#it was from a local bakery. rly good

[mafuteru]

my workplace got some kind of national award so we got to eat free cake.. sanity restored

[chaos-and-cookies]

The look on my boyfriend's face when he saw I traded a shiny gyarados onto his account and made it his buddy so it was floating with his character on screen when I gave him his phone back was so fucking wholesome I'm so happy ☺️💕😍 And then when we went to the mall he got a shiny magikarp too so now he has both for his dex!!! I love him so much!!!!

[willowfey]

hi!!!! how was your Christmas?? did you end up getting that K-pop merch?

also, yes! it does change eventually (codependency) but you have to be the one who takes the first step. it doesn’t happen naturally, u have to force it into action. that’s how I did it anyhow!

and omg you were in a flash mob??? that’s so cool what was the vibe like?? must have been so fun!!!

any exciting plans for the rest of the week?

love, your holiday pal ❤️

hiiii it was lovely! and funny enough, even though it’s all i’ve cared about all year, i only got one kpop thing from my sister and one from my brother. my brother got me a blackpink vinyl record and my sister got me a t-shirt that has a design jungkook (from bts) drew, and i LOVE them! oh also my sister got me smth else kpop apparently but it hasn’t arrived yet.. i did rly love everything else my family got me tho even tho it wasn’t kpop, they rly did pay attention to my vibe this year — or i suppose, the moodboards i sent them agsiwbdkekd

ah shit i was afraid you’d say that. that’s gonna be a bitch. bc unfortunately i’m still in the phase where i ENJOY the codependency even knowing it’s not the best yk what i mean?? but yk i’m sure it’ll change eventually, i’m not moving out until we all leave the country anyway, which should be in the next two years or so.

yesss the flash mob was so fun!! it was in winter at night outside a rly popular bakery/ice cream shop in the plaza of my hometown back when i was in high school. i don’t remember the song or the dance but it was high energy. everyone was downtown for the christmas tree lighting and so it was all festive and ppl were in a good mood and the local news was already there, so once we started they started filming us. i couldn’t stop giggling even as i was doing the routine. also ppl who weren’t a part of it joined in once they picked up on the routine so it got bigger. it is a very happy memory 😊

well i’m going to the beach today! which is always a good time. and it’ll be my puppy’s first time and he loves water so i know he’s gonna lovvveeee ittttt. just gonna dress cute and order some beach food and go swimming. i take my grandma to the airport tomorrow to leave, and then i’ll have a couple days of just being chill and cleaning up from the holidays, and then on NYE i’ll go to my favourite pub with live music so that’ll be great! what about you?? 💞

[apiculteur]

i was tagged by @eviljaffafish !!! thank :”)))

How old are you: 15

Current job: doing my gces, gonna volunteer at my local maritime centre over summer

Dream job: idk? id quite like to make food but like. in a patisserie / bakery, nothing like a restaurant where u gotta b super quick or else ppl get mad. or mayb part of an orchestra for musicals? or translating texts? What are you talented at: ummm compared to other ppl in my year, im good at french, but im nowhere near fluent lmao. n i can play cello but like. lit grade 4, im no prodigy

What is a big goal you’re working toward: fluent in french (and eventually spanish n italian), confidence when talking to strangers, finish writing a book

What’s your aesthetic: ppl dressed in pretty but casual clothes acting like no one is watching, little plant pots held like teacups, white rooms with wooden floors and fairy lights and lots of pictures on the walls and plants wherever theres space and deep windowsills, little racks of boiling tubes filled with wildflowers Do you collect anything: not rly?

What is a topic you always bring up in conversation: rn i always catch myself talking abt dear evan hansen, john laurens, and how excited i am for summer / end of exams

What’s a pet peeve of yours: not being listened to??

Good advice to give: do things that u enjoy, and dont stop urself from doing smth bc ur not good at it. if ur bad at drawing or writing or an instrument or a language ur learning, thats fine, keep doing it anyway. its fun n u will make progress eventually, even if u dont notice it at first, n even if some days u end up being rly bad at it when u kno u can do better. it happens n its worth putting in the effort.

