Lonesome Halloween

So here I am,
all excited 'bout Halloween, my fav reason to party
ready with my Angel costume, decked out in wings & a halo
when all my friends started backing out..
all either sick or too tired,
it's disheartening really.
Like a lil disappointed child on Xmas day,
I took off my wings, and hid under the blanket
with my true friend and soulmate.
On days like these,
I miss home, real friends who are always there for me
who know me thru' n thru'
whom I will go thru hell n haven for, and viceversa..
I miss u guys ;)

My Birthday '07

Birthday party with my favourite friends..
Left-Righ: Lauren, Melinda, Alicia
me & Emily..

it was lil gathering in a normal bar
I had lotsa fun, just knowing that I have these friends ;)

Fofi and his friend came too
Fofi is always one of my favourite friend in Miami
& some of my closest frens - Alicia and Emily.
Alberto's colleagues came too,
n they made me laugh lk crazy...

Birthday dinner with my parents!
Mexican fooooood..i had Fajitas and Margaritas!
they came to visit in Sept
and left the day aft my birthday...
I was glad to show them ard,
so they know what kinda place I live in now etc..

I brought them all over Madrid & Granada
we saw lots, n told them lots abt Spanish customs,
people here and traditions..
of course we tried lotsa Spanish food
and they even met Alberto's folks...
they travelled to Rome and Barcelona too
n really enjoyed it..

Parents in Granada,
enjoying Arabic tea, view of the Alhambra
and world's best Paella!

Roadtrippin' around Spain - Summer 07

2 months have gone and passed
since Summer left us...
Life has got a new meaning after summer
and yet I think back on those days
and miss the sunny, beachy and carefree holidays ;)

We spent the month of August
roadtrippin' around Spain
driving from our home in Madrid, the centre of Spain
all down South to Salobrena, the coast of Granada.
While in the south,
we drove along the coast to Malaga , southern tip of Spain
then we tripped back to Madrid
before driving way North to Pontevedra, Galicia.
My first encounter in Northern Spain - I loved it!
Final stop - back down South to Almeria ;)

Ahh the best summer I've had!

Salobrena, Granada
Alberto's beach apartment
along the overcrowded , pebble-filled Southern coast
I enjoyed our time there,
having some relaxing time by the pool
in his home and with friends he grew up with...

Javier, Alberto no.2, and David
his childhood beach-apt frens.. funny peeps

cooling down in the pool under the sweltering heat!


MALAGA
We drove 1.5hrs further south to Malaga
the famous city Ive heard so much abt
its beaches, lovely people and history...
we even met my Jap friend, Mariko
who moved there a few months back to live..

we chilled by the beach, saw the Roman theatre,
went shoppin in the centre
and visited its famous cathedral..
All in one day! hah

PONTEVEDRA, GALICIA
Finally, our highlight of the roadtrip!
I'd looked forward to this leg of the trip
it was my first time in Northern Spain
heard all the shit abt their bad weather, green landscape...
I had to see it for myself!
even had to prepare myself for some rain
in the heart of HOTHOTHOT SUMMER!

Driving along the bridge across to Pontevedra

DINNER immediately!
Couldnt wait to try the famous Pulpo a la Gallego
(Octopus originally from Galicia)
succulent, thick and savoury!

HIT THE BEACH!
Beautiful tranquil beaches, with turqoise waters, and smooth sand
nothing like the overcrowded beaches in the South!
we even chilled on a Nudist beach
hah! that was fun....

charming lighthouse along the coast

Diggin into some yummy mussels
that's what the Northerners are famous for - seafood!

my first time trying the Navajas!
heavenly taste... at an extravagant price too!

LAS ISLAS CIES (Cies Islands)
Voted as World's no.1 most beautiful beach by a Brit paper..
we had to check it out
Just 20mins by boat away from Pontevedra,
we had to drag ourselves up at 7am to join the friggin' line!

ah unspoilt sandy beaches
turqoise clear waters

it was a tiny island
that was part of a National Conservation Park
Im glad we didnt try camping there
like our initial plan
there was nothing else besides this beautiful beach
but it was all worth it
just us and nature ;)

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
aww.. always wanted to visit this much-talked-about city
supposedly the capital of Catholicism,
the epitomy of Catholic worship.
This is the final stop of the ancient Catholic religious pilgrimage
Camino de Santiago.
I've heard many people still attempting
this physical-challenging trek..
even though it has converted from a pilgrimage walk
to, more recently, a tourist trekking path,
it is still very widely known around the world.
There we were,
to witness the famous city and heritage.
(althou we drove there haha!)

we took advantage of a rainy day
(no bummin ard on the beach)
to explore this historically-rich ancient city...
but, due to the fuckin rain,
we couldnt see much!

