little miss perfect no more

"But I am learning that perfection isn't what matters. In fact, it's the very thing that can destroy you if you let it." 

— Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed)

2nd cabin, port side*

*My desk at 16:45 on the last Friday before my leave becomes effective. :) It will surely be missed for the next 6 months. ;)

african safari and writing a book

Since I am bedfast for the past few days with nothing to do but sleep, flick the remote, watch dvds (or let the chattering put me to sleep) and tweet, I felt so useless. I thought of doing a lot of things. Now that I feel a little better yet still incapable of going out and doing stuff, I thought of re-writing the things I wanted to do in my lifetime. I recall writing them down but I am not sure where I have placed it. Perhaps, that list is in one of my diaries piled in my stash in our other house. I usually cross out the things I've done already.

Now, I will re-write them as I can remember. 

1. Experience the REAL African Safari.
2. Zoobic Safari
3. Backpack in Europe (Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and UK)
4. Southern Exploration (CDO, Davao, Bukidnon and Camiguin)
5. Lead sing for a full live band
6. Sing with an acoustistic band
7. Have a kiddie party on my birthday
8. Participate in a WYD abroad (Canada 2002)
9. Learn conversational French (Gahd! I have been wanting this since 2005. All I now is how to count! )
10. Travel in Japan eat in one of their Izakayas, bathe in one of their hot spring pools and see the cherry blossoms.
11. Meet Mickey Mouse
12. Have photo with the Merlion
13. Visit Universal Studios
14. Swim with the Dolphins
15. Travel alone for at least a week outside the Philippines.
16. Shop in Thailand. 
17. Ride an Elephant
18. Sleep all day
19. Have my dream house
20. Own a beach house
21. Kiss in the rain
22. Bathe in the rain
23. Whitewater raft in CDO
24. Bathe in a falls
25. Go to Coron
26. Go back to Coron. ;)
27. Eat authentic Lechon Cebu in Cebu
28. Lounge in Boracay
29. Set foot in Japan  (actually, just a stopover)
30. Own an all-day breakfast resto
31. Own a bookstore
32. Japanese food overload
33. Pen Pals @Manila Peninsula
34. Date JLC and Derek Ramsay.
35. Finish working on the photobook
36. Top the Bar
37. Learn to play the guitar
38. Polish playing the piano
39. Climb Mt. Pulag
40. Climb Mt. Pinatubo
41. Visit Mayon Volcano
42. See Mt. Fuji
43. See Mt. Mayon for real!
44. Eat authentic Bicol Express
45. Experience Batanes
46. Spend a White Christmas
47. Get over my fear of the deep
48. Learn to Scuba Dive
49. Pagudpod
50. Sky Dive!
51. Write a book
52. Act in a play
53. Sing in a choir
54. Play Ultimate
55. Play Ultimate (Frisbee) again
56. Marathon
57. Run
58. Watch World Cup Finals Live!
59. Glide through a zip line
60. Work in a fun law firm
61. Grow the tshirt printing biz
62. Grow the atchara biz
63. Red Ford Escape
64. Eat Durian Ice Cream
65. Get inked (henna at least)
66. Volunteer for Gawad Kalinga
67. Become a life coach
68. Love like crazy
69. Have a photo shoot
70. Have a glamour photo shoot
71. Read all day
72. Cook a feast
73. Throw a party for my birthday
74. Give free hugs
75. Box
76. Plant trees
77. See Wicked
78. Watch plays
79. Be gadget-free for a day
80. Learn how to jump rope
81. Bike
82. See Halong Bay
83. Eat street foods
84. Shop til you drop
85. Die rich
86. Invest in stocks
87. Become a multi-millionaire
88. Send kids to school
89. Adopt a dog
90. Teach
91. Dance 
92. Record songs
93. Fly a kite
94. Jump in a trampoline like crazy
95. Randomly give money away
96. Carry a bag with lots of money inside

Hmn... I guess that's all for now. I'll keep updating this list.

episode 19

After a trauma, your body is at its most vulnerable. Response time is critical. So you're suddenly surrounded by people—doctors, nurses, specialists, technicians—surgery is a team sport. Everyone pushing for the finish line. Putting you back together again. But surgery is a trauma in and of itself, and once it's over, the real healing begins. It's called recovery. Recovery is not a team sport. It's a solitary distance run. It's long. It's exhausting. And it's lonely as hell

The length of your recovery is determined by the extent of your injuries. And it's not always successful. No matter how hard we work at it. Some wounds might never fully heal. You might have to adjust to a whole new way of living. Things may have changed too radically to ever go back to what they were. You might not even recognize yourself. It's like you haven't recovered anything at all. You're a whole new person with a whole new life. - Narration, Meredith Grey, "It's A Long Way Back", Ep. 19, Season 7, Grey's Anatomy