23 of 30: Modeling - My Failed Attempt to be ANTM

Let me just say off the bat that I have a new found respect for models.
I used to think they all had it easy, posing and being pretty all the time and getting paid loads of money for it. But man, because of my little stint – I realized there’s a lot more to it than that.

But then again, I don’t have a model’s face or figure… So those skinny mini’s still have that advantage.

OK. Let’s backtrack a little.

I asked a friend of mine, B, who is starting out as a photographer if she could take some nice professional photos of me. I get em cheap, and she gets to build her portfolio. Win-win.

I’ve always wanted my photo taken, basically topless with my hair covering my breasts. I dunno… it’s my long hair. I always thought it would be kinda cute and fun to do something like that… Kind of a tease? Sexy – but tasteful?
But the problem is that I can’t do serious sexy. I can do funny sexy, and maybe even cute sexy… but not serious sultry sexy. Does that make sense?

Anyway, the plan and logistics all worked out. I had my make up done at the MAC cosmetics counter (if you purchase 50 dollars worth of make up, you get the makeover for free) and did my hair myself. I curled it for more volume, and, er, “coverage”.

B doesn’t have a studio of her own yet so we had to improvise. My old neighbor’s apartment is still vacant (he just moved out) and I have his spare key (I’m not a stalker. We’re actually friends). The size is perfect, it’s empty, and when I asked my landlord’s permission to use it, he gave me his blessing. PERFECT!

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about it at first. I wanted the photos to turn out well, but like I said – I don’t have a model’s chiseled features, nor do I have a slim hard rock body.  I can be photogenic, but only in the right angles. My profile is horrible, and I cannot – by the hammer of Thor – smile properly without showing my teeth… all of them! Oh – and did I mention this was a topless shoot? Gaaaah!

I had one of those skintone nipple cover things that made it look like I didn’t have an arreola, so THAT took the edge off at least. And B is a friend and I was comfortable around her--- which was good too!

I gotta hand it to her… she was really good at making me feel at ease. We had some music, she showed no amount of bashfulness when I emerged from the bathroom topless and hairy, and she occasionally yelled out encouraging words like – “That’s nice!” or “Hahaha!”

After the first 20 minutes, the nerves have subsided and I was fine. But as I had predicted, I had SUCH a difficult time doing a sexy smile. I just couldn’t do it. WHY would anyone want to smile without showing teeth anyway???
I think out of 20 shots, I’d managed ONE smile that didn’t look constipated. And I DON’T even want to discuss the difficulties in angling myself, arching my body so as not to show any belly, rib or back fat in the photos. It was a lost cause. I had to rely heavily on B’s photoshopping skills.

We shot for about 2 hours, and all in all, I have to say I had a fantastic time! Don’t mind the bitching and moaning above… That’s just me being a girl. We’ve all got our insecurities, right?
B made it fun… we were basically cracking up the whole time. My face is really elastic and I unknowingly make really weird (and apparently funny) expressions on my face, and I think it had B in stitches.
All the LOL’s eased my tension and we just ended up having a blast! It was so much fun! Difficult, exhausting, but fun! :)

After we finished packing up, she said she’d like to do it again with me for free. She knew I had a trip coming up, and she said if I wanted to, we could shoot again no charge. I didn’t even think twice – heck yeah I’ll do it again! Why not? I was actually touched, even flattered! Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought! Maybe she had so much fun with me, she just wanted to put more photos of me in her portfolio!

I couldn’t be more wrong.

Last night, she sent me some sample photos from the shoot.

OH. EM. Gee.

I was mortified!

I thought I looked HORRIBLE!

And this isn’t a criticism to B’s photography skills --- it’s my FACE! Just as I had suspected! It’s the smiling without teeth thing! Or even the funny faces I made. I thought they’d come out cute – but they literally did come out FUNNY! As in pointing straight at you, laughing my ass off FUNNY! AND – I looked like a freaking AMAZON! I had no idea I was (or am) that HUGE! Seriously! I look in the mirror and I think – yeah, I’m buff… But not AMAZONIAN!

And then it all made sense! This is why she wanted a re-shoot! She was doing it for my benefit! She didn’t want me to come out of the whole experience empty handed… Aww, B, Bless your heart!

Oh well… It wasn’t all bad though. I DID manage to pull off a few nice shots. And those are the only ones I’m sharing here. These, are pretty decent… Cute even! At least I think so!! :)

YES. Pulled a no-teeth smile one off!

