Rurouni Kenshin, you're the Best!

It's really not fun being home alone. I can't go out as I am still recovering from my operation. Browsing the internet can also be tiring as you are just sitting infront of the computer. And so to keep me sane, I watch Asian dramas.  I know they are a bit mushy but this is what I often do when I've nothing else to do. 

I was browsing on what good drama to watch when I saw Satoh Takeru's name in one of the drama's I found. So instead of starting to watch the drama, I clicked on his name to check his profile. Then it brought up all drama's and movies that he have starred in to. OMG! I just remembered! He is Samurai X! 


I got so excited so I clicked the link and watch the film for the 4th time. I really love Satoh's portrayal as Kenshin Himura. It really suit him. I like the fighting scene. Specially when he flew to save Kaoru from the Battosai. Plus he looks really cute wearing the kimono and his katana.


I have also watched the series Samurai X a few years back and  that time I started to like Kenshin's character.  

After I watched the movie, I started thinking that my days at home will not be boring after all, because I am going to watch the Samurai X anime series again. ;)   

external links:
http://kenshin.wikia.com/wiki/Himura_Kenshin
http://artist.amuse.co.jp/artist/satoh_takeru/

My Husband and my Happiness in Hard Times!

My life has been in a roller coaster for the past few weeks. But I am still thankful to God for all the blessings and what I considered, my second life.

I am still recuperating physically and emotionally from the surgery I went through from the past couple of weeks.  I am so thankful to my family, my husband, my sisters and my friends for all the support that  they have given me. It was overwhelming and whenever I think about it, I have teary eyes.

I know God has a better plans for me and He is just testing my faith.  I know that everything happens for a reason. And I just have to accept it and move on. So my birthday wish for myself is, move on and try not to be too emotional on what had happened.  Everything will be alright. I am positive about it.


Thanks to my husband for being at my side and for keeping up with me whenever I feel depressed and about to cry.  Thanks for taking care of me when I was in the hospital and recuperating at home. Thanks for your home cooked food and for buying me chocolates and ice cream to cheer me up. Even though you know that it's not good for me. But since you know that it will make me happy, you still buy them for me. Thanks for the love and support.

And most specially, thanks for the book that you bought for me. I really loved it. Even if you already know that this is the book that I wanted to buy a long time ago but I don't want to buy it for myself because I wanted someone to buy it for me. And you actually did!

I know that we will always have "Happiness in Hard Times" because we are always here for each other. To support one another. To pray together and to face the world together.

As I always say to you... I know it sounds a bit cliche but I don't mind at all...  I love you to infinity and beyond! Fighting! Fighting!

A Sad Story

And so, it has been a week since I found out I'm having a baby. For the past few days, I've already started planning and preparing for the pregnancy. I started taking vitamins and food supplements that are needed to have a healthy baby. I've started reading some books about pregnancy and check the internet if there are baby stuff that are on sale and if there's a baby expo in some stores.  I was so excited that sometimes I couldn't sleep at night because it makes me a little anxious about the pregnancy.

On Sunday at 4am, I had a dream that I was hitting someone with an umbrella I got for free when I bought shoes last Friday.  I was so furious in my dream so I kept on hitting the person with the umbrella.  I don't even know who the person was in my dream. Then my husband woke me up because he said he heard me moaned.  Then I felt something between my thighs, It was blood. I got up and went to the bathroom to check. I am having a spotting. I thought it's normal, so I just changed and went back to bed. When I got up in the morning, there's no spotting at all. So we proceeded with our plans to attend the mass and after that we went to watch the movie, Man of Steel. That whole day, I didn't have any spotting.  Only until the next day, Monday. So since I thought it's normal, I just ignored it. I went to work and started my daily routine at work but I felt anxious on what had happened yesterday so I told my friend at work that I had some spotting yesterday. After she heard the news, she panicked and asked me to go see a doctor. So I felt very anxious and asked my boss if I can take a half day leave as I need to see a doctor. He allowed me to leave early as he thinks that it is serious when he heard the news.  So I sms'd my husband and good thing that he's still at home getting ready for work.

