Conquering Thy Fears

The picture above is a mediocre panoramic image that I captured yesterday using my iPhone 4S up on the Sky Ride at the Canadian National Exhibition Fair.

I spent the whole day with my best friend at the fair yesterday. The admission was free that day for selected age groups, and we just happened to fall into one of the categories so woo! I already went once (this year) three days before with my parents and as always, I loved it except the scorching hot weather. I love visiting the fair yearly mainly because of the food fair. We walked throughout the entire grounds to have a look around, and during that time I already lost $10 by betting, hoping to win. I won some but I ended up losing more.

"Let's go on the Sky Ride", my best friend said. At first I thought she was joking and then I looked at her and there I realized she was actually serious. See, my best friend actually has a phobia of Roller coasters, or basically anything with height and motion with no sense of escape.. She told me that her mother advised her to go on some rides to try something different and basically face her fears. Even though I was saving my extra money for back to school shopping, I supported her and looked for the nearest ticket merchant. We found out that for $20 we could have 8 tickets = 8 rides. The smarty pants and the broke college students that we are split the $20 cost. The reason being is that aside from saving more, we only planned on going on the Sky Ride.. that is only going to cost us 2 tickets = 2 rides (when normally, it would cost a person $5 for 4 coupons to get on one ride), so we would have 3 more tickets each (6 in total) which were equivalent to 3 more rides.

We looked around us to select 3 more rides to go on after the Sky Ride. We could not be any more happier, that was a really great deal!

There were two entrances for the Sky Ride, one was facing the CN Tower (picture below), while the other one was facing the BMO Field Stadium (an example of the view would be the picture on top of this post). We chose the one facing the CN Tower because we were halfway closer to it... (my best friend and I are not a fan of walking under the striking sun so we did ourselves a favor)

If you take this side of the Sky Ride, this is the view you are going to discover and witness.. if we are talking night time, this is the view you would want to see. Unfortunately, for us, we could not stay until night time for schedule reasons.

This is what you will be able to see from my side (left side).

My best friend's side.

We both agreed that the whole ride was definitely worth it. It was also relaxing considering the fact that you get enough breeze up there. If you ever need to hibernate, I suggest you give this a try (if you ever visit the Exhibition place) for it is only $5 (four coupons) per person.

She decided to try The Blitzer roller coaster afterwards.

I would say we waited for about twenty minutes to go on The Blitzer. The ride took only a minute. She screamed during the first drop, and I was laughing the entire time because of it. I never heard her scream before so that was kind of amusing to witness. After the ride was done she said, "that was it?!" It is funny how she was starting to enjoy roller coasters when she used to be so afraid of it.

We walked around again to find two more rides to use our two remaining tickets on. I told her that she was doing very well. I was impressed because I know you can't force someone to face their phobia, so I was really proud of her. There were more difficult rides available but we settled on the Hurricane since the other rides seemed too extreme for her.

Yes, this looks terrible, unappealing and boring like it was designed for kids. But let me tell you what, out of all the rides I have ever tried in my life, this was the worst. The gravitational pull of this ride was so intense, I could not move at all causing me to squish the living crap out of her, leaving both of us extremely uncomfortable. As soon as we got out of the Hurricane, we could not feel our legs. We felt drugged (we are clean teenagers just to let you know, we will never have any of those) and lightweight. This ride ruined it for her. She just became really dizzy and did not want to try any more rides after. However, since we had two more tickets (one for each), we decided to take the Sky Ride once again and try the opposite side.

But before that, we felt really empty and drowsy that we figured we should eat first.. and we did. It was a really really long walk back to the Food Building.

I don't know why it won't let me rotate this picture. Must be due to the fact that I have attached several photos already. Anyway, she had fish and chips, while I had honey garlic chicken wings, and damn, I want more of these.

After eating, we decided to walk around.. check out the casino, play some games and that included winning and losing, and all those consumed us nearly two hours without even realizing.

The plan was to go on the Sky Ride one more time, and this time at the opposite side and there we enjoyed the view of the CNE.

I always appreciate everything that I experience and see which is why I have always identified myself as a wanderer. You just never know what you will discover! I was happy that I spent time with my best friend because if I didn't, this would not have happened. I will remain honored forever (as cheesy as it sounds) that I was a part of her expedition as she conquered her fears.

It was a day to remember indeed.

Fin


* in case you were wondering, yes I took all these photos with my iPhone 4S.