Then it turned into this.

No Teeth Again! YAY!

I was trying to be cheeky, not petrified. Sigh.

This one might be my fave -- but my no teeth thing needs a lotta work!

I’m looking forward to the reshoot. I’m definitely gonna bring my A game next time! Oh, and I’ll be bringing a big mirror! That way I can see my face when I do my poses, to make sure I don’t look as constipated as I did the last time. 

I don’t think I’ll ever be in the running for America’s Next Top Model, unfortunately. I’m in a weird awkward position between an average built and a plus size, and I don’t think they’re in the market for laxative ads much these days…

But the next time I come across a skinny latte model, instead of rolling my eyes out of spite, I will run up to them and give them a round of applause and say “You… It’s YOU already… Brava…”

22 of 30: Writing - My Short Stint At UCLA

I enrolled in a writing class at UCLA. I’m not really sure what the stronger motive is… To learn how to write better – or to be able to say that I actually went to UCLA.
Either way, win-win, right?

It was a beginners creative writing class and we met once a week for three hours. I really wanted to just be able to see if I had what it takes to write – not for a living, but at least on the side. Maybe have an online column, or have a popular blog like Julie from Julie and Julia that I could eventually earn money from --- OR turn into a movie!

I needed fundamentals. Or advanced fundamentals? I was expecting to learn about format, punctuations, point of view, etc. I wanted to be better as a ‘memoir’ writer… or even just a blogger. U know? Well, after the first meeting, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.

My teacher, let’s call her – Professor Trelawney, is everyone’s English teacher in high school. She has her hair up in a messy bun, wears cat-eye spectacles which she could never find, even if they’re literally being used as her headband, uses LAYERS of scarves in 80 degree weather, has post-it notes all over her books, and speaks in an airy tone… like Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. Now, Professor Trelawney is a Novelist, and was under the impression that my classmates and I were in search of the inspiration to write our first novels. In fact, if I hadn’t said anything to her about wanting to focus on memoirs, she would have gone and taught the whole class how to be just like her. Luckily, a few other people in my class felt the same way as I did. Sooo thanks to my big mouth (this is actually one of the few instances where it came in pretty handy) the curriculum changed to suit everyone’s needs. YAY!

Nay.

Unfortunately, you can’t really teach an old dog new tricks… so even if she tried, it still felt like we were being groomed to be the next Jane Austen or Dan Brown.

Nevertheless, I did have fun, and I enjoyed the class immensely. We had exercises every week that allowed us to explore what kind of style we had as writers. We were asked to read our work out loud for everyone to critique – which would normally petrify me, especially since I never really felt like writing is my strong suit (hence the writing class) – but they turned out to be really fun AND helpful. Everyone had a tendency to be really positive in their comments, and Professor Trelawny knew how to give constructive criticism without making us feel bad, which is really good. Plus, it was really interesting to hear and distinguish the differences between me and my classmates. After about the second or third class, I was already able to identify the sci-fi dudes who wrote mostly about aliens and x-file-esque plots, the tearjerker types who wrote mostly about their mothers who had cancer or some other sad disease, and the weird, dark and twisted types who wrote about pain, anguish, anger and death (seriously, there was this girl who wrote GRAPHICALLY about her grandfather’s death through her 7 year old eyes that included words like ‘gaping mouth’ and ‘stench of the dead” – freaking insane.)

Through that class, I discovered that my style is sort of like a comedic memoir. On almost all of the exercises, instead of making up a story like most of my classmates did, I wrote about experiences I’ve had that are apparently really funny (every time I read my assignment – they all laughed out loud). It was nice! I mean I suppose I did write with that intention, and I chuckle to myself while writing… But to have others actually appreciate the humor --- that was really cool. They were particularly fond of my celebrity-stalking encounters.

Our final project was to write a five page story, and we were to read it out loud in class, printing out copies for everyone so we could all follow along and make comments on the margin. We were asked to underline passages we liked, or underline words or sentences we didn’t think belonged, or make remarks and stuff… Pretty intimidating.
And as predicted, Sci Fi Guy wrote about an alien encounter of the nth kind, Tear Jerker Lady wrote about a mother daughter relationship dealing with Alzheimers, and Dark Twisted Daria wrote a 5 page version of what she has already written about her grandfather’s death through her 7 year old eyes. It was painful.