We went to the doctor and he checked on me. I had my second ultrasound and the unexpected happened. He said that he couldn't see the baby and my case can be an early miscarriage. He said it in a professional way with no emotions at all as to what is happening. My husband and I were both shocked and don't know what to say.  I was controlling my tears and asked the doctor what should we do if it is indeed an early miscarriage. He answered bluntly, "just let it bleed". He said that there's no need to do anything, since it's a miscarriage, it will just pass through without even doing anything.

When we left the clinic, I burst into tears and I was very saddened by what the doctor had said.  We went straight home and for the first time in my life, I felt very depressed and exhausted.  I laid in bed and cried. Thoughts came rushing in my mind, what is happening to me, why on earth we have to face this kind of situation, what did I do wrong to deserve this. I fell asleep with all this thoughts in my mind. I was so exhausted. I wanted the time to stop and go back on the day I found out I was pregnant but I couldn't...

The Day I found out I'm Pregnant

It was Thursday morning of Jun 6, 2013.  I was so lazy to get up from bed and go to work. I was trying to decide if I should call in sick or make all the effort to get up and get ready for work. I said to myself, I only have 5 minutes to decide so I can still catch the bus going to work.

So I got up and went to the toilet to pee. I was just sitting there and was pondering about life and what to do about it. A thought came to me that I am not getting any younger. Though I am happy on what's happening with my life, I still think that something is missing. Could be I'm having my pre-birthday syndrome again? I always feel anxious on everything whenever my birthday is coming. One more month and I will be a year older.  Then another thought came to my mind, I said to myself, wait yah! I bought my pads 2 weeks ago and I haven't used any of it yet. Was I too stressed from work that's why my period is delayed? Was I having this irregular cycle again because I was exhausted for the last few weeks? Or could I be pregnant now? Anyway, whatever the reason is I still have decided not to go to work and call in sick.  That's the best part for it. I will have a time off from work. I just want to relax and contemplate on whatever things come to my mind. Maybe I am too stressed and need this day to free my  mind from work stress.

I checked my medicine box and took the HPT. Because a few months back, my husband and I were so excited to try to see if I became pregnant after our honeymoon, Too excited we bought 2 different HPT kits.  I've used up the 1st one a couple of months ago when I was delayed for 5 days. But no luck, it showed negative. So Yeah! I still have a spare HPT kit at home.  And there it goes... I pee'd for the second time, and only a few seconds, it showed "pregnant". I was in awe and called out my husband's name and asked him to check on the hpt if i am really seeing it correctly or I am just blur. He took the kit from me and he said in a calm manner, "Ï think it's for real, we're having a baby, do you wanna see a doctor today?".  I jumped up and hurriedly took a shower and asked him to also take a shower after I'm done and we'll see a doctor.  It was his day off and I know he slept very late last night because he was playing this "Civilization"game online. He was too excited and he didn't mind that he's lacking sleep. 

We went to a clinician in our neighbourhood and had my check up. I am indeed pregnant! I had trans-vi ultrasound and the doctor saw a tiny dot in my uterus. Doctor said we need to come back after 2 weeks to check again as it is still very small. When the doctor asked us if we have questions, the only thing that came up in my husband's mind is if they have a book that we can read so we can understand more about pregnancy and being a parent.

We had mixed emotions when we went out of the clinic. We were thrilled! overjoyed! scared! happy! excited! anxious what will we be like being a parent. What's going to happen in the next few months and so on... With all our emotions and worries, we decided to go to St Alphonsus Church (Novena Church)  to pray and thank  the Lord for the blessings.  After going to church, we went to our favorite Pontian noodle house and had our lunch.

We chatted while eating and after we finished, with so much happiness overflowing in us, we headed back home...

HAPPINESS is...

- spending a lazy afternoon with your dearest
- eating our favorite Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream... Everything but the.. Maple Tree Hugger !
- watching a good movie

Chinese New Year is not over yet!

I am slowly adapting to the chinese culture since I moved to this country. This is my 3rd year celebrating Chinese New Year and ever since the first year I've been here, I also look forward to this festive season.

In our culture, Chinese New year is like celebrating Christmas, where you visit your love ones and friends, have dinner with them, give presents.