Recommend three songs: i listen to so many different things but atm: - sincerely, me - dear evan hansen (or lit any song from this musical theyre all so good) - seven minutes in heaven (atavan halen) - fall out boy (this is so nostalgic for me but i recently listened again n i still love it) - work work - clipping. (it was between this n redbone by bino but i need to rep my boy daveed diggs luv him)

I tag: man especially since ive become all aesthetic blog i dont have many mutuals, so anyone feel free to do it and tag me bc i love learning abt other ppl <33

[kiheons]

RULES: Complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. When you are finished tag people to do this survey. Have fun and enjoy!

tagged by @minialbum my fav kangaroo fucker <3 i already did this survey but!!!! i shall do it again cause tbh things probably changed

1: ARE YOU NAMED AFTER SOMEONE? nop but me and my brothers all have names that start with r

2: WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? last night cause at work theres been a lot of drama and one of my favorite co workers was unfairly fired and im just like really stressed about it and tryna tell my boss to change his mind and its a mess

3: DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? my handwriting isnt awful tbh its getting better cause i write a lot more for class

4: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey and also tuna if that counts 

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?  I dont and tbh idk if I would want them I dont rly like kids

6: IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? nah im terrible

7: DO YOU USE SARCASM? yeh but honestly these days its more like funny comments i guess

8: DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yah

9: WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? yES its actually a dream of mine to bungee jump at one point

10: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF CEREAL? Im not a huge fan of cereal but its mostly shit like great grains

11: DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? nope i just kick them off and then depending on the shoe untie them if i have to the shoes i usually wear are slip ons so i dont deal with laces often

12: DO YOU THINK YOU’RE A STRONG PERSON?  Idk but i will not hesitate to cut a bitch if necessary

13: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? chocolate is always my go to flavor but i like lychee, plum and banana too. and rocky road. i just like chocolate lmao

14: WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their hair and personal style

15: RED OR PINK? red cause i look weird in pink

16: WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE PHYSICAL THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? i have pretty bad acne and im kinda fat so that also my nose is kinda big and my eyes and two different sizes and my lips are rly thin and my boobs are also different sizes and kinda saggy idk theres a lot i dont like 

17: WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING NOW? no shoes and grey and blue plaid pajama pants

18: WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? chicken my dad made and salmon from like a few days ago that my dad also made with rice and asparagus

19: WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? vixx - heaven

20: IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? a deep purple or deep blue that appears black at first sight 21: FAVORITE SMELL? t fresh laundry lmao and greasewood and i have this color protecting shampoo that smells like a bangladeshi beauty salon and its really weird but i love that smell cause it kinda reminds me of home

22: WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE TO ON THE PHONE? text wise my coworker and official father and gore enthusiast andrew and on call my other coworker nadav aka dont touch my son i’ll fucking cut you

23: FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? anything that produces copious amounts of blood and has people going batshit crazy

24: HAIR COLOR? naturally its black my i dyed it a medium brown with golden brown highlights like almost a full year ago lol

26: DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I have glasses but i dont always need them so i dont bother with contacts

27: FAVORITE FOOD TO EAT? sushi, ice cream, burgers, swedish rockies from my local bakery, cherry hichews, tres leches, krispy kream donuts, mac and cheese from my highschools cafeteria idk i love junk food 28: SCARY MOVIES OR COMEDY? Scary cause i find most comedies to be boring and dry my fav genre is action/thriller tho gimme all the explosion filled superhero movies

29: LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? sasauge party cause its on netflix and i have zero self respect i rly wanna watch moonlight tho but i have a feeling it might like make me cry

30: WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? a shirt i’ve had since i was 11 or 12 its so old its yellow and it has a list of reasons to be a nurse on it its cool

31: SUMMER OR WINTER? depends i like winter cause no bugs and sweaters and chilly enough to not die outside but i like summer cause not cold sun is nice no school

32: HUGS OR KISSES? gimme both

33: WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? still reading moby dick lmaooo

34: WHO DO YOU MISS RIGHT NOW? nadav i really wanna give him a hug

35: WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? no one has mousepads anymore but it would be a hentai mousepad

36: WHAT IS THE LAST TV PROGRAM YOU WATCHED? lockup: maximum security i love prison

37: WHAT IS THE BEST SOUND? rain, that noise when its the middle of the night and my dad is driving to california and its just quiet and so good and only the sound of traffic and also my piggus when they squek

38: ROLLING STONES OR THE BEATLES? they both kinda suck tbh im straight up vixxs ass

39: WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE EVER TRAVELED? bangkok thailand

40: DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? i can vibrate my eyes which is rly weird and not really special but i can and have ripped into my skin before for fun

41: WHERE WERE YOU BORN? raleigh north carolina

42: PEOPLE YOU INVITE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY? because i tagged ppl last time i’ll leave it blank now ^^

[turnandchasethewind]

Ahh I had forgotten that you live in Toronto! Could you rec some places to check out, both in general and more so for a wlw? I'm finally going there during my spring break and searched a bunch of places, but in my experience locals also know the best ones :p

okay so a friend actually just messaged me about this like yesterday and i luckily saved it haha here are some suggestions under the cut:

food (my fave part of anywhere):

lisa marie 

really great food, my fave restaurant in the city, gotta try their pad thai fries…they also do a really fun ‘burgers, beers and bingo’ night on tuesdays + good music i believe friday or saturday nights

