last october 5 to 8 was thanksgiving weekend in canada, families are supposed to stay home and have dinner together. my cousins planned to bring their beaus to re introduce to their parents and make an elaborate celebration out of it so of course i had to book the first flight out, that’s my escape mechanism – going on a trip.

everything is big in texas, so they say.

jake, mavic, chard and i left work early last friday to board the shuttle to seatac and proceed on our plane to dallas fort worth. unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic and missed our flight by 5 minutes so we spent the night sleepless in seattle, but at marriott no less, and caught the first flight out which was at 8am.

dallas is a sweltering 32 degrees, i actually got two shades darker after the trip. we arrived at 2pm and drove down to san antonio to raid the outlet malls and sample the tex-mex barbecue dinner at the river walk. our hotel room had a magnificent view of the city from the 33rd floor. the next day, we walked along the alamo and took some touristy pics before we ran off to catch the tram tours at the nasa space center in houston. i wanted to buy the shirt that said “failure is not an option” but then i was distracted by all the other items that i ended up buying nothing at all. we slept sunday night off at jake’s sis’ place in allen, and monday morning was spent looking for cash machines to spew out more $$$ to be burned in nike and tommy. dusk found us eating pizza at the greyhound station in downtown seattle, waiting for our ride back home. this has got to be one of the seediest places i’ve seen in this part of town. at the back of my mind i was hearing simon and garfunkel’s “america”.

finally, my blankets and the leftover thanksgiving turkey welcomed me home on tuesday 3am. despite being sleep deprived and broke, this trip is not to be missed. ^_^

last weekend we had a major production release at work, but since my project wasnt due til october, i escaped and jumped on the first plane out of town. destination: chicago.

on the way to o’hare, i had a brief stopover at mccarran, i was surprised to see slot machines scattered around the waiting lounges, i must admit, it distracted me from finding the next boarding gate hehe. another surprising thing i discovered is that our mike phones still work outside the country; that means i’m still reachable by the office.

first thing i did when i arrived at my friend’s place was to unlock my new iphone which was delivered earlier that week. of course after making it work, i was all set to explore all the places i saw on the movies ^_^.

i feasted my eyes on the breath taking architectural highlights of the city, went on a speed boat ride along lake michigan, and a shopping spree at the magnificent mile; met up with old friends and had a great time sampling the godiva cheesecake; climbed the tall towers and tried my hand on window washing at hancock. rode the double decker bus and got lost at union station; watched the giant pixelated faces spurt water at millenium park and saw the skyline reflecting on the bean; craned my neck watching the bears game from afar and the cranberries in the celtic festival at grant park; my favorite building has got to be the chicago tribune, i love its spires and i went around it looking for the pieces of rocks from different parts of the world. i found the one from fort santiago. =) my trip was too short, i need to return so i could see shedd and adler and wicker, and of course, try the nightlife.. hmm, when’s the next release?

going back, i had a connecting flight in seattle and went aboard the smallest aircraft i ever hopped on. it consisted of two cramped seats on each side, and around 30 rows i guess, with propellers on its wings. good thing i’m still in one piece.

next stop: dallas.

went to alberta for the labor day weekend, it was a gruelling 12 hour ride! visited the rockies, the town of banff, had a glimpse of the breathtaking lakes – louise, peyto, and maligne. rode the ice explorer and trekked on the icefields, had a tour of calgary, spent the night at jasper, rediscovered the dinosaur ruins at drumheller, and finally on the way back to bc, we visited the okanagan region and sampled the wineries of kelowna. we skipped
the stops were pure nature overload. can’t help but be awed by the vastness of canada’s land area. it’s a good thing the weather cooperated to make the long weekend more enjoyable. the 3 days, 4 nights trip was well worth it despite being sleep deprived and broke afterwards. ^_^

next stop: vancouver island

in 10 days, i visited 6 cities – seattle, hong kong, manila, cebu, bohol and seoul. now i’m back in vancouver and my week long vacation feels so many miles away. i slept for an entire day and tomorrow i’ll be back to work, as if nothing happened, the only souvenir i got are sunburn marks and eyebags.

sometimes i wish i could take people back with me but then that would defeat the purpose of travelling, for the only reason i leave a place is to come home to it again =) i miss my mom, my dad, my brothers, my friends, my dogs, but most of all, i miss being missed, and hugged and loved by the people who matter to me, i miss my favorite pup running out to greet me, i miss my mom’s cooking, i miss the sun and the beach, i miss everything that can only be captured by still photographs.

if only time and distance can be folded, then everything won’t be too far from my reach. for now, i have to tuck my heart and fake a smile, life is a journey, we can only stop for a while to catch our breath, and then we’re off again.

in quebec’s countryside. we survived the obstacle courses atop the trees and the almost 200 meter long zip over lakes and hills. it was a fun adventure that i wouldn’t mind doing again despite the cuts and bruises i got from the trip. i guess we can’t really escape pain if we want to experience the exhilaration of testing our limits and breaking them.

anyway i never really felt any pain right there and then, what with all the adrenaline rushing up my brain. it was a day later when my joints all started to creak and complain. ugh, the travails of getting older..

guess it’s been quite a while since i last visited these orange pages of sunset colored memories, a year to be exact. i’m homeless again, wandering along the vast prairies of the western world. i’ve just survived a couple of snow storms, another clie reset, and a change of job. life just goes on and on like a song that’s on eternal repeat.

i needed to post again because the pen has been beckoning me to carve more stories into stone and make a landmark out of each moment. i wish i still remembered how to write.. is it like riding the bike again after spending a long time walking? jittery and unsure at first then after finding the second wind, things go on smoothly from there..

so where do i begin really? today is as good as any for a starting point, i’ll just work my way backwards and forwards and sideways.. whatever.

just got back from niagara falls. the weather was balmy, with wind chill at -13 but the place still kept most of it’s mystique intact. rode the climate controlled gondola which had a great view of the main attraction and the rest of the city, being on high places gets me high. wish i could be like the seagulls on horesshoe falls, wish i could soar high above my limitations and reach the sky..