Another glimpse of my Christmas holiday in England - a pheasant shoot on Boxing Day. I didn’t even know such a holiday existed; apparently, it was traditionally a day following Christmas when ‘wealthy people’ in the United Kingdom would give a box containing a gift to their servants. Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on December 26, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day. (Wiki)

We woke up early that morning and got dressed in breeks, long socks, and barbours (mine were all borrowed from Gus’s mom), and set out to find game. I felt like a total alien amongst the Englishpeople in their traditional shooting gear. I was trying to ignore the fact that I was sticking out like a sore thumb, and did my best to seem like a proper and civilized person.. ha..

The first drive was in an open field, and I did nothing but wait for Gus to shoot something. During the second drive, I was given a stick and was told to hit whatever I could. I thought they were crazy until I realized I was supposed to scare the birds so they would fly and get shot down by the guns. Gus’s brother, Max, was quite successful that day, taking down around 4 or 5 birds, I believe. I and the other beaters (the people tasked to beat trees and make noise), however, were totally useless compared to the dogs who flushed out the game in half the time it took for me to get through the forest. I couldn’t help but think that my golden retriever, Gru, would totally excel at and thoroughly enjoy that activity. I wish I could’ve taken him to England with me. He belongs in a pheasant shoot!

Halfway through the day, Gus and I went home. I only lasted 3 drives, pathetically, before needing a long hot bath and the comfort of a fireplace and food. Plus, I really needed the loo, and was not about to go in the middle of the forest…

x

PS. I thought I could carry anything, but that all changed when I donned a puffer jacket + a long-sleeved turtleneck and realized that I look absolutely ridiculous and inadequate in traditional English shooting garb. It makes me sadder than you think.

at this very moment - just woke up on the makeshift bed I made by putting together the two couches in the living room. It didn’t make sense to me to sleep beside Carla in my room with the a/c on and thus making me even sicker, plus risking infecting her even more, making us both miserable during her vacation. My flatmate, who just arrived back from Singapore, looked shocked to see the mess I had made of the flat while they were all gone over the long weekend (one was in Singapore while the other went to Japan). I’m still feeling quite ill, but I think the two paracetamols I took yesterday are valiantly fighting off the illness. My throat still hurts, though, and I’m sniffling.  Just finished a skype call as well, and will try to head to the Tian Tan Buddha now for some sightseeing and all that touristy jazz :p Have a good rest day, everyone! xx

at this very moment - just woke up on the makeshift bed I made by putting together the two couches in the living room. It didn’t make sense to me to sleep beside Carla in my room with the a/c on and thus making me even sicker, plus risking infecting her even more, making us both miserable during her vacation.

My flatmate, who just arrived back from Singapore, looked shocked to see the mess I had made of the flat while they were all gone over the long weekend (one was in Singapore while the other went to Japan). I’m still feeling quite ill, but I think the two paracetamols I took yesterday are valiantly fighting off the illness. My throat still hurts, though, and I’m sniffling. 

Just finished a skype call as well, and will try to head to the Tian Tan Buddha now for some sightseeing and all that touristy jazz :p Have a good rest day, everyone!

xx

I almost cried watching the trailer alone… my expectations have been effectively raised. I hope it’s so good it transcends Anne Hathaway’s funny accent.

xx

sneak peek into my room in our apartment at 4 Fat Seung St., Cheung Sha Wan. I’m in love with it already. :) I bought an aromatherapeutic candle for my room (amongst a gazillion other things my dad bought for me in IKEA a while ago), and now it smells subtly like cherries. :) I also met one of my flatmates today, a British national named Paul Bouanchaud (the name sounds suspiciously French though - will ask him about that one of these days). He’s apparently doing research in Shenzhen for his PhD in Anthropology. Yesterday, my first day here, was amazing as well. An AIESEC representative from HK PolyU, Kelvin, fetched us at the airport and took me to my flat (while my dad and sister went to their hotel at Yau Ma Tei). My dad treated him to dinner after, and we ate at this place Kelvin recommended, a local resto that served the best Cantonese dishes we’ve ever tasted. More on that next time. :) Tomorrow is going to be my last day with my dad and sister (at least not until September, I think), and I will be heartbroken being without them (especially when they fly back to Manila tomorrow :( ), but at the same time I’m already loving this city, the people, the vibe, and am determined to jump into my new life and hit the ground running, that is, if I’m not running already! xxx

sneak peek into my room in our apartment at 4 Fat Seung St., Cheung Sha Wan. I’m in love with it already. :) I bought an aromatherapeutic candle for my room (amongst a gazillion other things my dad bought for me in IKEA a while ago), and now it smells subtly like cherries. :)

I also met one of my flatmates today, a British national named Paul Bouanchaud (the name sounds suspiciously French though - will ask him about that one of these days). He’s apparently doing research in Shenzhen for his PhD in Anthropology.

Yesterday, my first day here, was amazing as well. An AIESEC representative from HK PolyU, Kelvin, fetched us at the airport and took me to my flat (while my dad and sister went to their hotel at Yau Ma Tei). My dad treated him to dinner after, and we ate at this place Kelvin recommended, a local resto that served the best Cantonese dishes we’ve ever tasted. More on that next time. :)

Tomorrow is going to be my last day with my dad and sister (at least not until September, I think), and I will be heartbroken being without them (especially when they fly back to Manila tomorrow :( ), but at the same time I’m already loving this city, the people, the vibe, and am determined to jump into my new life and hit the ground running, that is, if I’m not running already!

xxx

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. You’re the most beautiful woman I know, and I would give the world to be able to say that to you right now.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. You’re the most beautiful woman I know, and I would give the world to be able to say that to you right now.

life of Yeni

"you, the great confidant. the robin to every batman, the satellite to every planet. you're a bright star shining behind the shadow of another. a great spectacle of magnificence dying to be discovered. a great enigma it is that no one cares to notice. that none dared to see through and beyond the lines and your flaws. a brilliant dancer waltzing away alone with little people who dared to watch.

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