WVST 

amazing saugages w/ variety of meats to choose from i.e. boar, kangaroo etc., and lots of craft beers + really good duck fat fries

starving artist 

wicked brunch place, everything on their menu involves waffles, whether they are dessert or savory items…i suggest their eggs benny with potato waffles

la carnita, grand electric, seven lives:

these are all good taco/mexican places

chadwick’s

AMAZING brunch place i fucking love it there

trattoria nervosa 

really good italian place, cute rooftop patio in yorkville (a rich bougie neighbourhood so you’ll feel fancy af but it’s actually not that unreasonable in price)

terroni 

another really good italian place, cute outdoor patio in the summer...my fave location is the queen west one

urban herbivore

really good vegan food

fat pasha 

rly good jewish/middle eastern food

home of the brave 

wicked restaurant, has a lot of “american” inspired stuff which is hard to explain but just know the food is fucking amazing and the atmosphere is sick

apiecalypse now! 

vegan pizza place, you don’t really sit in, but it’s near this park called christie pits so if it’s spring/summer it’s nice to grab a slice and bring some tall boys to drink and just chill out on the grass and enjoy the weather

rose and sons

cute little place with good food and literally the best pb milkshake i’ve ever had in my entire life

mykonos

my fave greek place in the entire city!!!!!!!!!

okay so here’s specifically poutine places:

smokes (there’s locations like all over toronto)

poutini

fresh - they added ‘dragon fries’ to their menu and it’s not technically poutine cause there’s no cheese but they’re so fucking good (it’s a miso gravy, chives, sesame seeds, chili oil and banana peppers on top of fries)...also fresh is a really good vegan place in general

here’s some bakeries/dessert:

bang bang 

AMAZING ICE CREAM…honestly it’s probably my fave ice cream place in the city…they make homemade ice cream and cookies etc, i suggest getting an ice cream sandwich on your first try. if you go it’ll look like a long line up if it’s spring/summer but the line moves pretty quickly, like at most you’ll be waiting like 10-15min

sweet jesus 

another really good ice cream place

bobette and belle 

very very cute bakery! both locations i’ve been to are really pretty and it’s really nice to go have a coffee and cupcake/scone/piece of cake etc

rolling pin

i haven’t had their donuts yet but that’s what they’re famous for because they do gourmet donuts, but i have had their desserts and they’re really good but i rec this one because their coffee is fucking amazing

wanda’s pies in the sky 

really good bakery!! i rec their peanut butter chocolate pie/tart

some cool places to check out:

queer shit

okay so obvs there is the village (church st), we sadly closed our only lady bar on there years ago, but you can still go check the area out and maybe try crews and tango if you’re looking for girls/want a mixed crowd...they usually do cool drag shows too so you can also check that out

but there are lots of other places outside of the village and i actually prefer a lot of them, here’s a link to 10 places outside of the village that are queer-friendly...my faves are gladstone, the steady and the beaver

ALSO apparently there’s a queer sports bar that opened recently called striker sports bar (i haven’t been yet so i don’t know what it’s like/the crowd, but if that’s something you’re into check it out)

snakes and lattes 

board game cafe/bar…it’s super fun and this is the best one in the city, it’s only $5/person and you can just play as many board games and shit as you want + they have food and drinks (incl. beer!) available to order as well

kensington market 

super cool neighbourhood, a mix between stoner/hippies and hipsters lol just a lot of culture and lots of great thrift shops and honestly so many good food options too…i’d go on a sunday in the spring/summer if possbible because they close down all the streets for like lil street markets

ago/the rom

if you’re into art and/or history check out the ago (art gallery of ontario) and/or the rom (royal ontario museum)...i haven’t been to the rom in forever so i can’t remember if there are any free/discounted days/nights, but i know weds night at the ago is free after like 5/6pm !!!! def check it out i love the ago so much

trinity bellwoods, christie pits

these are really popular parks that people go to…it’s pretty common to bring some tall boys and just drink if you’re being discreet, so it’s a pretty chill and fun thing to do if you just wanna relax…plus!! trinity bellwoods is also a dog park so you’ll get to see lots of cute doggies

queen west

this area is good for shopping and also just some cool lil stores to check out, plus lots of good restaurants too

track and field 

haven’t been yet, but it’s apparently a bar where you can also play like shuffleboard and shit like that so i’d check it out if possible

spin

also haven’t been yet, but it’s an indoor table tennis bar that’s really popular

harbourfront

in the summer it’s really pretty because it’s got lots of stuff by the lake and there’s little shops and restaurants too, and a little mini beach kind of to just chill out

sugar beach 

another little mini beach (it’s actually where they filmed the carmila movie trailer if you’ve seen that)

okay that’s all i can think of for now i hope that helps !!

