Week #65: GOT PAID! (-7.21.14 -07.27.14)

On Monday I went to work and did my usual, the financial-secretary duties of recollecting this month's financial record and transcribing it onto excel and organizing it into a binder. The bright side of today is that I got paid for the first time! It was not a check though so I guess I can save that excitement for a real well-paying job. I got $100 and I'm payed weekly so that's $400 a month which is how long I'll be working if I decide to work the last full week I've got in Panama. I also cook my mom an awesome dinner, a homemade whole wheat mac and cheese from scratch! I dare say I put a little bit too much parmesan but the trick of the culinary business lies in practice. I ended my day doing some yoga, abs and reading Harry Potter; sounds like the perfect night doesn't it?

Tuesday was a pretty slow day at the office, I had to search for some numbers that were in the system and the only way to have the program is for the boss to turn on her computer but her office was locked and she arrived later in the morning so all morning I was doing nothing -i.e. Buzzfeed. I had reheated pizza for lunch and that is my absolute favorite kind of pizza! Also my abs tingled all day long because of the abs I did the day before, and I just can't get enough of that feeling.

On Wednesday I kept working on the filing of financial stuff for the month of July and finished it completely, it feels like it's my baby but no so much because I'm using older formats. I can't wait to have my own company and treat it as my real baby, that would be a blast. I had a date night with Rod too, we went as usual to Friday's and we had an awesome time. We laughed so much, I was even embarrassed of laughing so hard, that guy is so special to me :) Oh, and for lunch I had the most amazing/healthy lunch! I made zoodles (zucchini noodles) again but skipped adding any sauce to it and it was really good, I paired it with salmon and I'm so proud I had a healthy lunch!

Thursday started a little chaotic, the company's truce got pulled over because the car didn't have the insurance with it and the boss went nuts and we had to back up every single insurance paper and distribute it among the company's cars. One exciting news from today? Well, actually two: 1) I impressed my boss when I did this thing on our excel documents where I hyperlinked everything that could be hyperlinked to make it seem more like a program than boring spreadsheets. 2) I learned how to make quotations! So I also finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for a second time and it was as good as the first time :) I just like re-reading because there's always, always things you forget! Also, did I tell you my mom and dad are letting me live in an apartment next year and are a hundred percent on my side?! It's like the first time they've gotten to understand and have empathy with my feelings of having a roommate, and it's just such a new refreshing feeling to have your parents back you up a 100%, and I'm bringing this up because I went into my mom's desk and there was a list of apartments with their prices, location and all; like it even had checkmarks if they were near a bus stop or a walkable distance. And the third and final also, the girls are planning a pajama party in my house this weekend and the only ones that have confirmed that they are staying over are Shey and Zhanzhy... I'm a) pretty doubtful it will happen and b) if it happens I don't think I'm gonna fully enjoy it without my main bitches (ehem, Alex).

On Friday the things got crazy at work at the end of the day, like the calls kept coming and all of them were "urgent" and we couldn't do part of it because the boss is the only one who could do what they were calling for.  After work I had to pick up Patty at her school and I got there early so I just chilled in the car which was really nice because I had burnt a new CD and it was just nice to sit there with new good music. Since I had nothing to do I decided to accompany my mom to the practice.

On Saturday I went to lunch with my grandparents as always and then my mom dropped me off while she went to practice. It was the most boring afternoon I've had by myself in my house, I even came to just putting music really loud and singing loudly like I didn't have a care in the world. And then, Alex came by and then Vivianne and then Albany. It was supposed to be a girl's night but only 3 out of 7 came over... not even Zhanzhy which was the one who planned the whole thing, in my house, came. But I actually liked this night better than if the other girls'd have come because we had really fun night. And I actually enjoy every single time I spend the night with these three girls in particular. We played Apples to Apples, talked and ate horrible pasta but it was fun.

On Sunday I went to the mall as always to have lunch with my family, and me and my mom tagged along with my aunt and cousins because Patty needed to find a pair of white high heels. She found them, thankfully, and they were on sale lol. We did some grocery shopping and when we came back home I tried out this juice I saw on Youtube which is basically to blend watermelon and drink it... that's the recipe haha, but it was great nonetheless. Also Cristy is taking all of us out to dinner tonight because my grandma kept bugging her about how when you start working and receive your first salary you have to take your family out for dinner and take care of the bill.

DIGGING YOUTUBE TREASURES!

So I was bored and realized I had some videos I uploaded a long time ago with my old account, stacystamos, that I haven't watched in a while so I decided to go watch them; oh boy did I know the laugh I was gonna get with them. So here they are so I will never forget about them again or if I do to rematch them again :)

I have loads of more videos but I don't know why I can't find them here :( so here's the link to my old account! 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChLY7vkYDctt3gkuKIDo7Yw

I'm Kinda Into Photography #25: Mandatory-Non-Paying-Kinda-Free-Lance from DEBUTANTES

So last weekend I was called to take some pictures, my aunt called saying I had no other option so might as well go and be cheerful about it. I had a two days in a row photo assignment of this year's Debutantes' make up and skin care workshop - I myself had my own three years ago... Three! - anyways, at first I was bored because all there was to take was the same thing over and over... Girls looking at mirrors touching their faces, but then an aunt pointed out the laughter and fun the girls where having and how about I should shot those and I did and I found out the true beauty of photos in their wild nature - laughter. 

