October

where to begin??

i guess the best news first! i got my indefinite leave to remain. thank god. i don't think it was really a problem, they cleared me within days. but it was just such a hassle and the timing of it was horrible. especially when i was trying to plan trips, etc. to your side of the world. oh well. i have it now. final step next year, then that'll be the end of it!

went on a short break to snowdonia. rented a cottage like in the highlands, which was the sweetest cottage you'd ever seen. set in it's own private land, with a river running at the bottom of the garden. saw a lot, but the best (hardest!) bit was that we climbed the mount snowdon on my 29th. lots of people do it every year, but not a lot of them come up the pyg track!! i'm always going to remember what i did because of it! it was worth every hard step and scramble.
it was beautiful up there, definitely worth another trip just to see all the castles and stunning views!

oh. cooper now has a criminal record! (haha!) we have someone who comes to walk him every thursday (or when i can't make it home for lunch). well, on this particular walk, he decides to fly around a hedge and basically got himself lost from the pack. pj had to go home to help walk around the fields looking for him! where was cooper? he followed his nose into someone else's backyard and was raiding their rubbish bins!!! they brought him to the police station, where the police put him in a cell while waiting for us to collect him! he's a nightmare! i swear. did i tell you that he also chewed on some dishwasher tablets? we had to call the emergency poison control centre just to find out if he was in any danger. so he's a statistic there too.. dalmatian eating dishwasher tablets. sus.

it's dark outside now, and november is a couple of days away. i've got lots of travel coming up for work for the next couple of weeks, to be capped off by a meeting in paris for the new study i'm on! it's not as glam as it sounds, we've been booked into the hyatt next to Charles De Gaulle! ; )

will post again soon, but in the meantime, i'll put up some pics.

moo.

Catching up…

Have been really bad and not updating my blog in a really long time. Sorry about that moo. It was great chatting again with you after so long. Glad to see you’re doing well, especially given all the things that have been happening around you. I’ve always said that you’re the strongest person I am friends with, and that remains as true now as it was when we were both back in MSI-land.

What have I been up to…

My last entry was in April, and it was semi-about one of the studies that I’m on which is finally (after a very painful termination period!!) ending. I’m now just throwing stuff away that isn’t needed anymore.. It’s very cathartic! Just to be able to finally chuck out all these things I’ve been keeping in the off chance that someone might look for it.

Apart from that, you know that I’ve been promoted yes? Woohoo! And have finally been able to order my Prius. I remember way back saying that I would love to get an electric car as soon as I could, and there we have it! I don’t have it quite yet. It takes 10 weeks to order it through my company, but I can’t wait! I think, more than the fact that it’s eco-friendly or whatever, the thing that appeals to me the most is that I think it’s the ultimate gadget! I don’t think it is really me being eco-friendly because our other car is a Petrol V6 4x4! But maybe it evens it out just a bit. : )

Another work-related thing is PJ has been promoted as well, he’s doing super well in International SOS. And enjoying the work, which is even better. The group he works with are great, and we’ve become quite good friends with his work mates.

I’ve finally passed my driver’s test, and have had the amazing result of no errors! Shocking I know, given the way I drive back in Manila! ; )

Experiences/Adventures since April: Went to see my first live cricket match in Lord’s Cricket ground. First day of the test series between England and West Indies. I loved it!! It was like a big long drawn out party/picnic. People would bring out picnic hampers filled with yummy stuff, or you could buy from the really quality food stalls they had. Beer, champagne, Pimms!! They even had a steel band! We were just chatting away, and every now and then watching the cricket! I am definitely going again.

We had lots of BBQs and dinner parties with friends, building ties… which is always good. End of July we were in Devon for our usual Totnes show and party weekend. It was also PJ's birthday and the whole family and most of the people who were at the wedding came down as well. It was a great long weekend, walking on the beach in the day and eating great food and drinking til 3am at night! We do it every year now... it's practically tradition ; )

We’ve had a bit more of the house redecorated, so the dining room, family bathroom and back bedroom are all now looking a lot better. Ready for guests! (hint hint).

We went to see Avenue Q, Boeing Boeing, and Midsummer Nights Dream. Which is now my favorite theatre experience after Wicked. It was such a great night out. It’s in the open air theatre in Regent’s Park, and the acting was absolutely amazing! I’ve never enjoyed Shakespeare so much! We had a picnic dinner in the park beforehand, then went in to see the show. It was absolute magic.

Went to my first rugby match in Twickenham. Which I was a bit apprehensive about, mainly because it was practically a full stadium, and I didn’t know how I would cope in such a massive crowd. But I really got into it, and had a really good time! We didn’t win, which is a shame… but it was an exciting one to watch!

Cooper is doing well. Naughty as ever, as you know.. but we love him anyway! ; )

Things to coming up: We’ve got two festivals that I’m super keen to go to this September… First one is this weekend, which is an Oyster and Seafood Fest!!! And the next one in late September is the Great British Cheese Festival. I’ve just died and gone to heaven. haha!

Also, l’ve got to pass my Life in the UK test next week… and apply for my ILR week after that. Fingers crossed it will all work out!!! We’re going to explore Wales in October, which is meant to be horribly wet and windy, but we don’t care! Wellies and waterproofs and we’ll be fine diba?

Phew. I guess that’s us all caught up now. I’m sure there’s tons more I could talk about, but this is far far too long now… and I won’t bore you any more!! ; )

Take care moo. Speak soon.

how to make someone’s day

by sending them a pack of yummy biscuits along with boxful of files.

for meow, who loves detail:

one of my co-workers in the czech republic had mistakenly forgotten to send me some binders. she was so apologetic. completely unnecessary, but she sent them to me straight away. i got them today, and in them, was a pack of cookies taped to the inside of the binder along with a note:

ay. : )

Remembering food from UP

Not really a definitive list of the best food from UP, but just my personal list, of what I used to eat and remember.

1) in the shopping center, they had the most addictively yummy eggplant dish... what was it called??? i remember you were able to work out how to cook it moo... do you remember the recipe?
2) carioca after mass – sarap!
3) that summer drink that i can’t remember the name of... summer splash? summer cool? ugh. why can’t i remember the name?
4) tapsilog from rodics – firm molgen favourite!!
5) tom yum soup from that thai place near balara – another molgen favourite!
6) boxes of strawberry nerds from the coop
7) fish balls from the vendor on road near MSI
8) drive through Jolibee to get chicken joy
9) turon
10) ice cream from that place where you can go on the computer... what was that called.. hmm.

No, i’m not hungry at all ;-)