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I have a feeling.. that tonight's gonna be a good night.

Today is the day.. the day that I have waited patiently for.
Or should I say... tonight is going to be the night! Yes! I am talking about the concert.

I have no words. I am so amped, stoked, excited, basically my heart is filled with all sorts of excitement and happiness because for the first time in the history, I am going to see two powerhouse performers in one night. Yes, Justin Timberlake and Jay Z.

I will try and update you guys tomorrow about the concert.. for sure tonight will be one of the most memorable nights in my life.

Soft Spot for The Oldies

It's been a while Blogspot! Not that anyone missed me or anything, oh please, no one even knows this blog exists. Lately, I really had nothing to talk about which explains why I haven't written anything at all this week. The one I've posted this week and last week had been on my draft for almost two weeks. 

This post will be about a special moment that happened during Mother's Day.

After celebrating Mother's day downtown with my parents, we decided to go home since we still had a lot of things to do. We took the subway home and it was surprisingly not busy.

I was sitting beside an old Chinese grandma in the subway train. She was sitting where the window was, and since I was beside her, we were both facing the direction of the train. I noticed that she kept looking on her left side (where I was) and I realized that she was observing twins on the stroller. She had this really peaceful and gleeful smile while gazing at them. She was so adorable that I wanted to pinch her cheeks. It's always a long way home from Downtown, it usually takes 30-40 minutes until I get to my stop. Since I was really bloated from the all-you-can eat Sushi that I consumed, I focused on my music.

I saw through her actions that her stop was next and since my legs were on the way, I had to move for her to pass. When she was about to leave her seat, she said something to me. Unfortunately, I was not able to hear her because I had my earphones on, but it was somewhere along the lines of take care. 

Although I was not able to hear what she had to say, I was dazed by her cheerful smile. I rarely see the elderlies that happy and bright, especially in a public transit. I felt bad that I was not able to reply to whatever she said so I moved to her seat and hoping I would see her pass by the window. When she got off of the train, she looked at the window where I was sitting and when she saw me she waved goodbye and smiled bright from ear to ear. I felt some positive energy and less annoyed in the train after seeing her smile.

I always have a soft spot for the aged people. I grew up with my grandparents which explains why I do. Her smile seriously brightened up my mood! I was concerned about her though. I started to wonder if she is alone in life or if she has a family to come home to. I felt bad that she had to take the public transit by herself. It looked like she is alone in the city, but I really hope she has a family here. No one deserves to grow old alone. Her smile looked so optimistic and it really passed on to me because her smile enlivened my mood. To others that might be normal, but to me, it was special and rare. She totally made me miss my grandparents even more.

Rare Streak of Luck

This post had been on my draft for weeks! Oopsies!

I usually do not believe in luck or anything that is associated with it. Mostly because of all the unfortunate events that happened to me lately. But things turned around....

One very early morning, I found myself wide awake and sleep deprived. There are days when I really have some trouble sleeping and that morning was one of those days. Since I was awake and had nothing better to do, I decided to go with my parents and do some errands. It was such a beautiful morning that day and the weather was perfect to most of the population. My mother and I had to do something before we went grocery shopping. My dad on the other hand had to wash the car. While my mother and I were trying to waste time, she decided to buy some crossword puzzle scratch card in the convenient store. My mom has an obsession (well I call it an obsession) with scratch cards and lottery. It's awesome how she wins all the time but not the jackpot prize. She knew I enjoy scratching cards which was why she asked me to pick one and she was going to pay for it. Obviously I did not decline. We went back to our waiting location and we scratched the cards we bought. I decided to listen to music on my iPhone as I scratched the card I have chosen to play. I had an inexplicable energy for someone who lacked sleep. It was probably the music, all I knew was that I was happy scratching the card. My heart was racing because I was so eager to see if I won something, and as I scratched out all the letters, I was very pleased to see that I won, finally!

See, I bought a lot of crossword scratch cards in my life and had no luck. Except for that one time when my mother bought a card and asked me to scratch it, although the prize was only $3. I do not count that as my winning moment because she picked the card. But this time I finally won, even though she paid for it, I chose the card! I was very happy because I won $25! You might consider my winning momentum as no big deal because it's a small amount but I am still thankful.

