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Happy Thanksgiving!

Pam

So... I had a pretty spontaneous Monday last week. As you can see from my previous blog post, I started listening to Surprise Yourself by Jack Garrett last week. Well, on Sunday night Patch and I were listening to his album on Spotify and coincidentally, he was playing a show in Vancouver on Monday night.

We were tempted to buy tickets until reality hit us and we realized that we had papers to write and big tests to study for in the coming week. So on we went with studying and streaming...

Then came Monday.
I was on the bus to school and received three consecutive messages from Patch:

"So do you wanna watch tonight?"
"Reply"
"Nevermind. Bought the tickets. Pay me $25. See you tonight."

And there ya go. After my lecture ended, I went to the downtown campus and tried to spew out as many words as I could before the show at 8pm.

8pm: JACK GARRETT LIVE at the Commodore Ballroom!


He's a one-man show -- commanding the stage with his raspy voice while playing several instruments at the same time. He had 2 keyboards to his left, a beat board in front, a drum set to his right, and an electric guitar strapped around him. What. I can't even play one instrument. I swear he was an octopus in a previous life.

Anyways. Worth seeing live. Amazing performer. Good break from reality. 100% recommend getting tickets to see him...especially while it's cheap!

I took some videos on my phone but they ended up being really shaky and loud (should've known). So here are live videos taken with better sound quality and where you can actually see his face.


One of my favorite shows that I've watched, but had to pay for it by pulling an all nighter to finish a research paper due at 8:30am the next day. Worth it.

P.S. Binge watched The Night Manager this week and WOW. What a series. Highly recommend it. Not just for Tom Hiddleston's jaw-dropping looks acting, but the plot, direction, other cast members, etc. Such a great show! If only there were more than 6 episodes...

Pam

I always end up sending and forwarding articles, videos, music, etc. that I liked (mostly to my sisters) so I figured my blog was a place I could dump all of them... cause why not?

Video

Here's one that we watched in my class of Social Determinants of Health. It's a TED talk called The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. 

Movie

Article

Music

Coron, Palawan, Philippines

As always, 4 months of summer go by so quickly. I'm so lucky I actually get that much time off school to do things other than studying. A couple of my friends do summer semesters, albeit taking a lighter course load, but that still means 10/12 months are spent in school.

Safe to say I've made the most of my summer this year. It started off with quality family time here in Vancouver, where I finally got to stay around for the sunshine and warm weather!!! Hallelujah. Vancouver really is the best city on sunny days. Then I flew back to the Philippines and went straight to one of my favorite places, Coron. What an adventure it was to spend a few nights as a nomadic islander with only the bare essentials. But hey, when you've got the beach, corals, a hammock, and food right in front of you, what more could you need? It was also a great time to bond with my cousins who I barely get to see. The greatest bonding formula = Travel + No wifi.

At the end of June, we flew off to Saigon, Vietnam and slowly made our way to Cambodia where we stayed in Phnom Penh, Koh Rong, and Siem Reap for a few nights. I've been trying to get myself to post about these places cause I loved each place just the same but for different reasons. In time...(I always say) There were so many perfect moments on this trip, from swimming with glowing plankton in Koh Rong, to exploring thousand year old temples in Siem Reap, crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnels, trying new food, spending time with Laurence, Camila, and Pia, and meeting local people (always a highlight).

Siem Reap, Cambodia

*Insert quick trip to Anvaya Cove*
Oh Anvaya, the getaway I always need. Because a vacation from vacation is always recommended.

Soon after, the wheels were up and I was off to Japan with my family! It was a celebratory trip for Patch's graduation and also my parents' 25th anniversary (even though I thought that's what Australia was for back in January). I think we just make up excuses to travel, but I'm not complaining! After being apart for months, it was nice to finally spend time together. By "spend time together" I mean have enough people to sing a Hamilton song. Literally. When we were in Universal Studios we had to wait in line for 1.5 hours and those 1.5 hours were not enough to sing the entire Hamilton play. I was finally able to perfect the raps in "Guns and Ships" and "My Shot", and sing Mariah's parts in "Say No To This". Thanks Emil.