[debatablyblind]

Preface: I was supposed to take this trip with the one and only Katie Paolano, but about 5 days before the trip she had to get her appendix removed :( SO I brought my dad instead. I wanted to do a write up on this trip because initial planning was relatively blind and definitely could have used some help/direction since I had never been out here before.

Day 1:

We took a 7 AM flight from JFK to SLC on Tuesday and landed around 10 AM Mountain Time. Flight was smooooooth and the free Delta snack mix rocked even in the early hours of the day (Always fly Delta- I am a die hard supporter). After landing in SLC we took the shuttle over to FOX rental car and waited foreverrrrr to get our Jeep... It was worth it in the end but me being exhausted and impatient, I struggled to sit still in the creepy check in area.

Once we got the car my Dad and I headed out to get some food in Salt Lake City before making moves up to Jackson Hole. We stopped at this Mexican place that was on Diners Drive-In’s and Dives and it was DROOL worthy, definitely go if you have time— it was called Red Iguana and it is the most authentic Utah Mexican food in the whole world. We got a bunch of different tacos, but the carnitas tacos were fireeeee (the guac tacos were overrated).

We then proceeded with the drive up north, making a pit stop at Bear Lake along the way. My research led me to believe that you had to stop at Bear Lake to see the amazing view and get a Raspberry Milkshake from some diner in town. The drive up was 2ish hours from SLC and I was hype for my milkshake until we got into town and realized the diner had closed down— if you take one thing away from this post, know that Bear Lake is still worth seeing for the view and to take a quick bathroom break but don’t get your hopes up for a milkshake because you will be sad and disappointed for the rest of your drive (NO MILKSHAKES). All in all, you could definitely avoid the 45 min detour to Bear Lake if you are in a hurry to get up to Jackson.

Dad took the wheel in Bear Lake and took us home for the 3 hour drive we still had to go. While he drove, I curated a playlist for the mountains— FYI there are definitely lots of places on this drive that have zero service, so probably should’ve saved down more music ahead of time. We had the address of our Apartment in Teton Village in the GPS, so once we got to Jackson Hole we went straight over there and basically missed the town of Jackson lol. (FYI I was definitely one of those tourists that didn’t realize the difference between Jackson Hole and Jackson) We got to Teton Village just after 6 and the check-in area was closed for the night— our rental facility made it really easy for us to pick up our keys after hours so we grabbed those and made our way to the 2 bedroom apartment. Teton Village is exactly that, a village at the base of Teton National Park— you can walk everywhere in the village and there are a few little shops and restaurants but nothing substantial. This area is mostly for the bougie ~Four Season~ skiers in the winter, but it is beautiful in the summer and you have pretty spectacular views of the area from here. We wandered around for the evening and got dinner at The Handle (the grown up grilled cheese was bombbb) before PTFO around 9 pm.

Day 2:

We woke up at 7 and leisurely made our way down to the town of Jackson which is SO cool! We got breakfast at Persephone’s Bakery and drank literally all of the coffee. This place is the cutest of all cute things and was the perfect spot to warm up since I accidentally wore shorts thinking it would be semi-warm in the morning- I was wrong. Persephone’s has fire pits on the porch and big doors that open up making the restaurant an indoor-outdoor hot spot... would DEFINITELY recommend.

After breakfast we made our way over to Mad River’s Boat House for our white water rafting trip! The trip is about a 30 minute shuttle from the Boat House, followed by an hour and forty-five mins on the water and a 40 minute shuttle back. This was one of the more adventurous things I’ve ever done in my life, aside from free climbing boulders at Jesus Camp when I was 13. Super cool experience, juxtaposed by a “muffy” fellow adventurer that complained about being too wet the entire time (Asked dad how to describe her and muffy was the first word he said...). Also would DEFINITELY recommend.

Following our expedition, we headed over to the grocery store to pick up goods for Thursday’s breakfast and trip to Yellowstone. Jackson has plenty of grocery stores and gas stations so it doesn’t feel super remote. We made our way back to Persephone’s for moooore coffee and then headed back to the apartment to walk around Teton Village. We wandered around Teton Village and Jackson for the rest of the afternoon before heading to dinner at 7 PM.

