following a star...

A surprise find in Lyon... apparently a very special car resides here... I can't begin to express how much I love unexpected surprises!

Lyon Lights

The beautiful lights of Lyon

It's a beautiful day in Marseille!

Mediterranean Sunset

Bucket list...

What if you had one month to live? Have you done everything on your "bucket list"? Being in France has made me realize that, well... my bucket list is pretty much complete. This trip was initially one of those things you keep planning for but for some reason, always gets pushed back... until I realized... I kept making excuses for why I wasn't doing what I wanted to be doing. Call it practicality, call it logic, call it whatever you want... at the end of the day, I wasn't living the life I wanted, because I kept finding excuses/reasons on why I wasn't in France.

I realized that it's so easy to come up with reasons... "Life" always gives us reasons. Until we wake up and see that the only reason... the ONLY reason we haven't done (or aren't doing) what we want to do... or are not where we wanna be... is because we accepted those "reasons":

-not enough money
-not enough time
-waiting for a better time
-waiting for a better oportunity
-not the right time
-work first to save up

I can think of a thousand reasons why I wasn't in France... until I just decided to go. Then, when I stopped making excuses for myself... things fell into place... not just perfectly... but effortlessly. I'm so glad I stopped planning this trip. It arrived faster (and is turning out better) than I expected! I just love how life always throws nice surprises and knocks you off your feet when you least expect it! And if there's anything I've learned here in France... is how to live life, and not just watch it go by! As the French say... C'est La Vie!

Votre santé

Started my "backpacking" trip around France by heading off to Bordeaux. Happened to chance upon a wine school that was holding classes while I was there, so... where else can one learn about wine but Bordeaux?!?! And of course, after I finished the class, I made my way to visit a couple of Chateaus (one that specialized in sweet white wine, and the other that made red & dry whites)... this is THE place for wine lovers... the passion & refinement they have for wine is just on a totally different level! Next stop... Marseille...if I don't get lost! Hahahaha...

Après dix ans! Je suis enfin de retour!

au revoir tout le monde!

nouvelle famille...

un et demi...

YAHOO!!!

DEUX!!!!!!!!

trois...

quatre...

5...

6 days to go!!!

tick tock...

7 days to go!

7 Days to go!!! I'm excited and a bit nervous at the same time...

Smells like chicken!

While waiting for BMW to produce a ZEV, it's nice to see that the Phil is moving forward in the alternative fuel area.

Inquirer Article

"Patrol cars powered by used cooking oil-diesel mix

MANILA, Philippines – Don’t be surprised if the air smells of fried chicken, instead of gasoline, the next time a patrol car of the Makati Police Department whizzes by.

The patrol cars of the city’s police force are now powered by a blend of used cooking oil and diesel, as part of efforts by the department to lower costs through the use of alternative energy sources."

not annoyed...

Ok... guestbook is working again... no longer annoyed... hehehe

annoyed...

Ok, I'm really annoyed... for some f***ing reason... my guestbook is gone... grrrr....

on being OC...

There are a lot of times when we need to produce copies of important documents... birth certificate, driver's license, financial documents, etc... I've been making copies of all my documents... but then I decided to make things easier... I scanned all my important documents... and made one single 'print ready' PDF which I can now print anytime, anywhere... and I keep a copy of it on my phone just in case!

I'm a Good-natured Realist

Good-natured Realists are warm-hearted, helpful personalities. They do their work conscientiously and have a pronounced organising talent. They often feel they are committed to traditional values. The family in particular is extremely important to Good-natured Realists. Their greatest pleasure is making themselves useful and taking care of other people. But they do not like pushing themselves to the fore; they prefer to fulfil their tasks out of the limelight. Click the circle to read more about the Good-natured Realist and to take your own free personality test.