Osaka, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji, Tokyo. 4 places off the list!

The only crappy part of the trip was the fact that I was sick day 2 onwards. Too much traveling apparently breaks me down...why immune system, why?! I also blame the ridiculously hot and humid summer weather of Japan. With 30+ degree weather and what felt like 90% humidity, I felt fatigued after about an hour or two of being outside. There was a lot of fanning, drinking Pocari Sweat, and sitting during the day. It was pretty bad on day 2-5, but after resting up I started to feel better.

Tumbocon's in Tokyo, Japan

Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Kyoto, Japan

Suddenly, July flew out the window and it was August.

*Cue quick trip to Anvaya Cove*
Again, a "much needed" vacation after a vacation. Recovery is best at a beach resort.

After a busy summer of traveling and side trips, it was nice to spend an entire month in Manila. My friends were finally less busy with school and had time to spend me, yay. I was able to go to "Sunday Family Lunch" every week, birthday dinners, etc. Those used to be get boring after asking the same old questions -- the adults keep to the adults, kids keep to kids. You get the usual questions of "how's school", "what else are you doing" blah blah questions. But this time around I really tried to make the effort of talking to my titos and titas.

I loved asking them about their childhood, funny stories during their adolescent years, what made them choose their profession, what they do (like, really do) at work, travel stories, etc. I think I tend to just see them as titos and titas that have been there since I was a baby, but...they're people too. Wait, that was weird. Of course they're people. What I mean is, they've got decades worth of stories and life experiences to tell! They were young once so they have lots of drunken nights and #ragrets to share. One question led to a story, which led to another, and another. There was lots of laughter, reflecting, and reminiscing that happened. I was intrigued by a lot of their stories, just when I thought I was ~adventurous~ they told me about their experiences of backpacking in their 20s. I have to admit, some of their stories were more interesting cause of the fact that the internet/travel apps weren't easily accessible back then...you had to be resourceful and creative. Ah, there's so much to learn from people.

August was also my try-to-be-healthy/fit month, but was also accompanied with trying new restaurants with le boyfriend. That's what happens when you're dating a foodie... haha not complaining though, we had a lot of great food. My favorite sushi place was Ooma (in Rockwell) for the salmon tartare roll, open-faced california taco, and hanger steak. Another favorite resto was Vask (in the Fort) where we celebrated our anniversary (aww). I loved the jamon platter (Iberico, Serrano, and one other thing that I can't remember the name of right now), oysters, tapas, and scallops with squid rice.

There were a couple late nights in August... some ended with a bad hangover (and good memories, if any hahaha), some were spent catching up with old friends, and some were popcorn and movie marathons.

Then came the goodbyes and the 12 hour flight back to Vancouver.

I've gotten used to this routine as it's been happening since 2011. (OH SHIT 5 YEARS) But that doesn't mean the car rides to the airport and the final goodbyes have gotten any easier. It's always gonna be hard to let go, no matter what. What makes it easier for me now than 3 years ago is knowing that I have a lot to come back to here in Vancouver too. I mean I've been living here for 7 years (OH SHIT 7 YEARS). It's strange to say that I've grown up here but it's nice having a solid group of friends and a routine to come back to.

I landed yesterday at noon and right away Patch and I went grocery shopping, cleaned the kitchen, rearranged the bedrooms, finally set up a study room, I washed my bedsheets, and cleaned my bathroom. All in 12 hours. No more yayas to help out (or do) chores. I'm fine with that though since 1) I'm used to it and 2) I like being responsible for the household. Sure it can get tedious at times but it's rewarding in the end. Patch and I may or may not have swept and Swiffer-ed excessively yesterday.

Today, I got a few email notifications regarding class syllabus' and materials needed, and I got a new bus pass for the month of September. Back to the grind.

First day of school tomorrow. Fourth year, here I come.

