isn't bad too! We really like "naka luwag-luwag na kami" this time around. Lol

Food was amaziiiing, too! RR loved the fried dumplings so we had that twice. We would "splurge" but the bill would still be just around P500. Amazing, right?

We had lots of very interesting stories.

-Culture shock and almost getting scammed at the airport upon arrival

-Helping a Dutch couple with their CNY, connecting to data signal and getting an e-sim

-Agoda booking booboo

Saving those for later. :*

Travel Bug

*Originally written as a yap while driving! Just between the trip from Coron (first week of Sept) and Singapore/Ilolilo (mid-Sept)*

This is so weird! Why do I get this feeling? Yeah, I love traveling. I get excited just right before we travel -- booking the tickets, researching, and the whole planning. I get bored when I don't have any trips on the horizon.

But right this moment, with all the traveling that we've been doing, I feel kinda... tired.

It's largely because of all the traveling we've been doing for the month of September, without any rest or time to breathe in between. Right now, I panic when I think of the trips that we have for the rest of the year. And next year, there's going to be no rest for us either. It's going to be a continuous strand of travel for us for probably the whole year.

It's weird, it's weird. And I don't like this feeling. :|

I have to be at peace with the right amount of travel and staying. Right now, I don't think I'm there yet.

Gosh, it's crazy.

Cancelled our Jakarta trip :(

I guess there's a first time for everything.

For us, it's the first time EVER we've cancelled an international trip, but for good reason... Lola Sid passed away a few days ago and her burial schedule is in conflict with the trip we booked to watch Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta. We were initially planning to still go, but Daddy Boy talked us out of it. In our effort to show further support to the family, we cancelled the trip.

It was honestly SO challenging for me to do. I've been looking forward to doing an international trip for a few months now (this is the longest we've never been able to travel, except during the pandemic of course). Flights, hotels, activities, and Java Jazz Fest tickets were all booked! My head was really 101% into hopping on that plane to Jakarta.

But the universe had other plans.

We've moved things around and I get a nice "reward" for the sacrifice we did for the family *wink*

And probably my most favorite thing to come out of our staying: RR was able to reconnect with his siblings. I've been praying for this day to come, and I hope they're able to work things out.

(Writing this from our bedroom. Loved being back here after nightsss of no proper sleep, in different beds/bedrooms. Just arrived from Davao and RR is watching the Monaco quali. Life is good.)

19th 0411 in Mati

 AAHHHH WHAT A VACAY!

Night 3 right now and it’s never been better. It is worth the 7-hr trip and the 7 iClick bookings we turned down because we booked this staycation.

It’s confirmed: we’re in our grandpa/grandma travel era. No itinerary, no solid plans, just lounging, going with the flow, and winging it.

We are staying at White Petals. It’s a modern, clean, but value-for-money airbnb that comes with a huge lawn, beachfront all to ourselves. 😉

We would spend our days inside the room, working or doing some admin stuff. And then in the afternoon we would lounge by the beach. Everything’s been perfect so far BUT my favorite part of this trip is seeing Sola so happy and carefree.

Oh, Sola. It is the first time that she’s been off leash for this long outside our house. She’s been exploring, sniffing around, playing with water. She is in her element and I love that for her. We should do this more often.

Til here for now. Fingers are tired lol

Good night, world. 🤍