Dinner was at one of the most breathtakingly beautiful spots in the country... Piste Mountain Bistro is at the top of one of the gondolas in Teton Village and it is stunninggg. We hopped on the gondola around 6:40 and made it up to be seated just after 7. We had a reservation but definitely didn’t need it. The nicer part of the restaurant is inside, though they have a deck that has more of a bar-food menu. Food up there was delicious and we had an insane view of the area from our table. If you aren’t interested in spending too much $$, definitely sit on the deck and just get a drink to appreciate the scene— the gondola ride is free! It got chillier at night and I was glad i wore jeans and a sweater (some people had parkas up there which just seemed aggressive for early September...)

After dinner i ptfo again :)

Day 3:

This day was our big Yellowstone adventure, but we started the day channeling our inner yogi at the top of the gondola (same space as last night’s dinner!). Yoga was only $30 and it has the most insane views-- only negative was having to watch my Dad do yoga :/

After yoga we headed down the mountain and changed for our drive to Yellowstone! We drove top down (bc Jeep) and made our way through the Tetons, about 1.25 hours to the south entrance of Yellowstone national park. Yellowstone had some awesome sights to see, but we headed left from the south entrance, toward Old Faithful and the Hot Springs. Let me tell you, Old Faithful is kinda underwhelming. It’s cool but also kinda lame after a few seconds-- people only know it because it is one of the only “reliable” geysers, so you know you’ll see it erupt pretty close to the times they list (just about once an hour) Literally hundreds of people gather around it to see it blow, and then everyone waits for something exciting and it doesn’t really every get there-- I’d give it a 6 on the scale of 1 to cool geysers. The only reason i can confidently give it a 6 is because randomly one of the other geysers was erupting at the same time (so we got to see a big one-- beat that Old Faithful 💁🏼‍♀️)

We also checked out the Hot Springs which were really beautiful, but tbh trying to do Yellowstone in a day is really difficult and there is a lot of driving. Could’ve spent lots of time there....

Dad and I headed back to Jackson and got some bomb pizza (i am DEFINITELY lactose intolerant but I just like to pretend that I’m not). After pizza we watched tennis and thennnnnn ptfo :) bet ya didn’t expect that one...

Day 4:

Day 4 was spent in the Tetons, hiking 3 hours around Jenny Lake! The Lake is stunning and i would definitely recommend as a medium level hike in the area-- some people just take the ferry across the lake to the water falls, but let’s not forget that I was a collegiate athlete, so we hiked allllll the wayyy around.

After the hike we drove back to Jackson for some coffee at Cowboy Coffee and then grabbed coffee before driving back down to SLC. We crashed for the night at my cousins house just north of the city, and watched Chef’s Table (shameless plug for the best show on netflix) and some random baseball movie with Amy Adams.

Day 4 was great! but driving is no fun! so i made dad do it :)

Day 5:

Day 5 we drove down to Park City and explored one of the cutest ski towns I’ve every seen. Park City is made for the bougie skier, with pricey boutiques for some (my mom) and convenient ski lifts for others (literally no one in the Watts family). We walked up and down Main Street and I contemplated buying a lot of things, but ultimately left with a teeshirt ~shocking~. I also want to take this time to say my Dad used this trip as an ultimate shopping excursion, and left the mountains as a distinguished mountain man-- if my mom let him grow a beard he seriously would’ve looked the part, but we all know that’s never going to happen lol.

We went to a bomb brunch in the morning at Harvest-- 10/10 would recommend and/or eat everything on the menu...

In the afternoon we went to the Park City Olympic park which is super cool and worth checking out- right now the U.S. ski and snowboard teams use the space for practice, but it is open to the public for viewing and entertainment purposes... you can luge if you want to... 

For dinner we went to this swanky place only the locals know about (and our hotel concierge of course), at the Stein Eriksen Lodge. We ate out on the porch and saw the most beautiful and prob very expensive weddings. Dinner was so good and we filled up on some rly good meats- tbh i’m writing this in retrospect and i dont remember what i got, but i remember it being something with meat and it tasting really good.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and, you guessed it, ptfo!

Day 6:

Day 6 sucked bc we left and that sucks. Early morning departure and nothing fun to report.