The selfish person that I am wanted to keep the $25 for myself but my mother argued and claimed her right to collect the prize. Some of you might be on her side but I believe that was all on me.. I deserve the credit. Since I chose the card I settled for $20 and she took $5 and added another dollar to buy two more scratch cards. Of course, one for each of us. Guess what? My mother won $25, and I won $5! Crazy right? But crazier after we found out that we won more than we expected! When we went to the convenience store to claim our prizes, we screamed when the machine declared that my mother won $50 (We thought she only won $25). So what did my mother do? She did not want to stop and block the run of luck so we played more. Much to my glorified triumph, I kept winning more $3 from my scratch cards. The lady at the convenience store kept telling each and everyone at her store about me and my mother's sweep because we kept winning. Our continuous victory made us keep coming back to the store. Not to imply greed but how I wish we won the jackpot instead! Wouldn't you?

That day was not a normal day for me, I felt happy that I almost seem boastful about it. The excitement and joy I felt winning consecutively was something I will never forget... I call it, the rare steak of luck.

*Imagine Liv Tyler Smiling With those Lips*

I cannot think of a better title. It may sound a bit improper but who cares! I basically wanted to describe how cheerful I am today through my title. I guess picturing Liv Tyler's wide lips when she smiles describes how happy I am at the moment.

This post is going to be short, I hope because I just want to talk about something really positive today!

This morning our TFC Box (A Filipino Channel Box that contains hundreds of programs imported from the Philippines' most popular network, Abs-Cbn) stopped functioning. If you are not Filipino, you would not really get it. Anyway, the head office that is responsible for the TFC Box decided to change the format of all the program receivers. They also replaced all the HDR Boxes to a more compact one, a smaller size. Few weeks ago, we received our box and was told that they will discontinue the original box (the current box that we have) meaning it will no longer operate. We decided to wait until our box actually shuts down until we connect the new box. Just this morning, our box eventually stopped working which meant that I had to finally connect the new one to our television. No one was going to connect it because my parents do not know how, so I had no choice but to do it myself. In the manual, users are instructed to call for installment assistance. But I am the kind of person who loves to do it myself first before I ask for someone else's help. I did it without reading instructions or the manual, and it was a success. After installing the box, fixing the wiring and the connections, all I needed to do was to call the contact number they have provided to activate our box.  To have our box activated was the only time I asked for help. When I was put on hold, the screen loaded meaning I have successfully installed the box. I was surprised when my stepfather said he was very impressed with my skills (out of nowhere) and he pat me in the back. I am quite techy and handy when it comes to these things. I was overjoyed when I saw him smiling and when he added more compliments saying I did a great job. He said was impressed because he can't even do certain things by himself, especially without reading manuals. To some people this might not be a big deal but my skills were acknowledged and that rarely happens. It matters to me. It really is the smallest things, huh? All my life I just wanted to be appreciated. Appreciation was all I ever asked from people and I am glad to get once in a while.

Appreciation do not necessarily mean I want to hear compliments all the time, I just want to be appreciated through my actions. I love it when my work, my doings and my achievements receive acknowledgment. I expect some appreciation when I deserve it. Simple things like this really makes me smile. 

The 20/20 Eargasmic Experience

WARNING: THIS POST IS RATED R.
This blog post includes an adult material: intended for mature readers only! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Oh the joy of writing about something you can't even have. How heartbreaking! I assume that all of you know the attractive man in the picture above, right? I will be entirely surprised if you don't.. I mean.. this man is a legend.. He was the lead singer of N Sync, a remarkable boyband from the 90s era that sold almost 80 million copies of album worldwide! A 32-year old man who still obtains the power of making some females' undergarments WET! A legend in the music industry who ditched the album production for seven years. Well, he did not abandon music because he had some songs just not an album so using the word 'ditched' does not really make sense. I would say he just wanted to make it perfect, I guess, while he experienced some other things like acting and taking roles in movies but that obviously drove some of his fans insane! A lot of his admirers, including me, were waiting for his comeback... and seven years later, he finally did! 