These are the  four things I always look forward to during this festive season:
1. Long Weekend!

Who wouldn't love a long weekend? It is like Christmas for me! 2-3 days off or longer. It depends on which date the Lunar calendar in Chinese New year falls. 

2. Mandarin Oranges!

Though I seldom eat fruits, it feels nice to receive mandarins during this time of season.  They say that mandarins symbolizes gold in Chinese. So it makes me really happy whenever I received GOLD! :)

3. Hong Bao (Red packet)

During this festive season, Chinese people prepare Hongbao's for their friends and loved ones.  The company I am working with also gives hong bao to their employees. My boss also gives hong bao every year. I don't use the money, I just keep it as souvenirs. =)

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4. Lo Hey (Prosperity toss)

This is the time where family and friends or your colleagues at work gather in one table and have a prosperity toss. This is like a fish salad where they put all the  shredded veggies, raw fish, oil and a variety of sauces and condiments. Then all of you will toss the salad to mix all the ingedients while saying whatever good words that come to your mind. My friend always say that when you do the Lo Hey, you have to toss higher while saying your wish. The higher you toss, the high chance of having your wish come true.  I love making wishes, so I tried as much as possible to toss the salad higher. Then after we're done tossing, we will start eating the salad. We are like kids playing with our food before we eat it but in a good way.

Since I still don't have enough knowledge to understand Chinese culture, I needed help from the internet so I made some research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng

Yusheng, yee sang or yuu sahng (Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hî-seⁿ or hû-siⁿ), or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

While versions of it are thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version is created and popularised[citation needed] in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. In Malaysia and Singapore, government, community and business leaders often take the lead in serving the dish as part of official functions during the festive period or in private celebrity dinners.


Here's another info I found on the internet about the Chinese New Year:

http://education2.uvic.ca/Faculty/mroth/438/china/chinese_new_year.html

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations. 

GONG XI FA CAI!!!

REMINISCING... Dear Diary

Time flies so fast. It's been 4 years since I logged in to this blog. Thank goodness! I still remember my password! And thanks much from my friend at work she made me realised what I am missing.

When I was a child, I like writing my thoughts and secrets in my diary. I never fail to ask my "nanay" (mom) to buy me extra notebook so I can use it as my diary whenever we go to this bookstore, "National Bookstore" when she buys me notebooks and school supplies  every school year. 

I still remember, every night after I'm done with my homework and before I go to bed, I'll get my diary and start to write what happened to me during the day. I never fail to write something about my crush at school and how I did on my exams and some other kid stuff. But then I stopped because I became lazy and found a new hobby, reading Harlequin's Mill's and Boon pocket books before going to bed.

Then when I was in high school,  I started writing my life journals. All those mushy stuff and random thoughts about my teenage life... Then again, I stopped. I cannot even remember if I kept them. Because when I started my University years, me and my sisters burned those old notebooks and schools papers that's started to pile up in our rooms. Oh yeah! That year, we didn't think of being environmentalist and worry about air pollution and recycling papers and mother earth. We just want to get rid of our old school papers and we thought the best thing to do it is to burn them. 

When I was in college, the internet, friendster and chat became a trend. And I was too excited to try it. Then one of my cyber friend introduced me to blogging. I started to like the idea of writing your thoughts online. Just like having an online diary. At first, I was enthusiastic, but then again... I stopped... I ended up just posting pictures of random people I met, places I've been and things that inspired me.  

Maybe because as I become older, I started to change my lifestyle. I found a job and met new people and friends. I also found a new hobby on the internet, facebook and watching korean dramas. hahaha.  

Last week I re-visted my blog, it put a smile in my face and realised what I am missing. I started browsing through my old posts and seeing my old self and people who became my friends until now... I realised, Life is so wonderful and its more fun to put your memories in writing too.

Years have past I never thought of getting married! But I am now!  Happily married to my super geek, funny, loving, caring, thoughtful, crazy husband! My bestfriend for life, my new super hero, my angel! and my travel companion.  

I will try to reminisce the past years and write it in my blog to remind me of who I was and what made me a better person now.