That’s it for now-- text me if you want more info, or if you just want to text me ;)

[choujiro]

ph

so i spent 3 weeks at ph and oh gosh

week one: 

the flight wasnt bad at all tbh i got to watch my kdrama & listen to my favorite music

scratch that was kinda annoying because my brother took a xan & instantly knocked out once we were seated, my mom and a flight attendant got extremely worried because he wasn’t really opening his eyes

i told them he was just really tired

he fuckgin drooled and it smelled

i couldnt sleep for like an hour or two because we saved his dinner but on my tray and it bothered me

incheon airport is so nice omfg !!!!! bought a macaron at a starbucks there & i wish we had that here at u.s

my uncles picked us up from the airport and our younger uncle (20 yrs old) got chubbier and said he got really fat so we were like no ur jst thicc

while we were waiting for my mom to fix her phone he was talking to me about kdramas because he saw the iu photocard on my phone LOL but its really interesting because guys arent really into stuff like that

found out his girlfriend makes him watch kdramas lol

found out the portions at jollibee were wayyy smaller so my uncle told me to buy two of the same food yah huge shock to me

the wifi was incredibly slow; we had to buy this portable wifi in which we bought 1gb of connection for idk 300 pesos??? wow first world problems for sure

my mom, brother & i slept on the same bed & it was just so hot i honestly could not sleep (we couldnt really sleep anywhere else)

the next day my cousins and i walked to our other cousins house & the aircon in her home was just fucgkin AMAZING 

we could not stand the heat tbh it ruined us

we went to the next town over to buy stuff at the market because we found out my uncle had fake gucci slippers

i bought fake nike slippers and some of us got the same along with gucci ones lol

went deeper in the market and found hella fake stuff like fake vans and addidas (i was planning to come back to buy them and when i came back to the market we didnt have time to get them so im really bummed esp since they’re cheap like 200 or 300 pesos only)

went to the local mall the following day & found this really cute shop that resembled h&m, i ended up buying this overall dress & used up 800 pesos out of 1000 & didnt have enough to buy anything else lol

went to the supermarket the following day inside another mall & ended up buying a bunch of snacks in BULK (my cousins bought wine & alcohol, ended up tasting really weird)

bought a LARGE ASS bulky bag of corn chips called bawang na bawang & when my auntie found out i called it “bah-wang” instead of “buh-wang” she kept laughing & told everyone else because apparently im saying town instead of garlic

met my other cousins’ family (they live in the same town, a 2 minute drive basically) and ate good food, talked to their uncle about palawan since we were going there soon

attended our parent’s high school reunion and watched them perform this dance line lol

we werent really interested in their reunion, i mean it wasn’t really for us anyways??

i actually got really sick the day before new years, i had a bad fever & had cold sweat. i told my cousins to move the fan away from me despite the weather being 80+ degrees :-(

i took antibiotics & got better several minutes before the new years hit lol

week two:

got sick to the point where i lost my voice 

went to pagasinan and ate rly good sisig & etc

went to the same supermarket from the one back in my family’s hometown and ended up buying more snacks in bulk

my skin got super worse & im just like fuck it dammit

on jan2 we were supposed to go to palawan but our flight was delayed, we were transferred to a super nice hotel nearby, free of charge of course

got a massage with two of my other cousins for the first time, the lady thought i was korean so they were like “oh !!! korean!!”

i couldnt speak so my manang talked for me lol

gosh the massage was both relaxing and hurtful LOL

i understood the lady speaking to her coworkers as she was massaging me as she said she felt sorry for me because my skin has alot of scars

i didnt mind at all, i felt bad that she had to see it tbh

she told me to turn my body facing the ceiling so i did and omfg she pulled the towel and massaged my ..... armpits and boobs (im so ashamed because i shaved before i left the airport and it grew fast oh my god)

my cousins and i were talking about how our butts hella hurt after they massaged that part because FUK it hella hurt oh my god i have never clenched my buttcheeks so hard in my life

my kuya said he was ticklish there so he let out a giggle

we boarded our flight to palawan the next day and went island hopping right away. i felt really bad because my skin got even worse so it made me uncomfortable & i couldnt talk to anyone so yeah bad time lol

island hopping was nice nevertheless, we couldnt explore the cave because the tides were high

my cousins, brother and mom got a massage at the hotel we were staying after finding out we got one in the other hotel

the masseurs come to the room instead of having a separate room

so i couldnt go to sleep right away since the bed was being occupied smh

we went to a place called bakers hill the next day & it was really nice idk how to say it, it was much of a hill tho. lots of places to take pictures there i guess??? theres only one bakery there and its small, the families bought alot of pastillias and hopia to bring back home, basically we left the store with a box full of sweets

went to bagiuo the day we returned back to our town and went to a place called mines view where we had an amazing view of the hills/mountains

its realllly nice and green and man !!!!! gr8 view

went shopping for gifts at the local market and bought a jacket & two wooden keychains shaped as a small ..... dicc

my brother bought a wooden flute and he really used it throughout the whole trip like he played in the house AND during car rides. i think the good part was that it wasnt annoying at all, he actually knew how to play and did some covered a bunch of songs that made all of us laugh (my cousin recorded it and has the videos on her phone so i cant show everyone here)

