An Afternoon at the Lake

Last Sunday, DH and I went swimming at the lake after bookshopping. We had other plans but it was just too hot! The only way to enjoy the rest of the day was by frolicking in the water. We discovered Westcliff Park, a nice camping site on the south shore of Lake Belton, thirty minutes away from our house.

We stayed for a couple of hours. Long enough to relax, destress and recharge us for the week ahead. I love the calming and soothing effects of the water; be it ocean, river, lake, etc. There's something liberating in just submitting yourself to its flow.

The Joy of Reading

If there's one thing that I value the most out of all the things that my father has taught me, it's the love of reading. I have always enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a house filled with books and novels, owing to my father being a former high school English teacher. He loves to read and write. I was bound to love the same things.

Looking back, there was this book of poems that delighted me the most: Wider Than The Sky. It has a lot of lovely classic poems. I would leaf through the pages, taking in each beautiful word. It inspired me to write my own little poems, weaving words out of my young mind. I think that book sealed the deal for me. I can live without TV, I can live without people (to a certain extent), but I can never live without books.

A good book can transform a dull day into a magical one. It can transport you to places you can only dream of. It trancends time and space. It broadens your horizon; takes you out of the box. It makes you realize that people are so much different, yet so much alike.

I love the classics: Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger), To Kill a Mocking Bird (Harper Lee), Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevski), Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), Dracula (Bram Stoker), The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka), Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (J.R.R. Tolkien), The World According to Garp (John Irving), Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)...the list goes on and on. Some of the recent ones I enjoyed are The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz), The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery) and Saturday (Ian McEwan).

I can go to a bookshop and stay there all day, with a huge smile on my face. If money were not an issue, I would have a copy of all the books that are dear to me. I'm slowly building my stack, hoping one day to have enough to merit buying a proper bookshelf. I left all my books at home when I moved to Japan, then to Texas.

Yesterday, I went to Barnes and Nobles to get the books that I need for Fall Semester and ended up buying a spy thriller I've been meaning to read for only $5.98. I'm a happy shopper.

The Monster of Florence is the most fascinating serial killer of the 20th century, murdering 16 people between 1968 and 1985. According to the authors Preston and Spezi, the killer is still out there. The Hannibal Lecter character was also loosely inspired from the events in Florence. Can't wait to crack this one open; haven't read a mystery novel in years.

checking out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; next on my list since I thoroughly enjoyed the movie

someday I'll put up my own bookshop :-)

Free as a Bird

Finally! Today was the last day of my Anatomy and Physiology 2 class. This is exactly how I felt after taking the last exam. So happy and free!

 Sasebo, Japan back in 2008

That was the most gruelling 5-week class ever, I tell you. It was a 4-hour lecture/lab everyday except Friday, but I put in more hours of studying each day when I got home. I had a better time with Anatomy 1, but I took it during the regular semester so I had more time to process everything. It didn't help that my professor was a slave-driver, and that's putting it mildly. To his credit, I probably did learn the most from him compared to my previous instructors.

Now I can just chill, watch my shows and do a bit of reading. I have ten days before Fall Semester starts so these days are gonna be precious. I intend to go swimming and kayaking and most importantly catch up on zzzzzzs. Oh and exercise. I neglected that for one whole month. No wonder I feel bloated and out of shape. No more coffee for me too for a month. I overdosed on brewed coffee trying to stay awake during my midnight study sessions. My body is just so abused and needs better nourishment.

DH was so sweet during this whole ordeal (not really but I just wanna be dramatic ;p). Each morning, he would fix my coffee and  make me a sandwich to take to class. I'm so spoiled. I'm just glad it's all over. I can go back to cooking more and taking care of my DH.

My Little Red Bike

I haven't hopped on a bicycle since grade school, so yesterday when I did, boy did it feel so good! DH and I went to the park where we bicycled to our hearts' desire. I felt wobbly the first few seconds, but after that, I was off like a pro. Summer heat in Texas is unforgivingly humid but thankfully there was a little breeze yesterday. I'm looking forward to Fall so I could bike without breaking into sweats.

I'm sorely in need of exercise so redicovering biking is a good thing. It's the coolest form of exercise, at least for me. It's the only form of exercise that I actually enjoy, besides walking. I stopped running for almost a month, I think. Life got in the way. I'm so busy with summer school that I barely have energy to run even in the treadmill. I know, my bad. My other excuse is that it's just so damn hot.

After biking, we spread a blanket under a tree and had our little picnic. We brought wine (locally made), cheese, pepperoni, salami, crackers and grapes. It was fun just sitting there, relaxing, chatting with DH about silly stuff. Next time, I'll bring books and pillows so we can take a nap.

I'm glad that DH shares my enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life. I love that I can ask him to come with me to concerts at the park, thrifting adventures, and second-hand bookstores when I'm in the hunt for good reads. I don't care what other people say, but to me it's best when couples have a lot in common. It's okay to be different in some things, but not a lot of things! I guess the most important of all is to be in the same wavelength.

So here's a few snapshots of our biking adventure. Some pics are off-center since we were just relying on our gorilla tripod.

This is the japanese bike that DH gave me for my birthday back in 2008.

It folds in half for easy storage. One of my keepsakes from my 8-month

stay in Japan.

Yay for a stress-free weekend!

                                                                   Dear Hubby working it ;p

He rode his bike to work last Friday and got home sweating buckets.

Gratuitous couple photo-op

Wanna do this every weekend.

A little snack to cap our day.

In the Thick of Summer Classes

I'm back! Did anyone miss me? Hehe. Maybe it's time to start telling friends that I have a blog (or maybe not :D)

I've been busy taking my first summer classes in a long while, and coping semi-successfully with the accelerated workload. The tricks that I used last Spring Semester are not working for me this summer. In other words, I have to study more. Ack. Okay, I will stop boring you with my academic pursuits.

I'm reviewing for my exam, but summer thoughts keep popping in my head, vying for attention. I can't believe it's already August! I want to do gazillion stuff, but I'll be happy if I could at least do the following:

*Swim in the lake (went to the lake with the nieces but didn't get to swim)
*Bike around the neighborhood (I may have to wait for Fall since it's too hot right now)
*Kayak (tentative birthday plan)
*Picnic at the park (already bought a picnic blanket, gotta buy a basket)
*Go tubing
*Go to the newly opened nearby water park (it looks fun but always packed)
*Go camping (I'm ok with renting a cabin but hubby wants the whole shebang. We don't even own a tent)

Wish me luck! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer. Now let me get back to my anatomy books. Tata!