Skip to content

Travel

Sleepless in Seattle


I missed the return of Grey’s Anatomy tonight. The 5th season! My crazy sister brought me around Seattle with her even crazier friends that I forgot all about it. I’m just kidding. My sister isn’t really crazy. She’s just fun loving, vibrant and noisy. It reminds me of old times when we first traveled together and we’d flirt ( or rather she’d flirt) and I’d pull her away. I wish we had gone back to the hotel earlier because now we need to cram for saturday’s workshop presentation on How to be a “Techy” Non Techie with Internet and Technology Tools to Effective Communication

It is almost midnight here in Seattle and my mind refuses to work. Jet-lagged and still on vacation mode, I’d rather curl up in bed and zone out in front of the TV or walk around downtown Seattle. Oh sleepless in Seattle, I tell you.

Read More »Sleepless in Seattle

Win Six SEAIR gift-certificates to Busuanga Coron Palawan

One lucky person will win six SEAIR gift-certificates to Busuanga!

Edit- September 15Congratulations to Micamyx for winning the six SeAir gift certificates to Busuanga! Read her winning entry, Why I Want To Win Free Tickets to Palawan via SEAIR .


( Photo credit for Busuanga)

We are giving away not one, not two, but six SEAIR gift certificates to Busuanga to one lucky person! This is the biggest give-away of aboutmyrecovery.com and the SEAIR Adventure Club ever! You and five friends can fly to Busuanga with six SEAIR airfare gift certificates up for grabs!

SEAIR has been providing the longest-running uninterrupted service to Busuanga, and now provides the fastest flights with its Dornier 328 aircraft.

So how do you join?

Read More »Win Six SEAIR gift-certificates to Busuanga Coron Palawan

Win two round-trip SEAIR tickets to Batanes!

Edit (April 24)-

Our Batanes ticket raffle got 396 comments posted before the 8 p.m. deadline last Sunday, April 20, 2008. Members of the SEAIR Adventure Club met Tuesday to draw the winning comment. To do this, each comment was numbered 001 to 396. The draw was done lotto style. Three piles of numbers were made, the first pile had the numbers 0 to 3, while the second and third pile had the numbers 0 to 9. And the winning number is 190 which is the comment of William Gilbert Agravante. Congratulations, you just won two round-trip SEAIR tickets to Batanes!

But since we enjoyed reading your comments, we’ve decided to give one round-trip ticket to the best comment with the word “SEAIR” in it. And that comment belongs to Dorcas Juliette Ramos. Congratulations on your graduation! You win one round-trip ticket to Batanes! To both our winners, please wait for the notification e-mail on how to claim your tickets. And to all those who joined, don’t fret since we have another one! So watch out for it.

Ever wondered what’s it is like to visit Batanes?

batanes

Here is where the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean meet in a majestic clash of waves that surrounds Batanes. From the cold northern winds that plow through the famed Marlboro Country, the 155 steps of the Chawa Viewdeck all the way to the romantic view of the cliffs and waters from both the Sabtang and Basco Lighthouses, Batanes often gives tourists the impression of being in ““another place and time.”

That remote island up north has a growing reputation of being ravaged by monsoons on a monthly basis. Yet people still go there and come back sporting bronze tans and huge smiles like they went on a relaxing trip somewhere.

Ever wondered why? Do you want to fly to Batanes for FREE?

Now your dream will come true.

Win two round-trip SEAIR tickets to Batanes! How?

Read More »Win two round-trip SEAIR tickets to Batanes!

Hit by Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Bug

The travel and photography bug hit me after my latest adventure with the young and vibrant Pinoy Travel bloggers. The trip awakened a few wants and needs.

1. I want to travel the hidden paradise islands in the Philippines. I am 50 years old and I have yet to travel most parts of the Philippines. After taking the quiz below, my lakbayan score is only a C. There is room for improvement, I know. I want to earn a grade of B by the end of 2008.


