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| Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! |
| Monday, July 21, 2008 |
G'day mates! I'm back from Sydney. Wow. That's all I can say. Even better than my last trip in 2006. Partly because I had already done the typical touristy things in '06, hence no pressure to do/see everything, and partly because World Youth Day (WYD) was AMAZING. I can't even fully describe in words how much the experience meant to me. It was a combination of fun, excitement, energy, deep spirituality, and the best chance to meet people from over 140 countries. Yes, that's right... 140 countries. I can't even name 50 countries in my head. I'd say the event had about 250,000 - 300,000 people, and the closing mass with Pope Benedict had about 500,000. Here's a breakdown of my trip: Thursday night (LA): Got upgraded to business class, so I actually enjoyed the flight to Sydney. Saturday morning (Sydney): Arrived about 6am. Took the train directly to Circular Quay, and my hotel was about a block away from the train station. After checking in our bags, we (my friend L and I) walked around Sydney and ate breakfast at a local cafe. Then we met up with Kat from Blogland, at the Temple of Love, an interesting but tasty chinese restaurant near Darling Harbour. Kat is a sweetheart, and her children are adorable. We then went to the Lindt chocolate cafe for hot cocoa and then took the bus to an area south of Sydney. We parted ways and L and I went to register for WYD. After registering we checked in our hotel, freshened up, took a nap, then met up with Grace and her friends. We had tapas at a Spanish restaurant, followed by clubbing at the Ivy till about 2:30am (a big feat for me to stay up that late). Met some random Aussie at the club and don't ask me how it happened, but I let him kiss me goodbye. These aussies sure like to kiss. Sunday: Slept in, had lunch with L and Grace on a small cruise ship that took us from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay. Great view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Then went to mass at St. Patrick's followed by a nap, and then dinner with a friend of my dad's. Monday: Went to the Wildlife Park, followed by lunch with an aunt. Then we toured the Opera House, and Hyde park/St. Mary's Cathedral. Bought a bunch of WYD gear. Went to see Mamma Mia! the movie that night. Tuesday: Opening mass for WYD. I have never seen so many flags from so many countries in my entire life. The crowd was amazing. The energy, neverending. It was freezing cold the entire time, but well worth it. Wednesday: Morning, watched The Dark Knight. Followed by more WYD events, including workshops, outdoor concerts, and conferences. I really enjoyed Christopher West's session on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Excellent talk. Thursday: Papal arrival. I got a glimpse of the Pope in his "Pope mobile." It was such a blessing to see him and I truly felt his holy presence. Friday: Stations of the cross (basically, a reenactment of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross). Followed by more outdoor concerts. Saturday: The Pilgrimage walk. We walked for about 5 miles or so to the Randwick Racecourse, where thousands of pilgrims would camp out for the night in anticipation of Sunday's closing mass. Unfortunately, L and I had to leave Sat night since our flight was early Sunday morning. It took us about 2 hours to walk there and 2 hours back. Crazy huh? But sooo worth it. I think about 500,000 attended the closing mass. So to sum up WYD... I highly recommend it to those young people who want to make a deeper connection to God and to Catholics around the world. There is NO experience like it. I think there were more people there than the Sydney Olympics. Now for the news I'm sure you're all dying to know. I met someone. Let me start by saying, that it was totally unexpected and my feelings for him are strong. I don't know what's going to happen with us, but I'm pretty sure he likes me too. Physically, he's NOT my type. At all. He's not someone I would've seen down the street and thought, oh hey he's cute. So the fact that I miss him so much seems to be an indication of how much I like him. So the basics. I met him at registration on Saturday while waiting in line. He's 3 years older, he's a lawyer, and he works for a rival Big Four firm. When I first met him, I wasn't attracted to him or anything, we just made small talk, joking about how long the line was taking. We ended up exchanging business cards and mobile numbers. I stashed his card somewhere in my purse, not even thinking that we would meet again. But he ended up inviting L and I to meet up with his group, since he knew we had no big group to hang out with. L and I ended up meeting up with him every day for the rest of WYD, and I guess with each day, the friendship grew. He makes me laugh, he jokes with me, and he's also very spiritual. We had many discussions about our