we went driving at pengbenga park, but not literally driving. we got to drive these plastic race car things and it was sososo fun!!!! i overtook some kids & adults but mostly kids on the driveway & i crashed like only twice

we were given the choice to use a bike/multi-seater bike, race car, & other stuff but yeah race car boi

ate really bomb waffles and pancakes at this pancake house and LORD !! GOOD AMAZING AAAHH OOOOO

went to a small mall the following day and bought 50 peso facemasks and i spent like 15 dollars worth of them??? idk i just bought hella without counting my money lol

drove to manila few days later and went to a place called greenhills (famous for fake brands like nike and gucci) and my cousins and aunties bought alot of gucci, ray bans, louis vuitton (wallet, belts and bags lmao). went to a store called miniso and it was so packed i wasnt able to look around as much, & i really wanted to go here ;___; it was okay tho

so there are basically two malls in one, one small one with a food court and market with the fake items and a REAL mall; they’re connected by a yard which is partially a church lol (there was a tv outside so we assumed it was a concert of some sort, found out there was a priest praying inside the building along with so many others)

next morning, instead of going to another pancake house we were accidentally taken to a coffee house but honestly, it was the best choice ever

it was so fuckgin AESTHETIC I LOVED IT they decorated the place with flowers and it wasnt like overwhelming full of flowers it was just right and the iced latte?? AMAZING and ugh man i loved ittttttt

we went to a museum after and learned so much about jose rizal and the history of philippines before and during spanish colonization and it was super interesting

darn u white ppl go away

it was really ironic to see white people check out the museum too like.. first u colonize us then u wanna check our museum hm

went to eat after at a place similar to pepper lunch, so basically hot sizzling food

i ordered a sizzling tapa and it was so fuckgin AMAZINg gattdamn ugh i love sisig

we went to the mall after hoping to check out another museum inside the place (an ice cream one) but we found out that it was opened until feb 

anyways we checked out the whole mall and ate some aesthetic looking ice cream which was amazing also

dropped off two of our cousins at the airport since they were only here for two weeks (the rest of us dreaded over the fact that we had one more week left when our trip here was originally 2 weeks)

went back to my familys town at la union and didnt do much

spent two days at baguio, day 1: found a kbbq and ate lunch there, it was only 300 pesos per person so we werent complaining

we went to the mall after and i checked out this store that had really amusing shirts, bags and pouches. i ended up buying a shirt with a bunny that said “bunnies like carrots but not this one. this one chose the jacuzzi” it was so amusing omfg

i bought a pouch that said “lechon is my lifeforce” aka pig and my friends were like “thats really amazing”

we left the mall to buy tea and i didnt have enough because i bought the bunny shirt so my uncle bought a drink for me LOL (i felt so bad tho)

watched netflix the whole time till it was time to sleep

the next day my other cousin was dropped at the house and we went to go out for a different kbbq place, it was much better (500 pesos per person too!)

went to the mall again and watched jumanji

watched black mirror when we came back

left the next day & went back to the mall since it connected to the other large buses to go back to town

week three:

next morning i met a faith healer who looked for the cause of my eczema, she cured my mom the day before because someone had cursed her food (she had stomach cancer several months back but she’s better, she occasionally has stomach problems tho)

one of the amazing things i have heard from her was that when she was cleaning my moms body with a white towel, she squeezed out the remaining water & black sand came out. she says the curse has been removed & that she’ll feel better soon

she looked at my skin and proceeded to put a special oil everywhere and said it mightve been the burning of a dwende outside the house when i was kid (when he was hurt, he probably hurt me too)

the next day she came by again and lathered a special oil again and came to the conclusion that when i visited the house when i was about 4-5 years old, the dwendes decided to play with me (which actually hurt me so)

she said to only have faith and keep praying, virgin mary will come by to heal you in the form of a sudden breeze with a nice scent

i know that alot of people might think this is crazy and all, but since i come from a spiritual family and had actual experience with something like this, its really easy to believe 

it seems like the dwendes dont like modern medicine so everytime i put on my creams or ointments, the healing effect didnt last long

the next and final day, she put on oil once more and concluded that the dwendes have been playing with me since i was a kid so it was the root of my eczema. she had personally asked them to stop yesterday so she said they wont play with me anymore

as she was lathering oil on my skin, she said that i had nice legs and hands, the dwendes had played with me because i was “pintas” or pretty

so that kinda shocked me like me? pretty?? lol

but after that she said i will get better, i need to have faith and pray all the time. once you believe, it will happen (i have great faith in both the faith healer and myself healing, my wounds are slowly closing so im really determined to recover from eczema)

the thing about faith healers is that they DONT ask for money. you could donate, but they dont ask for anything at all. i believe that they heal people in the form of good will

my mom & i gave money and clothes, and soap as a payment for her time and faith healing and im sososo thankful for her

she also did this thing where she could figure out things by putting oil and water in a plate and picking out rice grains and letting them either sink or float in another bowl

