Lingo

Lex and I were laughing and having a mild argument the other day about something silly. It's about the word chorva. Yes, chorva. He insisted that it's something I completely made up. I argued that it's a real word being used back home. For the life of me, I couldn't tell him what it means. All I know is that it's real. So he whipped out his Blackberry and googled the word up. This is what we found out. Turns out I'm right ;).

The Etymology of Chorva

Chorva lang ng chorva! Hehe =)

First Day

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope we'll be able to catch the West Village Halloween parade later. It's supposed to be really fun and over-the-top.

Anyway, today is my first day as a permanent employee. Yep, that's right I have been converted to a permanent employee by the client that I'm working for right now. After 2 years of being a consultant (a year of which was in Singapore), I can finally say that I'm a part of an organization. I can finally get full benefits, bonuses, a little job security, career progression and ofcourse no more agent pay cuts. A very good deal from whatever angle you look at it =). I just need to work harder and prove my worth more.

So for my first day, I wore a very special dress. It's made by my mom (thanks mom!). Inspired by this Zac Posen dress.

Compliments

I was having a particularly stressful day in the office. A lady passed by me and complimented me on my outfit. She said that she has been noticing me in the office because I wear nice clothes. I relaxed a bit and thought that the day wasn't too bad after all.

I was walking alone in Hell's Kitchen feeling gloomy and sticky. It was drizzling, I didn't have an umbrella and I'm having a bad hair day. A decent looking man came up to me and said that he didn't mean to be bold but he thinks I have nice legs(?!?) and that I looked cute. I wasn't even wearing shorts or a skirt at that time. I was wearing cropped pants with the hem falling way below my knees. He didn't stick around or tried to engage me in a conversation. If he did, I would have been creeped out. After saying his piece, he just walked past me and soon disappeared from sight. I walked with a little spring on my step afterwards.

It's amazing how powerful such small and simple words can be. If those strangers were able to pay me a compliment, I'd like to be able to do the same too. I can start with those people close to me and work my way to complimenting total strangers. If I can make someone's day a little bit better, it would be so worth it because knowing I made a difference will definitely make my day.

So who have you complimented today?

The secret is out.

Click here.

Stressed but Blessed

I have been in so much stress this past month. Much of it is because I had to make a difficult decision in my career. I am extremely thankful though that I was given those opportunities and choices in the first place. But really, life just isn't simple. And living and working in New York magnifies everything a hundred fold.

Now, it's just a waiting game. Those who know me know that I'm no good in waiting. I'm just too impatient. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it right now but hope that the gamble I took pays off in the end.

Here were the highlights of September for me. Just wanted to post them here so they won't be forgotten.

Sesame Place with friends.

With Big Bird

Joren having fun

Frog exhibit at AMNH

If you look closely, you would see 6 frogs in the pic. Eww!

Great food and restaurants

With Rommel and Lanie at The Sea Grill.

At The Odeon. I got incredibly tipsy that night.

Touring the Financial District with friends.

Girls giving homage to Hermes.

Last but not the least, bought myself an LV Epi Alma! Look at the big smile on my face. Hehe =)

Columbus Day

Lex and I wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for the Columbus Day weekend. We haven't been to upstate New York so we searched for a great place in the Catskills area. We were captivated by the website pictures of the Mohonk Mountain House so we wanted to stay overnight there. Unfortunately, an overnight stay in this hotel is waaay above our budget ($650 a night!). But luckily for us, they open their doors to guests for lunch as well. Lunch includes use of their hiking trails, grounds and lake. It is more than enough for us so we just looked for a cheap hotel nearby.

The whole area is so unbelievably beautiful, especially now that the leaves have started to change color. We had so much fun that we promised ourselves that we'll save up in order to stay overnight in the hotel. Here are some of our pictures. Our pictures don't show it but the whole place is packed with tourists.

View of the Mountain House from the opposite hiking trail

The Mountain House from the lake

View of the lake from the trails

Us

Hiking Trail

One of the many rest stops on the hiking trail

Lex enjoying the boat ride

More pictures here.