CABO DE GATA, ALMERIA
Driving back down South
to Almeria, known for its desert landscape
a backdrop to many Hollywood cowboy movies..
We met up with Alberto's sis Julia & Victor
& had an incredible time
soakin up the sun, eating n boozing ;)

A view from the top of the hill
damn, we had to climb up those rocky steep slopes
in my flimsy flip-flops...
But we got to a paradise
an extremely isolated Nudist beach!!!

me & Julia!
i loved the rocky formations on the cliffs..

check out the background
i was taking a pic of the nude guy
ahh too bad you can't see his ding-dang in the pic!

Feria de Almeria
ahh another first!
Each city in Spain has an annual 'feria' (fair)
lotsa food, alcohol, funfair rides..

Ahh so that was the end of our summery roadtrip
the best we had!

Party Wkend

YAYHOO! ITS SATURDAY!!
Ah the wk's been wayyy too long
teaching all week long is driving me crazy
phhew so glad the wkend's here
my fav roommate in Eastbourne, Maria, is comin to Madrid this wkend
PARTY PARTY PARTY

وارجو من الله ان يكون معكم

May God be with you.
My Arabic classes just started!
it's just an exhilarating experience to learn sth from scratch
no more roman alphabets, european language (same old grammar, conjugation)
nor chinese characters,
Arabic is just wayyy beautiful
it sounds so smooth n poetic
and the characters are just in a world of its own..
Im studying hard n trying to write in Arabicاعا

Salaam' alaykun! Mahabah. مرحبا
(Hello)

Check out my name in Arabic
نيلي

Our 4th year

It´s been 4 years. It feels more like 4 months.
we still laugh n cry, tease n scream at each other...
He just gave me a lovely rose wrapped exquisitely in a bundle
and brought me to our favourite Asian modern fusion restaurant
ahh I wish Romance could last forever.... ;)

Quarter Life Crisis

Oooo yeh, it's hit me for a while now
Apparently it hits everyone of my age
that feeling of lost, a need for new environment,
no sense of belonging, a feeling like u've never had before,
like nothing's ever enough for you..

Anyhow, life has alot to offer right now
laying ahead of me, pathing my way to something new
I look forward to it, yet threading it with trepidations.

Work has been fucking good,
everything's going well
I love what I do, the students,
the company, not the hours thou.

Teaching is an odd occupation, what can I say.
I enjoy it awhole lot, it gives me a sense of satisfaction I'd never felt.
But along with it, comes other less-gratifying factors..
It requires a whole lot of energy, mental strength
Alot of actions, jokes n of cos, talking involved.
I love talking to my students, I laugh alot everyday at work,
and we share something special ;)
but at the end of the day, they are still my students
A line is drawn btw us.

I remember those days when I bitch n laugh w colleagues,
hit the pub right down the street with them,
and fight the war at work again the next day.
Those days, are what I dont have now,
either way, I like what I do,
with or without a social life at work,
the most impt thing is to like what you do, isnt it? ;)

Last wkend came n passed, just w a glimpse,
feasted at my all-time love TGIF FRIDAYS!!
Of course the Margarita here can NEVER compare to that in Miami Fridays..
We still gorged on fantastic potato skin, buffalo wings n BBQ ribs!
Sunday saw ALberto jumpin' off a plane, right into the high skies of Madrid
SKY-DIVING~~

yeh, i chickened out, Im too old for that kinda excitement
bite me!

Livin' in tele-tubbies land

Had an interesting talk with a student of mine
about the media & politics, how the govt controls what we watch on tv...
and that was our conclusion,
that I'm living in tele-tubbies land.
lol.

I mean, it is true...
The real world is ugly, cruel and all abt the bling bling $
there's so much war (althou no longer involves armour, is still deadly),
so much destruction, so much fightin,
and too much unhappiness...

Some people have been thru' alot in life,
been there, done it and know that life's not what it seems..
These people are wise,
they always have the solution to problems in life..
but they cannot avoid the cynism and pessimism they inevitably trade off for.
It is sad, but there is always a point in life
when u just lose that sparkle u had as a kid,
the kinda bright illumination u used to look forward to, in life.

Having gone thru supposedly a quarter of my life,
I know what's going on out there,
there's evil, and there's good..
that Life, is not as simple as an average person deems it to be.
There are no true saints running to our rescues,
there is a hidden agenda behind the smiles....


BUT,
I prefer to see the goodness in people,
I choose to look at life in an 'ideal' perspective
I'd rather smile at the thot of the guy who helped me when I fell in the metro,
than dwell at the ugly behaviour of the boy who sprouted ugly words at the Africans...
Appreciating the good things and samaritans in life,
and Life can still be beautiful, like it used to be....

Living in tele-tubbies land
makes us happier,
I hope I dont lose that tele-tubbies innocence ;)

Im always overdoing it

I'm always either too free or too busy,
so ever since my parents went back home,
I piled up my workload,
got soo many extra classes,
and been working myself silly.
I dash from class to class,
until 9pm everyday.
we'r offfff to Africa soon!!!
yayhoooo~

but I know I'll be sad to leave Madrid...
it is an opened, tolerant, filled with freedom society here
everyone's happy, life's happy ;)