Who doesn't love a little road trip? This past May we planned a road trip along the Pacific North West. Our route took us from Vancouver -> Seattle -> Cannon Beach -> Portland over five days. With the Lemonade and Hamilton soundtracks plugged in, we were ready to go.
Thankfully the line at the Peace Arch Border wasn't long so we got to Seattle in about 2.5 hours. Our first stop for lunch was none other than Jollibee! Yes, Filipinos at heart. It's been way too long since we've had any of that crispy fried chicken and sticky rice. After lunch, we headed to our bed and breakfast, The Bacon Mansion. It's located in Capitol Hill, a quaint place with lots of coffee shops and stores within walking distance. It was a nice place to stay in, although I was disappointed when there was no bacon served for breakfast...

The reason we went to Seattle in the first place was to watch Beyonce's concert. We watched her Mrs. Carter show back in 2013, so it was about time we watched her live again. I've been to a lot of concerts and I gotta say Beyonce is probably one of the best. Her vocals, the set, choreography, her outfits...definitely a must-see artist. 100% worth it.

Apologies to everyone sitting around my sister and I, our horrible vocals were probably a pain to listen to.



While still on a post-Lemonade high the next day, we set out to see what Seattle had to offer. Despite living a few hours north of the city for the past seven years, we had never really explored it. Our first stop was the one and only Seattle Space Needle.

We had a clear 360 view of the city from the top. There's a Space Needle app you can download that has details of the visible landmark and fun facts, so you actually knew what you were looking out at.

Space Needle

Looking for the cast of Grey's Anatomy from the top of the Space Needle

Next stop was right next door: The Chihuly Garden and Glass museum. The tickets we bought were $46, for both the Space Needle and glass museum (you can buy tickets on their website). I had never heard of the museum and didn't know what to expect from it, but when we walked in I was immediately impressed by the exhibits that were made purely of blown glass sculptures.

Chihuly Museum

My favourite exhibit, the Sea Life Tower, standing 10 ft tall

What a sight

The exhibits extend out to the garden

Gorgeous! I've never seen art quite like this. Before we knew it, the morning was over and it was time for lunch! Of course, we went to Pike Place Market for food.






















We chose an open stall, Pike's Pit Bar-B-Que, which was serving delicious pulled pork dishes for about $10. I'd recommend having the pulled pork with potato salad!

Photo creds: Google

Not the most appealing photo, but this is the pulled pork sandwich I got ($9.50)

I wanted to make a stop at the gum wall a few blocks away (it's basically a wall covered with thousands of chewed gum...yup). Unfortunately, we had to head out and get back on the road to drive down to Cannon Beach before it got dark.

Till the next one!

Pam

Can't believe it's been nine months since I've been home. Time seems to fly by really quickly. There usually aren't any big changes when I go back each year so it'll be nice to pick up where I left off. Then again nine months is a long time, so some things might have changed.

I guess we'll see.

If you haven't heard about Hamilton, where have you been?

To be fair I only found out about it when they performed on the Grammys back in February. Since then, it's blown up and it's the hottest ticket in Broadway. Just a quick description for anyone that isn't aware, it's a Broadway show performed through hip-hop/rap music reliving significant moments of the life of one of the founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton (mostly during the American Revolution and getting his financial plan through Congress).

It doesn't sound very convincing BUT IT WORKS. I've literally been obsessed with the soundtrack for the past 4 months. The story line, the music, the lyrics...BRILLIANT. Lin Manuel Miranda, the person who wrote it all and stars as Hamilton, is a genius. Aside from bringing a different style of music to Broadway, the color-blind casting is changing the game.

Of course when I started obsessing over the soundtrack, it was only natural that I dug deeper into the world of Hamilton. I've watched 99% of cast interviews, behind the scenes, and performances that I could find on YouTube. Being a self-proclaimed non-artistic person, I am so fascinated hearing other people talk about their passion for the arts, from the initial concepts to performing on stage. This is one of my favorite interviews of Lin where his passionate and humble personality shines through.

Watch this:


(Props to Emma Watson for being a great interviewer/conversationalist, and just the right amount of fan girl.)

Now go listen to the soundtrack! (It's on Spotify and Apple Music)

♡ Pam