I wrote about my encounter with Gary Oldman at the Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard. My story is about 80% factual. Other minor details were modified to make the story more entertaining. ;)
(Read my final project HERE. But only if you want to. It’s not mandatory. )

Anyway, reading it out loud was a lot of fun because of all the giggles and the laughter coming from my audience. They seemed to have really enjoyed it, and they wrote the BEST comments. They said stuff like – “You’re really funny,” or “This cracked me up!” and “I love your style!”
Even Professor Trelawney cracked up a few times. I noticed her chuckling and covering her mouth with one of her scarves.

So yeah, I guess you could say I had a really good experience in that class. I mean experiencing it is one thing --- but being in UCLA… in that campus ---  is just – WOW.
It’s completely insane how beautiful that University is. I don’t know if those kids who go there know how lucky and privileged they really are to be going there. In my opinion, it’s prettier than Harvard.
I’d go back there just to eat a bagel under a tree. Seriously beautiful… 

But anyway… after this project is over, I fully intend to take another writing class there. This time, I’m picking a class that focuses more on memoir writing. :)
I can’t wait!

21 of 30: Tribal Belly Dancing - Finding my Inner Gypsy

I've tried “normal” or traditional belly dancing a few years ago, and I really enjoyed it. My teacher used to say I was a natural, and even asked if I would consider choreographing their “children’s belly dance class.” (insert blush here)
I dunno… I’ve always been pretty rhythmic, but I guess when you’re holding a bit of fat in your belly, it makes the movements you make in belly dancing look really good. Haha!


Okay, so I found this deal on living social (or groupon, or one of those websites) that featured this place called Live Arts LA. Take 3 classes for 15 bucks or something… And they had a pretty wide array of classes to choose from. One in particular that stood out was their Tribal Belly Dancing class. It sounded cool, so I went and tried it.

It was brand new – I think the day that I came was their first EVER tribal class. And there were only 2 students. Me, and one of their Zumba choreographers. I loved it. More personal attention! It was like a one on one lesson for 5 bucks!

Doesn't she look like a cool gypsy?

I asked Heather, the instructor, what the difference was between Tribal Belly Dance and traditional belly dancing. She said Tribal is more like American Tribal Fusion… It’s a mix of different styles, from African to Middle Eastern to Spanish to Indian dancing. People refer to it as ATS or African Tribal Style or California Tribal, since the whole ‘movement’ started here in California. At least the bulk of it did…
They also improvised their use of costumes, by using more earthy materials… headwraps/turbans, coins, ethnic textile, many layers, etc.

I don’t have any pictures or videos of me doing the class (thank goodness), but from what I remember about the lesson, it felt like tribal belly dance was more controlled. The movements are shorter and more abrupt (compared to traditional) and your feet are planted firmly on the ground instead of having your heels up a little. I liked it, because it was like belly dancing and popping and locking at the same time! Haha!

I found a video of my teacher dancing Tribal Belly Fusion. See what you think.
Enjoy!

20 of 30 - I'd Rather Be Snowboarding

Nothing to say. I'll just show.

19 of 30 - Learning Meditation From Buddhists

Do you say, "I can’t meditate"? Just do this … sit comfortably, eyes closed. Notice your breathing. Notice your inbreath, notice the end of your inbreath, notice your outbreath, notice the end of your outbreath. Your breathing will naturally become deeper. Remain gently focused on your breathing. If your mind wanders, return to your breath.
Now you are meditating – no books, no courses, no stress.

- Andrew Matthews

Owwwmmmmm...

A few months ago while I was training for the triathlon, I got a speeding ticket while driving back from Malibu. I had a few other things I had to do that day; have lunch with a friend in LB, volunteer at this event in Silverlake, and go back to LA to get ready to take a few out of towners on a night tour of the city. So that ticket definitely got me depressed. It’s draining having to think about paying 500 dollars for something like that. I went home pretty beat up and exhausted.

So I took a nap.

Then… I had a dream.

In my dream, I was going to be late for something. I was running to my car. As I was about to get in, our maid said she found a few “loose screws” on the headlights. (Weird) I said I’d deal with it later.
Once inside about to start the ignition, I found my cousin eating something savory in the back seat! I panicked, thinking he might spill something! Then my younger sister started climbing into the passenger seat, wanting to talk to me about her life.

I felt overwhelmed.  I don’t have time for this right now, I thought to myself. I’m going to be late!
I just wasn’t sure what I was going to be late for!

