sunshinegirl

I write about living, loving, learning, and taking the occasional leaps of faith in this side of the world.

“Petite” is my nickname. That would also be a good description of me, actually.

My aunt on my mother’s side gave me this nickname only days after I was born. The name has stuck, even after some thirty-odd years. I love it!

I’m currently residing with my husband, Mark, in California. Mark is a cool, funny guy, who makes me laugh out loud. He also makes me smile, quietly, which in my opinion takes more talent and skill.

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Why SunshineGirl?

I was born and raised in beautiful, wonderful Cebu, Philippines, which is a tropical island blessed with lots of sunshine. I’m now living in the Golden State, which is also a sunshin-y kind of place. I love sunshine. I have a usually sunny personality. :-D See?

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One of the things I enjoy doing most is…travelling!

In the Philippines, I’ve gone spelunking in Sagada, white-water rafting and canopy-walking in Cagayan de Oro, and swimming in Malapascua with friends.

I’ve also been to Leyte and Southern Leyte (where my parents reside and where I vacationed most summers and holidays when I was younger), as well as Boracay, Davao City, Baguio, La Union, Tagaytay and Batangas.

Before California, I lived and worked in Metro Manila for 4 years, and then in Florida for close to 3. I’ve visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and New York City.

One of my goals for the next ten years is to travel around the world with Mark. :-)

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Other Things I Love:

- Taking photos
- Cooking
- Running. I’m going to run a 5K and a half-marathon this year. I ran in two 5K races in 2006, and plan to run in another two in 2007.
- Reading good books, especially those by Umberto Eco, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, Martin Amis, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabelle Allende, Amy Tan, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowlings and Isaac Asimov
- Watching movies
- Hanging out and having good conversations with friends
- Helping others, as best I can
- Eating good food, especially seafood such as tuna fish, crabs, shrimps, lobsters and mussels. Yum!
- Writing short stories and blog entries
- Working towards the dream of living in a beach-side house with Mark, writing all day long, and eating the freshest fruits and seafood. Yes, it is good to dream! :-)

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Favorite quotes:

“We are all pilgrims on this earth, our hearts full of silver song,
our pockets full of dreams.”
- an old Proverb from Romania

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!”
- comedian Jonathan Winters

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Everyday I’m swimming closer to my ship. And I’ve learned that the very act of “swimming out” is itself good for character-building, and good for the soul.


Posted under Navel-Gazing