Lull

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step."

Lao Tzu

...

     I finally got to travel again. It may have not been to any "new places", but it was full of new experiences and at the end of the day that's all that counts.

     I wish I had more funny stories to tell. But then again, my life can be a bit monotonous, specially so during the semester. But then again, when it's fun, I am enjoying too much the moment for me to stop and write. I try my best to keep save the memories for later. It's just frustrating how all the details gets lost as time passes. Still, I prefer old memories written down without perfect details than to stop living for a second.

     I've heard so much about Ballard's Farmers Market. There is something about local fresh food that makes me warm and happy on the inside. Food alone makes me happy. You know how guys say "Bros before h***"? Well, I prefer "Snacks before naps". I love both snacks and naps, just as a guy loves his bros and... ladies (stop degrading women for owning their sexuality). Sorry, I got sidetracked. Back to the market... 

     It was a cold, windy day. Just as I walked near the Market, I could smell so many things. The whole street was filled with tents and people looking for things to buy. In the market could find tulips, to beers, cookies, vegetables, wines, clothing, painting; all locally grown or made. In the sidewalk you could find performing artist. Kids singing in a chorus, some men writing poems, violin and guitar sounds filled the air. Sadly, I had no money to waste, so I couldn't try any of the delicious looking food available. But I can't wait to go back and try some!

     The Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon, WA was blooming during my visit. It seemed like a nice sunny day when we left Seattle. Although people always say that it's constantly raining in Washington, I've found that to be an exaggeration. Yes, it does rain (more like a drizzle and less like actual pouring rain). No, it's not always. I've seen many beautiful days in Washington. When we got to Mount Vernon about an hour and half later, the weather was not as pretty. It was drizzling, windy and cold. So happy I took my coat with me that day. Still, the tulip fields were beautiful. There were acres and acres of tulips of all colors, mud and people. I am not a big flower fan, allergies and everything, but I fell in love with a red tulip with white borders. We walked around the fields for a few hours, took some nice pictures and left half an hour later. The view was worth the drive. So, if you ever find yourself in Washington during April and want a nice slow day, this is the perfect way to go.

     I don't remember where I left my (white) Storm Trooper lego figure! I need to stop taking Lego's from a 5 year old. In my defense, he had 3 more and he didn't understand the awesomeness of Star Wars. I know it's my responsibility to guide them to the dark side, but I had no patience. Add to that the fact that they actually shoot out a Lego piece. I had to. I needed to. I lost it.

     I'll take some space to talk about long distance relationships. You are welcome to skip this part if you like. It's been something going around my head now that I get closer to my one year mark. So far, I've learned that long distance relationships are more complicated than "normal" relationships. It's not just the distance, the time difference, the extra effort on communication and the lack of physical contact. It goes farther than that. Weekends seem eternal. Sometimes Netflix doesn't even cover, and come one, we all know Netflix covers up everything. Sure, I have amazing friends. But when it comes to hangout, it's not so easy. Those who have a significant other usually do couple activities (double dates and such). Those who are single obviously love doing single stuff (drink, flirt, FLIRT, repeat). In my case, I can't do either (I can flirt, but then again it gets boring). It sucks to find yourself having a bottle of wine with your mom and her boyfriend (mom always being there for me). It's not that I don't like to spend time with my mom, nor I am saying I want out of the ship. What I am trying to state is that it gets hard. Incredibly hard. And, being honest, yes, sometimes I want to burn the ship. Still, in the end, when you get to see that special person, you forget about the whole ordeal and know all of it has been worth it.

Quick points!

• I wore a dress to class. That's as close as I get to feeling girly.
• The next day I wore a flowery skirt and shirt. What's happening?
• Summer temperatures started creeping into Puerto Rico. It is like a constant sauna here. How do people expect me to let my hair grow long in this weather?!
• I discovered that, superhero as I am, I have an sworn archenemy.
• I really dislike not going to class for unreasonable reasons.
• Less than a month for the Puerto Rico ComicCon!
• I am jobless. I want an iWatch. I can't have everything I want. Or can't I? Nope. I was right.
• That Star Wars "The Force Awakens" teaser... 
• Nothing like free ice cream. Specially if it is a Strawberry Cheesecake cone from Ben&Jerry's.
• I need to stop advertising places, food and other things on my blog. I am not getting paid for this!
• Netflix Marvel's Daredevil is so good. (There I go again...)
• You should all watch What We Do In The Shadows. Such a good comedy.
• I went to a cabaret on date night. Guys, if your girlfriend is not the jealous type, you should totally to that with her. It's a whole different thing where you'll both have fun. Maybe it'll end up sparking something new...
• Game of Thrones is back!
• Why are there so many quick points this time?
• A friend is asking me to call a number and ask for dwarfs. Apparently people find them amusing and a bar wants to pay some to be just be there.

“去哪儿旅行不重要，
重要的是跟谁一起旅行”。

(:

Algid

There is more than road to get where you want to... 

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
                                                                                             - Dylan Thomas
...

It's pretty hard to keep a blog when you have no internet in your place...

     I always try to find time to write. I like keeping my memories unaltered and young. That's one of the main reasons I have this blog and a diary. I even make notes on my phone about thoughts I have throughout the day. But then again writing takes time and should not be forced. I admit, after more than a month I am a bit rusty with the whole writing thing. I shall review this post several times before I publish it to make sure everything is written correctly. I apologize in advance for the errors. 