So I yelled for both of them to get out of the car… I started driving before they even got the chance to hop out.  I felt annoyed at them for stalling me.

Then all of a sudden, after moving for just a few meters, a big wave started to wash down my entire street.  It looked like a dam has broken somewhere and the water came rushing down to us… or to ME. The car was hit! The windows were open. Water filled the car. There were bubbles. Bubbles everywhere! Everything happened so fast, I didn’t have a chance to properly react. All I remember thinking was that I thought I was going to drown.

Then just like that, the water subsided… Just as quickly as it started, the waves disappeared. 
I got out of the car, and yelled – WHAT THE HELL was that?? 

And then I woke up.

First thing I did was check my phone. I had a few messages. One from a friend who asked if I could still drive her somewhere, the other confirming lunch, the other asking if I could still go with him to do this game show thingie.
After reading the messages, I got overwhelmed, and I felt the same panic I felt in my dream.
And that’s when it hit me.

The speeding ticket that I got was probably the Universe’s way of telling me to slow down. I was spreading myself too thin, overwhelmed by all the commitments I’ve been making. I needed to calm down.
So I went back to sleep.

When I told my friend, L, about my 30by30 project, she got a little concerned for me. She said she thought I might be overworking myself, and that one day I might crack. Her advise for me to figure out what I really want to do was to bask in silence for a change. She said that only when my mind is still will my heart start talking to me. She suggested that I tried meditation.

I never really thought of it again till that day with the speeding ticket. L was right. I needed a little bit of peace.

So I went out in search of a place where I could meditate, with people who could TEACH me how.
I found this Buddhist place in Glendale called Shambhala Meditation Center. They had “public sittings” that allowed anyone to come in and meditate with them for free.
Excellent! I love Buddhists, and I love freebies!

When I got there, a very nice lady took me to a little private room (or more like a closet, really) to show me the basics of what I needed to do in the public sitting. She sat me down and asked me a couple questions. Why did I go there? What made me decide to meditate? Etc…

After I told her my story, she nodded, as if to say she understood.
Then she told me a little bit about what they do in Shambhala. She said that contrary to what people think, meditation is not necessarily about clearing one’s mind. She said for them, it’s about concentrating on your breath, and your breath alone. Being conscious of how the air travels through your nose to your lungs, giving you life. They also meditate with their eyes open, because they want you to be awake and be aware.
She explained that it’s normal for your mind to travel elsewhere while you’re meditating. It happens, even to the seasoned buddhists. But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it, because we could always just go back to focusing on our breath. Apparently, this kind of meditation also practices gentleness for ones self. Kindness. (And honestly, that’s probably something that I really need work on!)

She suggested that we try it out for a few minutes, meditating together… 5 minutes of concentrating on your breath…
But before we started, I asked her what our goal was… What I should be aiming for, etc…
Then she looked at me and smiled. She said – “try not to think of doing it for an end result… and remember that like everything else, this takes time and practice too.”
I liked that. :)

But man, she wasn’t kidding. It was pretty hard to stare and focus just on your breath. My chaotic mind kept interrupting my state with random images, thoughts and stupid ideas. I was about to get really frustrated with myself when I remembered what she said about being gentle and kind to myself.
Deep breaths. Then go back… Deep breaths… then go back.

After 5 minutes with her, she put me in the public sitting room so I could meditate with the others. We had about an hour to go.
I only lasted 20 minutes.

But it’s okay. Because I am being gentle and kind to myself. It’s really difficult if your mind is not used to focusing on just one thing for an hour. And 20 minutes is a great accomplishment!

Fast forward to a few months later, I’ve actually meditated on my own a few times. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s life changing and that I’ve found my center or whatever… But I know I feel physically calmer after I do it. And I think it’s a good thing that I can always meditate every time I feel like I need to slow myself down.

So… Am I going to be a Buddhist Guru or a Meditating Monk? I doubt it.  

But I’m slowly learning to pace myself though. And maybe with practice, who knows? I might just find my path to enlightenment!

18 of 30: The Gorilla Challenge - A Sneak Peek Of The Amazing Race

My friend, N, is a passionate Amazing Race fan.
One day, he asked if I would apply to join the race with him – and I happily agreed! He said he’s tried out several times before with different partners, but he never got a callback. I said maybe he was just with the wrong partners! Maybe this time, with me in the picture – it’ll work! He loved my optimism! We both had a good feeling about this!