Catholic faith, and it made me realize how important that is to me. My ex, Benny, was not Catholic, which didn't bother me much. But now that I've been to WYD, I can honestly say that in my heart, I want a good Catholic man in my life. I don't know how it happened, but things started getting flirty between us. Just little things, like giving me hugs, warming up my hands when it got cold, text messages to me saying "Good morning gorgeous." Stuff like that. During our final night, when we were attending the evening vigil we traded beanies. He said he liked my beanie, and I said it was from my brother, who gave it to me after visiting Japan years ago. He said his was from his visit to Japan also, and so we traded. The next day he texted me saying he was glad we swapped beanies because it was like I was still there with him. So the only bad part, is that he lives in Sydney. I miss him already. We're already exchanging emails and I'm already thinking of doing a rotation to Sydney. Talk about a new motivation to pass my CPA exam. I will keep you all updated as things progress, but I just wanted to share with you guys that I'm so happy right now. I haven't felt this way in a long time (what, 6 years maybe?) and it feels wonderful. Labels: Boys, Travel |
posted by Daphne @ 8:04 PM   |
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| Bowling Fun |
| Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
Our office had the annual bowling event for charity yesterday. Once again I've proven myself to be a horrible bowler, as evidenced by my newest nickname - Morse Code. Basically that means my scoreboard consists of mostly dashes (i.e. gutter balls). But despite my lack of bowling skills, I had a fabulous time. Even Bitter Bro showed up; the equivalent of a "celebrity guest appearance" in our office. He almost never goes to firm events.
I don't know how often you guys go bowling (I rarely do), but do you ever notice how funny it is to see guys who you'd think would be good but end up sucking at bowling? One of my office crushes, who I like to call Zack Morris, was in the lane next to me. I was pretty excited to have a good view of him during the event, but let me tell you, his bowling style is hilarious. It's like he'd throw the ball, and upon releasing, his body would sorta stagger forward, like he's about to fall. Every single time. Totally cracks me up.
I'm not sure whether to feel like it's cute, or it's scoring him less points on the masculinity scale. Maybe it's the romance reader in me, but even though I don't expect all men to be athletic or good at sports, they have to at least look like they can be good at it. Or am I being too picky? As Bro would always say, "Daphne, three words. Lower. Your. Standards." Labels: Bitter Bro, Boys, Work related |
| posted by Daphne @ 8:28 AM |
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| 13 Qualities I Want in a Husband |
| Wednesday, November 07, 2007 |
Thirteen Qualities I Want in a Husband
In no particular order. If there's a ** next to it, that means it's a MUST. Otherwise it's just a preference. I'm trying to keep this list specific, and not list down the generic things like "trustworthy, honest, caring, sense of humor, handsome, intelligent." I don't think people are as interested to read lists like that. Been there done that. This list is tailored for me, Daphne.
1) Taller than me. It's really not that hard considering I'm 4'11". **
2) Does not smoke/do drugs. **
3) Knows how to dress. I'm not saying super metro or that he needs to wear expensive brands. I'm talking about basics. Like knowing how to put on a tie. Or knowing that you don't wear white socks with black shoes.
4) Is Christian. Note that I didn't say Catholic, which is what I am. Although I would strongly prefer him to be Catholic, I'm not making that a must. But I am pretty religious and it plays a big part in my life. I'd rather have a good Christian than a bad Catholic. **
5) Isn't in that stage of his life where he's "figuring out what he wants to do" or can't seem to find any career path suitable to him. Nope, sorry. Daphne is not going to go there. I'm not trying to be an elitist. But I just don't want a man who is like my cousins, who will forever be waitressing while taking one unit a semester at a junior college that they should've been done with three years ago - all because they don't know yet what they want to do with their lives. **
6) Is somewhat geeky. What type of geek? The Star Wars loving, video/computer game playing, knows how to build a computer, and knows what I mean when I say things like l33t, w00t, pWn3d, etc. type of geek.
7) Puts family on the top of his list. I don't think I could be with someone who hated his parents (unless it was reasonable, like they abandoned him or something). And I also don't want to date someone who won't let me spend time with my family. **
8) Knows how to have a good time once in awhile with close friends, but is kinda over the whole clubbing/bar scene.