3 rice grains had floated while the others sank and she concluded that there was something wrong with me, both spiritually and physically?? i couldnt understand quite well since they were speaking in ilocano

but something along the lines of that, she had called me soul in order to protect me so i can heal. and that kinda boggled me like soul? is that always with you? is my soul somewhere else? why was it that my soul had to be called? so yeah interesting

she also found out that my grandpa had visited (he visited last week too, along with my grandma) and he’s just watching the family in the living room

also odd thing but last week a white butterfly came inside the house while my cousins and i were just doing whatever and it landed on the couch my manang and i were sitting on

my kuya said there was a butterfly behind me and i was like fuk imma move couches cuz i just dont like bugs in general (my cousin had entered the back door the other night and felt something crawling on his head so he slapped it away, turns out it was a HUGE spider so yeah FUK that lol i wanted to throw up when i saw it)

so i switched couches and the butterfly followed me and went on my head so i shoo’ed it away

the next day after it had happened a lady who had a third eye/some sort of spiritual power said my grandparents visited last night and i guess i shoo’ed my grandpa away lol

anyways, going back to the rice grain thing, the faith healer knew i couldnt sleep well because my body has been burning for the longest time, so she put those 3 rice grains in a cotton ball and safety pinned it to my shirt

my mom said that her mom would often do the same thing to her sisters back when they were kids, it was really effective in to protecting yourself

i think its really crazy how theres so many spirits and the like in philippines, and also in vietnam and other asian countries as well. i thought it was because it was 3rd world countries or countries that had been colonized

i searched it up and 1) when PH was colonized, the conquestors often scared them with stories about spirits and 2) when the angels had fought lucifer and his army out of heaven, alot of them fell on earth, landing on the islands of PH

we all packed our stuff last minute and my mom was having a hard time since everything could not fit in the luggage, i told her just to put everything in our large balikbayan box and she refused, she eventually gave up (even the stuff barely fit inside the box). we left at 1am that day for the airport at manila and man, i guess i’ll miss ph

our stopover was at incheon again and this time we had more time to buy stuff at the airport. my mom bought her starbucks mug in which she was excited about. i bought another macaron and planned eating it on the airplane but my mom misplaced it & once we came back i found out it was smashed lmfao

i went to the duty free store and looked around for some snacks, the ladies were rly kind in helping me, i tried speaking in korean but had no luck at all lol all i said was kamsamnida after they had helped me

while waiting for our flight, my mom and aunties were telling us about stories about our other auntie since she’s really mean and all lol we were all curious to why she had treated everyone so unkindly basically the their whole lives

my cousins dont like this specific aunt and i dont have a good judgement of her either but my other aunt told us to always be kind despite that. 

i had planned to watch the rest of my kdrama on the plane but i knocked out for 9 out of 11 hours of the flight

the men at the airports where they check our passport were so handsome omfg. the ones both at manila and san francisco like... so... handsome. i told my mom that they’re really good looking and she assumed it was because they were light skinned but even if they werent light, they were SO handsome like i dont discriminate against color man if youre handsome you are HANDSOME

arrived back at SF at 2pm and my manang welcomed us by making us cajun shrimp and it was literally the best meal ever ugh i miss american food

i had school the NEXT day, and i had barely realized that i signed up for a class at UC DAVIS instead of sacramento and oh my god i was truly fucked up lol (ended up fixing it tho)

i checked up on my character on maplesaga and found out that literally everyone had outleveled me like ok fuk 

to summarize the 3 weeks there, my skin did not get better at all lol. although we were originally going to stay for 2 weeks, my mom couldnt fix our flight time and ended up staying there longer. despite it being dreadful at times, im really lucky that i had met a faith healer the 3rd week for my eczema. if i had left the 2nd week, i would not have been healed (the doctors here in u.s were completely useless so...) i was sick 80% of the time of the trip which made me feel bad lol but its my immune systems fault :-/// im really prone to extreme changes in weather, so coming from a 50 degree city to a 80 degree country took a toll on my body. it was the same back at home, during the summer the weather was often bipolar so that also took a toll on my body

anyways its so good to be back home except for the piles of homework stacking up ;__;