I’ve only ever seen a few episodes of The Amazing race… N is the diehard fan. But I’m pretty headstrong, active, and fearless. I think I could do anything that show would throw at me… except maybe cut my hair.
N ordered me to DVR all the episodes of the current season so I could catch up, and I did! Piece of CAKE.

A few weeks later, N and I had the opportunity to test our skills, AND our partnership through The Gorilla Challenge! It’s basically a short local version of The Amazing Race in Long Beach. They ask for contestants to run around town finding clues, completing challenges, and the first team to finish 10 out of 12 of them wins! It was PERFECT!

I’ll let the Gorilla Challenge peeps explain this thing for you…

Gorilla Challenge is an “Amazing Race” style event, combined with “Fear Factor’” and the  ”American Idol” where you and your team race to solve clues around the city, taking pictures in silly to crazy poses, completing fun/difficult/gross activities, hoping you either get the grand prize or at least mini prizes along the way, and having loads of fun!

You’re given a card filled with clues pointing in different directions within a 3 to 5 mile radius. Once you get to a location, you’ll find an additional slip with instructions on what to do next with your camera. It could be anything ranging from taking a simple picture with the object, singing for someone, putting together a mini-puzzle, dipping your hand in something disgusting to look for a clue or just making funny faces.

You’ll have as much time as you need to get to 10 out of the 12 clues, with a couple of clues containing tickets to redeem for an Amazon Gift Certificate, and other gift certificates to local restaurants and retailers.

Once you’ve picked up your 10 clues, you head back to the start location to win the finishing prize, redeem a ticket, or get a nice pat on the back and enjoy the live entertainment and food and beverage specials!

Gorilla Challenge is open to persons of all ages, with the exception of Goa’uld, members of the Dark Side, Borg’s, and Zombies. Jedi Knights are welcome.

Doesn’t that sound really cool and awesome? I was pumped! Oh, and did I mention that "Costumes are Encouraged?" :)

We had a slight advantage because N is from Long Beach, so he knew all the locations. Plus there were only two of us – and a group is easier to manage with less people. There were other teams with about 8 to 10 people… I could only imagine the kind of drama they had to put up with. Haha!

Anyway, we headed out to the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery on Pine St bright and early. We registered, and found out we were one of 70 teams joining that day. Pretty hard core.
I’m competitive. We all know this about me. BUT… on this particular occasion where N and I were just ‘warming up’ for the real thing, we decided not to put too much pressure on ourselves and just have fun and do the best we can. We both agreed he should be the team leader since he’s done this sort of race before. Team leaders get handed the first 6 clues. Completing one of those challenges (it didn’t say which one) will lead us to the next set of clues – 6 to 12! Since the challenges/clues didn’t have to be completed in any sort of order, we had to be smart about which ones to accomplish first.

And before we knew it, the gun went off and the race had started!

We just went with a black and orange theme.

N was very methodical about these things, so while the rest of the world started sprinting around Long Beach going stircrazy over the clues, N and I found a nice comfortable place to sit down and analyze the clues one by one. The clues were riddles that pointed us to the location where we were to accomplish our challenges. Riddles that took us about 5 to 10 minutes to crack… they were actually pretty good! One of them said something like – “The first word is a President that dealt with logs and the emancipation proclamation...” Pretty funny, eh?

So there we were, solving the riddles, figuring out what to do first with the help of our Long Beach Map. It was a really good method, considering the fact that we were dealing with a 5 mile radius, and running back and forth not knowing where to go first would’ve been a nightmare.

I don’t remember everything that we did, but I’ll enumerate the ones I do…

1. At Lincoln Park, the challenge was to jumprope together, while singing the Star Spangled Banner. (After we did this, we unlocked clues 6 – 8! YES!)

2. Find an out of towner who comes from a State that starts with the letter “N” --- so Nevada, Nebrasca, North Dakota, etc… Take a picture of them holding out their ID as proof, and pose like Charlie’s Angels!(We found a tourist from Nevada!!)
3. The Fear Factor Challenge – spray blood on your partner’s mouth, and they in turn would spit it into this small cup. Fill it up to the brim and you complete the challenge! (I sprayed, he spit!)
4. Pose in the most dramatic and theatrical fashion in front of the Long Beach Theater

5. Take a photo with police officers, shaking their hand, thanking them for what they do for the city.

6. Solve a Riddle that will lead you to an Elementary School, and take a photo of yourselves pretending to be a teacher and a group of kids taking  a class picture.