My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Traveling with the Eugenius who turned out to be a whiz identifying places from a ““satellite view” was an added bonus. From my SeAir plane window, he pointed Mindoro. I didn’t recognize it from above. When I used to travel the boat from Cebu to Manila, I memorized the islands along the way. What was there to do while traveling for 36 hours? I knew the location of shark infested areas in the Philippine seas. I could tell if the ship passed the islands wof Romblon, Masbate or Mindoro. But that’s over 40 years ago. I want to travel the Philippine islands once again.

Read More »Hit by Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Bug

Cheap Travel Fares Online

cheap fares onlineWhat does being broke mean? Does it mean being down to the last million peso? or down to the last 100,000 pesos or the last 1,000 pesos? There was a time, we only had 1,000 pesos in our savings/checking account way below the minimum bank requirement. We even had a negative balance due to a service fee charge for dropping below the minimum. Our saving grace was Lauren who had savings which we borrowed to keep us afloat. In the strictest sense of the word, our financial situation was not entirely hopeless. We were not bankrupt but we were not liquid either. Though we had other assets, it took time to convert them to cash. Though in the red, we didn’t incur credit card debts, renege on our mortagage or borrowed from the bank. These financial challenges a few years ago inspired me to be more responsive to income opportunities. I grew up in financially secure family because my father was hardworking with an astute sense of financial responsibility. We were blessed with a family bakery business and a father who invested his earnings wisely . Despite his illness,and unable to work since his stroke at the age of 55 years old, dad had enough money to last him till his death at age 71.

Not that my husband and I were financially incompetent. With a thriving law office , the financial future looked great. Butch brought in most of the income while I stayed at home and puttered on my hobbies. I felt like a queen being pampered by my King. In the past, I often turned down a lot of projects or refused commissions because I wanted the other party to benefit more than I did. I felt guilty over my earnings. Then the financial crisis hit us like a rock. Stress and hopelessness in our life drove us to be a bit more complacent. We lost focus on our financial affairs. Too bad my king faltered. I had to wake up from my queenly slumber and grab opportunities as they came before we went totally bankrupt.

The past certainly brought me lessons:

  • It was okay to profit.
  • It was alright to make an honest living.
  • It was good to save up enough for a rainy day.
  • I need not feel guilty if I earn.
  • It’s great to offer quality services at affordable prices.
  • It is wise to diversify sources of income.
  • Set Goals.
  • Do my best ,today, to take responsibility for my finances.
  • Believe you deserve the best, financially.
  • Believe God cares about your finances.
  • Let go of your fear and TRUST.
  • Let go of money and concentrate on Living.

So what does my entry “[tag]Cheap Travel Fares Online[/tag]” have to do with all these? I sound like one of those crazy spam words.

Read More »Cheap Travel Fares Online

Early Christmas Decor Shopping

On the way home from Baguio, I caught the colorful array of Christmas lanterns on the roadside of Gerona, Tarlac.

“I want to take photos” I begged my husband to stop.

The long stretch of bright [tag]Christmas Lanterns[/tag] was captivating. I had no plans of buying [tag]Christmas decors[/tag] but my husband (the Grinch) thought it was rude to take photos and not buy anything from the poor vendors. Strictly speaking, my husband isn’t really a Christmas Grinch. Ever since my son died in 2000, the holidays are the most depressing season for him. Next to Halloween day, the most difficult holiday of the year is Christmas. Christmas decors just remind him that Christmas is lonely without our little boy. Of course, we grieve differently . Christmas is a happy occasion for me. I digress. Anyway…

“Okay, let’s shop”. M and I started our search for the traditional Christmas lantern, the parol . There were probably more than 20 vendors all selling the same design ranging from flowers, butterflies, snowmen, stars, trees even a papaya tree, capiz lanterns and more.
lanternssnowmanlanternschristmas lanternschristmas lanternslanterns

My husband ventured to the other side of the roadside stand. Much later, he surprised me with 10 colorful star lanterns strung together. I never expected him to actually shop for himself. Joy filled my heart. It shows that Christmas shopping wasn’t a difficult task anymore. Look at what we got…

Read More »Early Christmas Decor Shopping