He finally released his third album The 20/20 Experience.. His album is absolutely-beyond-amazing! We may have anticipated for his return in the music enterprise for a very long time but every second of the wait was worth it! His album totally made up for those seven years and it does not end there, the second half of his 20/20 Experience album is coming out in Fall! Crazy! I love it! I am currently hooked on his single Mirrors and for some reason this song just makes me want to cry! I really do not know why, I guess it is because it reminds me of my childhood. The song Mirrors holds a melody resembling the 90s era, and his old school hits! I am so in love with this single. It sounds so sincere yet so sexy, it's a pop-ballad, with epic-genius written all over the lyrics. He co-wrote all the songs in the album, it was obvious that this song, if not the whole album, will leave a mark to his fans. This song has been overplayed.. If the countless times I have played this song would result to my phone breaking, my phone will shatter in to million pieces. But no it won't! My phone agrees with me, my phone loves the song! It plays the song automatically for me without me doing anything! Please listen to it if you are still not convinced!

Do you agree with me yet? Oh man, I do not think you even needed my persuasion for you to realize that this guy is pure genius! To prove how much he loves his supporters so much, he is having a tour! But unfortunately.. from where I live..

Yes. It's sold out. Not entirely though because they are selling a pair of third row tickets for $700.. Sadly, I do not have that kind of amount. At this point, I am willing to become someone's slave for a maximum of three months to have that money! Call me ridiculous, desperate but this is a once in a lifetime chance! I was not a big fan of Justin (yet) when he was still with Britney, mostly because of his hair and I was younger and more immature then but since his album Justified? Are you kidding me? With his epic comeback?!?!?! I am definitely going to move mountains just to experience his tour! Especially when I saw his recent live performances at Brit Awards, The Ellen Show, etc.?!?!?! He still got it!!!! OH man.. He sounds more amazing live! I do not know how he does it but it's simple, he is JT! He is one of the few people in the music industry that I would pay $$$$$$$ (no matter what a waste it would seem to some of you) because his world-class talent deserves it! Not to mention his 100% incredible performance anytime, anywhere.. You would see that he puts his heart and his soul not only in his music but also in his performances. It's depressing because whenever someone that I love for more than all my life comes and have a tour in my city, I am always unemployed and no savings.. Like it's always a bad timing! Whenever I have a job, they don't come here! WHY WHY WHY!!!!! 

I know I have said the word crazy in this post several times but I am going to use it again.. It's crazy how I am getting goosebumps while writing this! I am also not sure if I ran out of adjectives to describe how talented he is, or is it because there is no adjective suitable for how astonishing he is! The near-seven-year wait between albums tells you how perfect he wanted this album to be! It is clear to see how serious he was with his comeback! I am not sure if anyone else besides him (after so many years) who would possess a creative and refreshing album can return and still create an impact and charm the population. If this first half is already amazing, I wonder what would the second half sound like..  I am sure it would be ten times better. Ever heard of save the best for last? To be quite honest, he is the only Justin in the world that has the kind of talent that every one in the world would bow and applaud to. Yes, if you are still clueless about who he is, this astounding and talented guy who is equally attractive is no other than Justin Timberlake.


So are any of you going to his 20/20 Experience Tour? Let me know down below! If you aren't... express your misery in the comment box. I will cry with you!

I did not write this to boast about his talent that every one seems to already acknowledge! I wrote this to express how affected I am (in a good way) of his comeback and how badly I want to experience his concert!! I love his album! I love you Justin Timberlake! Although.......... I would not say no if someone like Ellen DeGeneres would see this sorta-embarrassing but sincere post and give me tickets to his concert!!! :)




A girl can dream.




Haha, this is funny.. I was only supposed to whine about the fact that I can't go to his concert with an introduction about him but this post became something else... An expression of admiration. I hope he sees this somehow.

May: Fifth month, spring season, show me what you got!

I am not the type to sit around, go online on twitter, tumblr or facebook and post "Oh [whatever month it is], please be good to me!" I think that is a bit rubbish. You cannot expect good things to happen if you just lay around and not do anything, right? But if you happen to be reading this blog right now and you are one of those, I am not judging you. I just think... It's only my opinion. Carry on with what you want to do with your life!

I am trying to change my state of mind. I realized I have to live a little and not just exist. I have to shake off the negative energy and let myself free and do what I want to do. Be happy and reconnect with myself. I want to look forward to every day because I am lucky I have been given another day to live.

It's May, the fifth month of the year, almost halfway through the year. May is spring in Northern America, and spring means everything comes back to life, like nature. I decided that despite the cold, metaphorically and literally, I will head out and enjoy the sunshine.

I will embrace every excitement, and new experiences, so May, what do you have in store for me? :)








*This is the very first blog entry that I have included a smiley, and my very first entry with no negativity - another positive sign*