The Dramatic Pose

Our Good Samaritan from Nevada

The Class Picture!

My favorite was the last challenge we did. We were to pick one person in the team to assemble a jigsaw puzzle – blindfolded! And the other guides them by telling them what to do, hands tied behind their back. I was the blindfolded one, and N was “the voice”. This was the true test of our partnership, I thought. N knew exactly what to say to make me reach for the exact puzzle piece, to put exactly in its place. I thought he gave GREAT direction, and he said he was amazed at how awesome I was at doing exactly what he said.
We finished the puzzle first, and the gorilla people were amazed! So were we!!

We were pretty happy with what we had accomplished, especially since we weren’t really “in it to win it” at that point. We just wanted to get our feet wet and have fun!
Which is why when we found out that we finished 7^th out of 70 teams – we were over the moon! 7^th out of 70 --- and we weren’t even trying? That was freakin awesome!

We gathered back at the restaurant and got something to eat while waiting for the rest to finish the challenges. Our legs were sore, but our hearts were soaring! We did a really good job and we both could not wait for The Amazing Race!

17 of 30: Piloxing - Because Boxing Isn't Graceful Enough

Pilates + Boxing = Piloxing.

I swear it cracks me up what people come up with. 

I have to say though, that Piloxing is probably one of the better ‘inventions’ in aerobic fitness! When you first think about it – the juxtaposition of these two don’t make too much sense. I haven’t really done Pilates yet but I know it’s similar to Yoga. Stretchy, breathy, and limber. 

We all know I do boxing. And boxing is aggressive, loud and brutal. 

Putting these two together is probably the last thing anyone should ever do --- but for some reason, it works!

How do I describe it properly… Hmmm…

I guess, it’s like Taebo with ballet moves? You punch, kick and then plie!

The ballet part threw me off… We literally did the five ballet positions in the middle of the work out, including plie’s and leg raises and stuff. So technically, this should be called – Pil-lallet-xing! Pilates – Ballet – Boxing! SERIOUSLY!

                       

The Pilates part didn’t come till towards the end of the work out when the instructor asked us to bring out the mats. The ‘poses’ she asked us to do were very yoga-like, and very intense – especially for someone like me, who is not at all dainty like a yogi.

I did have fun though – and I went for about a month. 

One of the takeaways I got from this experience is meeting Jordan, the Piloxing instructor. We got to talking, and I found out she was an actor/singer, performing in a small musical called, “Dear John Mayer” – written by AND starring Shoshana Bean --- only one of my faaaaaavorite broadway leading ladies evaaar! She was probably the BEST Elphaba in Wicked… and as much as it pains me to admit it – yes, she was better than Idina Menzel, another one of my all time favorites.

Of course I saw the musical – and of course, because of my Jordan connection, I got to meet Miss Sho herself! And in the audience was another broadway superstar, Karen Olivo – a Tony award winner! She won for playing Anita in West Side Story, but I remember her more for playing Vanessa in In The Heights.

Yes, I met her too. :)

And yes, I realize this really isn’t about Piloxing anymore. I just wanted to present the facts, that had it not been for Piloxing, I wouldn’t have met two of my idols… So… therefore… in conclusion… Piloxing is AWESOME!

Me and Karen Olivo

Me and Shoshana

16 of 30: ATV - 4 Gorgeous Punks on Dirtbikes

While in Boracay with my friends, we decided to brave the budding storm and ride ATV’s. ATV’s or “All Terrain Vehicles” look like these awesome dirtbikes with 4 wheels. It’s basically a gocart on steroids is what it is. And why shouldn’t we ride it? So what if it looked like it was going to rain? It’s just water…

Besides, it was something all four of us have never done before. We were on vacation and we were determined to make the most out of it.
Plus it looked super badass.

There’s really nothing much to write about it, so instead, I’ll show photos.
The good news is – it didn’t rain. And the better news is that because of that ATV tour, we were taken to some of the most breathtaking views of the island, which we wouldn’t have seen or known about otherwise!