9) Wants children/is open to the possibility of children. I bring this up because my boss was suggesting I go out with his younger brother who is my age. I clicked on the link to his myspace and the guy said "I don't want children" in his profile. No thanks. **
10) Is clean and has good table manners. Yah, this one is kinda generic but it still amazes me how some guys still chew all loud with their mouths open. Or throw their clothes on the floor and leave dirty dishes in the sink. Seriously now. That's a sign of laziness.
11) Is not in major debt. School loans, fine. But being in debt because you HAD to have a new BMW or plasma tv. Nope. No, I'm not only after the richie riches. But after going through all the crap that I do with my brother, I just can't imagine going through it with a potential husband.
12) Gives me some alone time when I need it. Whether it be me wanting to read instead of watch tv with you, me wanting to have a girls night out, or me wanting you not to touch me because I'm on my rag. **
13) In the dating phase - respects the fact that I still live at home, and even if I did move out, no I'm not going to live with you before we get married. (Yes, call me old fashioned, but it's my preference) **Labels: Boys, Thursday Thirteen |
| posted by Daphne @ 10:23 PM |
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| The Halloween Party in AZ |
| Tuesday, October 30, 2007 |
So this is a follow up to my post yesterday. I know Holly shared a bit on her post that I felt a bit uncomfortable at the party. I'm not gonna lie, because it's true. I wouldn't exactly say that I didn't have fun or that I wanted to go home or anything, but it just wasn't a) in my comfort zone b) what I was expecting c) what I normally do when I go out anyway.
I guess I have to start by saying that I rarely go out to bars, clubs, adult parties in general. I didn't do much of that in college either. I'm also a big time light weight. Don't believe me? Ask Holly. One drink and I'm usually out. Even at Holly's last sleepover I could barely keep my eyes open past midnight. And if you wanna know how often I drink, well that's probably like once (as in one drink) every two months. Mostly it's because I always have to drive somewhere, and just like my mom says.. I don't want to DUI (she says it like it's a verb).
I also don't smoke. Now don't get me wrong, many people I know smoke, including my brother, his girlfriend, and Holly, to name a few. When I'm with someone who smokes, it doesn't bother me if I can just step away and let them do their thing. But places like Vegas casinos? Bleh, I get really irritated by that smell and I might even get light-headed if extremely smokey smelling.
I mention all of the above, so you can understand why this party wasn't happenin for me. The party was supplied with a keg of beer, and lots of Jell-o shots. All of this I was expecting, but man those Jell-o shots were strong! I started the evening off with two consecutive shots, which made it harder to finish my one glass plastic cup of beer. Then when most of the guests started to arrive, I noticed one thing right away. All of them smoked. Pretty much everyone there except for Holly's sister, Drama Queen (aka DQ). So that's why I kept to myself within the garage, because everyone else was smoking outside the garage area.
Then there's the fact that I was at a USMC base. Everyone was nice but let's face it, marines just flat out intimidate me. I was already feeling uncomfortable in my peacock costume, because it reveals more than I care to let people see. But I honestly felt like a lamb in the lion's den. I just felt so awkward and small and not very confident around the guys. I know I could've made a better effort to just strike up conversation, but ever since I've been single again, I just panic every time I'm confronted by a guy. Believe me, I suck at confrontation. If you don't believe me read this excerpt from my MM save me post:
Then... as I was walking to find Holly at the bar, some guy stopped me in my tracks and said "woa, where ya off to? what's your name?" Eeek, I panicked. I didn't want to give out my real name, and I wasn't quick enough on my feet to think of a fake name, so I glanced around really fast, saw MM, and blurted out "MM.... save me!" Yah, real slick.
So that's pretty much why I felt uncomfortable. You're probably wondering "well what did you expect the party to be like on a Marine base?" Honestly, I didn't even know it was on a Marine base until we were almost there. (Sorry Holly, if you had mentioned it to me and I just spaced out). Not that that matters, I still would've gone, and it was pretty much what I was expecting: great music, lots of booze, and people having fun. What I wasn't expecting, was my reaction to it all. So I guess it's just me. Again, possibly it's just not my cup of tea. But like I said, I had a good weekend anyway, and I'm glad I had the experience.Labels: Boys, Halloween, Holly |
| posted by Daphne @ 9:06 PM |
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