What I enjoy the most about being human is
having the capacity to change, learn, grow

     Winter break in Puerto Rico is usually over a month long, so it gives us time to enjoy moments with family and friends, rest and travel. As I've said so many times, I simply adore travelling. My winter destination: Seattle, WA. Although I've been several times to Washington State, I always find something new and entertaining to do. This time around I went ice-skating, to the zoo, hiking, watched movies on IMAX, to the art museum, visited a graduate school campus, and just walked around the city. Do I even have to say I slept my other days out? It was some nice vacation with spectacular free home-cooked meals. It was a nice break from the day-to-day hectic life that I have back home during my semesters.

Survival mode

     The whole idea was to get to Seattle on Christmas day. I had arranged flights, made deals with people and everything so that I could get there at midnight. The day of my departure I noticed I'd left some important things back at my apartment (hiking boots, toothbrush, other stuff), so I left for the airport early. A few minutes out of the house I noticed I had left my apartment keys at my car, and just as I was about to turn back, I get a strange call. It was the airline. My flight had been delayed, which meant I would miss my layover in Miami and wouldn't make it to Seattle until late the next day. I was about to loose my cool real badly. I asked about earlier flights and, to my good luck, they had one that left in less than 2 hours. I had to be on that flight. There was a small problem though. I was 45 minutes away from the airport and still had to stop at my place. I had to decide: get to Seattle on time and buy whatever I required there, or not get to Seattle when planned and save up that money. Then again money comes and goes, good memories last a lifetime. I am glad I decided as I did. It was wholly worth it. 

It's hard to get up on ice

     It was not my first time seeing snow, but it was my first time having a one-on-one moment with it. I did not have gloves nor boots made for it. Somehow I expected the snow to be less cold than it actually was. My hands were freezing, but it didn't stop me from making snowballs while feeling the cold pain all the way to my bones. The trail to the Big Four Ice Caves was not easy for my Keds, my body or the people around me who couldn't help but to fall every 5 seconds. That constant falling made the 1.1 mile hike to where the caves were situated feel eternal. Once I got to the ice caves I didn't want to go back. Part of it because it was incredibly beautiful,  the other part because of how long the way was with a person constantly falling besides you. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching him struggle to keep up. It was one of the most adorable and funny thing I've ever seen happen to him. But the sun was setting and we were in a soon-to-be-dark forest walking. What if a bear came out of nowhere?!

Art speaks to me on many levels

     I have a love-hate relationship with zoos as with many other things on life. Who doesn't love to see "wild" animals up-close? But at the same time, who knows what happens behind the curtains? So many stories of animal cruelty in zoos have been out. I find it really hard to have a firm stand against it. Anyways, during my stay in Seattle I visited the Woodland Park Zoo because of elephant reasons. It was incredibly cold and rainy that day. Still, I get to see two beautiful elephants. Sad thing is I didn't take pictures of them. I really hope they are well fed and taken care of. Apart from the elephants, they had zebras, kangaroos, bears, penguins, hippos, ostriches, orangutang, owls and other animals I can't remember right now. The zoo in general is beautiful. The animals where pretty active considering it was cold and cloudy. I would advice you to go during summer though. A plus of going this summer will be the new attraction: TIGERS! 

I have a thing for large land mammals

     With Valentine's Day approaching, I decided to do something I've never done before. See, I am a firm believer that Valentine's is just a pathetic pretext for capitalism to have it's way by making us buy things we don't need for people who don't deserve it. Love and friendship are not things that you feed chocolate and cards once a year, but something you should care for every day. Still, I took it as a really lame excuse to  spoil my significant other. Although technically it will arrive before the actual day, in my mind it will still count as that first time I gave someone special a Valentine's gift. I'm so cheesy sometimes...

Frostbite: it's real

     Remember the whole "I will start meditating daily" thing? That ended up not work. I do try to live in the moment every day, but not in the form of meditation. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that I am not as organised in life as I should be. Eventually I am sure to get there. Meanwhile, I will let my mind fly moments before I fall asleep.

I am a person of habits, so... quick points!!

• The court viewing for the whole alimony thing will finally come to an end in a few days. I won't lie, I couldn't be more nervous.
• Any ideas for spring break?
• I need to officially submit my change of major.
• Got pretty nice grades last semester. I guess all the stress and wanting to crawl under my desk was totally worth it.
• I miss China. More so now that I can have a conversation about food with people.
• I want some Pho or Thai. I don't know if restaurants of the sort even exist in Puerto Rico.
• I did some research. There are a handful of Thai restaurants in Puerto Rico. The best one is far away from San Juan. I will make plans to go and will let you know how good it was.
• If the basic class of Chinese was hard, the second part is just... I just took a test and the translation part was something else.
• I want to go to back China so badly. It's such an interesting country and culture. 
• Been sick twice this semester and it hasn't even been a month of it.
• I use my Facebook as a memory timeline to write my post.
• That Seattle SeaHawks SuperBowl lost was heartbreaking. My jersey... it hurts.
• My car is a constant disappointment. I fix one thing, it breaks down elsewhere. I honestly don't know what else to do with it.
• I ate a snail (I am so sorry Gary!) and I liked it. The consistency felt like shrimps and mushrooms put together. It was a whole new experience. 
• I got some really cool StarWars leggings for Christmas (among other things).

Somehow I expected this to be a longer post...

(:

I consider myself a really lucky person.

Not because I have a perfect life,

but because I have amazing people in it.