It turned out to be such a great day, riding dirt bikes with my 3 best girls in the beautiful island of Boracay. <3

15 of 30: Horseback Riding Fidelio

When I signed up for horseback riding classes, I half expected to come out of it riding a horse like Arwen from the Lord of the Rings… You know, with grace and speed, and my hair flying behind me…
Once again, I was a more than a little disappointed. Maybe it’s my fault for having high expectations to begin with. I suppose you can’t really get much out of a one hour introductory lesson purchased from groupon for 20 bucks. But I thought if I told them that I have ridden horses before, they might ‘promote’ me to the advanced level! I was going to elaborate on this big horse ‘ranch’ up in the mountains of Baguio Philippines… where they literally just throw you on a horse, and ride like the wind!

But no. These guys were big on fundamentals. At least I got to pick my horse though! I requested for a big black stallion – and that’s what I got! His name was Fidelio.
The instructor taught me and my friend, N, how to put the reins on first… so we could walk the horses out of their stables to the “grooming area”
Then she taught us how to brush and brush and brush and brush their hair… and clean their hooves and feed them hay. She didn’t really say it, but I think she wanted us to sort of have a ‘bonding’ moment with the horse too… and grooming was the best way to do it.

I have learned that in order to get love, you need to send out love! So I gave Fidelio all of my best lovey dovey thoughts… Seriously, if I had a braided hair that day, I would have attached it to his tail like in Avatar.

Maybe it was the love, maybe I just got lucky, or maybe Fidelio was just a loving horse to begin with… Doesn’t matter. The point is, Fidelio and I had a pretty good time! I mounted the saddle and climbed up on his back. It felt like I’ve been doing it for years! If only we could have shaked the instructor off, we could have been in business… But that lady had a tight hold on her ‘boyfriend’ as she called him, and never let him out of her sight!

Bonding with Fidelio was cool… but I can’t say the same for the lessons. It has to be known though that I am a very impatient person. When it comes to learning new skills, I like to jump the gun right away, expecting to be a ‘natural’ at it. So obviously, with the horse, I’d have wanted to run – not gallop or strut, on an open field or meadow or a beach on the first day! Maybe hold a bow and arrow and shoot targets at the same time like a heroine in a movie.

Ugh. Instead, we were stuck there… learning how to move 0.005 miles an hour, moving Fidelio to the left, moving Fidelio to the right, turning him round and round. I had to endure that for a whole hour… and it was painful.

I don’t know if this whole equestrian thing is for me. I mean – I loooove horses. I think they are some of the most beautiful animals ever! It’s just – living in a modest apartment in Los Angeles, I can’t really afford to own a horse. And if I continued to take lessons… errr what am I going to do with it? Maybe I would have been a great rider, had I been born in an earlier century? Or if I lived in Ireland or something… where the only means of transportation could very well be a horse, because of how vast and beautiful the lands are…

It was nice making friends with Fidelio though. At least now I know how to groom horses… right?

Neigh. 

14 of 30: Parasailing and Feeding My Breakfast To The Fish

Once upon a time, my friend, K and I decided to go Parasailing.

Before we could parasail, we had to ride a boat, far out into the sea.
Boats and I don't get along very well. I get nauseous, and very, VERY sea sick.

But I kept going. Took a deep breath and smiled through the pain.

Pretty soon, it was time to fly! I was still smiling but I was dying inside.

At this point, I wanted to jump in the water and swim back to the shore. But it was too late. We were airborne and won't go back down for another 15 minutes.

It took all of my willpower not to throw up on myself up there. But I really, REALLY wanted to. 

You cannot imagine the relief that I felt, when we were pulled back down.

It felt like Christmas morning.

I ran to the edge of the boat and positioned myself to hurl.

But it didn't come. So instead I just sat still. The boat was still moving. My stomach was in knots.

It was the worst I've ever felt. 

10 minutes later when we got back to the wooden plank where the boats parked, I fell flat on my stomach and threw up. I had a heavy breakfast. 

Just as soon as my 'breakfast' hit the water, I noticed a school of fish swimming up to receive it. 

And they looked really happy indeed.

The end.

13 of 30: Hot Air Ballooning - Because Sisterly Time is Love

The Hot Air Balloon Ride. A photo journal.

My sisters and I woke up at the break of dawn and traveled to the mountains (or is it a valley?) of Perris, CA. There, we were to experience our very first hot air balloon ride.

We watched as the gigantic colorful balloon was inflated amidst the field of hay.

Then, we went inside the balloon and took a picture!

And then when it was completely inflated, we took more pictures!

And off we flew. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, these three dudes decide to jump off the balloon to skydive!

And off they went.

To hide my jealousy, I concentrated on the lovely view.

Not long after, we landed safely back to Earth.

The end.