Week #64: An Official Job?! 😱 (07.14.14 - 07.20.14)

On Monday I started my first official job, my Tia Marilu got me this job as a secretary for her friend's company D'Gala Eventos which is a catering business. As always I was running late on my first day but didn't actually got there late, I didn't realize it would take me literally 5 minutes to drive there! I had some Fruity Pebbles to start my day off right and when I got there the vibe and the environment was so cheerful and friendly. I got to do some filing, paper work, answer calls, photocopy and transfer receipts onto Excel. It was a good first day and after that my dad got home from the mine and we went to have some chinese for dinner.

My second day at the job was somewhat easier, I did more Excel stuff, answer calls and that's about it. Some people at work say I catch up pretty quickly but I feel I'm a little slow or not "chispa" enough for the job. I got back and relaxed since I have nothing else to do.

Day three was all right, I kept going with my "assignments" as well as answering calls, I even helped the boss with some computer wiz stuff and I feel so good whenever she thanks me or acknowledges the benefit of my help :) I also heard Aracely, the woman in charge of everything but being the boss, talking so greatly about me and how organized I was, she even asked me why did I have to go in a pleading voice which made my day. I started a food journal and I intend to eat healthy. I went to the grocery store after work and bought a bunch of healthy stuff, among it a lot of vegetables, fruits, almond milk, corn oil, and of course: Fruity Pebbles. Then I went and picked up Patty from school since she has a Debutantes practice at 7 she's gonna stay at my house until that time. I watched some TV and then she went to practice with my mom. I cooked zoodles (zucchini + noodles) for the first time with a zucchini and garlic blend for sauce for the first time and it smelled so good! I actually like zucchini :) The only down part is that I put water in the blender for the sauce and I wasn't supposed to do that so it was a little bit liquidy and also the zoodles went cold really fast and I don't like eating cold food.

On day four I was wishing so bad for this week to end, I still work as hard as I can and give it my all and have this positive attitude but now I get why grown ups get so tired of work and have these long faces "all day err day" and that's why I'll try to never work for somebody but have them working for me. However, I feel so good when they complement my skills and keep telling other people what a blessing I am to them :)

Finally! The fifth day of the week, my last day of work for this week :) So my boss told me that they are going to pay me every Monday starting next so that's exciting! My very first pay check is coming pretty soon! After work I went on a date night with Rod to Friday's (duh!) and he drove! He picked me up and took me there, it was a bit of a struggle when it came time to park the car since the parking lot was extremely packed but he did all right :) I just love and missed how I keep smiling whenever I'm with him, there's not a blank moment in the conversation or a moment where I'm not smiling and I think that's what I love most about being with Rod. He didn't eat though because he wasn't feeling well but I had a really good meal, the three-for-all platter with potato skins, mozzarella sticks and chicken bites :)

On Saturday I got to sleep in until 9 am when my mom woke me up because I had to take some pictures at this Debutantes skin workshop, the same I had a couple of years ago. So I went to Albrook Mall and took the pictures and it was rather boring. The rest of the day I just chilled until night time when I went out with my girls, Alejandra, Zhanzhy, and Vivianne and we had some 'pepitos' and waffles. The sandwich at Pepitos was amazing! And I missed my girls so bad :) And of course I drove them all haha, I got late back home around 10:30 and went straight to bed after reading some HP3 :)

On Sunday I had to wake up again early to go take some more pictures at the now makeup workshop and drove there since my mom had to do other things, on the way back I stopped at Cozi and bought the most amazing salad, it was really really good! Then I headed to the grocery store with my mother and bought a few stuff, I bought ingredients to cook my own homemade mac and cheese and also ingredients to make chocolate covered frozen bananas. I made the chocolate covered bananas as soon as I got home, it got a bit messy and I messed up in a couple of things but ultimately they turned out good. For dinner we three went out since my dad is leaving once again for work and we ate at "La Nostra Pizza", one of my favorite pizza places. At night I just had a relaxing night reading some Harry Potter and putting on a face mask. I just love the face masks I got from Kiko, they were so cheap and do such a great job! I should've stock up on more, my face feels like a baby's butt. 

Week #63: BIGGEST MALL OF THE US! (07.07.14 - 07.13.14)

On Monday I was called in to do nanny duty since one of my great grandma's nanny quit over the weekend and my grandma left already for Dallas I think. So I was her only and last chance of a nanny she could get. Atai behaved pretty well the whole time I was there, that is from 10:30 until 2:30. She mostly slept and kept changing seating positions, she ate with no tantrum and only went to the bathroom once which Eli took care of, thank God. I read while she stared at the window and finally finished the last book of the Harry Potter series! Eli prepared fish for lunch at my request, God bless her and then I drove back home when the afternoon shift nanny got there. I watched the last movie of the Harry Potter series to compare to the book as I always do and obviously I prefer the book, how they explained things that seem simple but you kind of want to know like the story of Helena Ravenclaw or the real reason why Harry didn't die in the forbidden forest (it was because Voldemort created a second and stronger bond between them when he used Harry's blood to re-humanized himself, so he only broke the first bond when he 'killed' him) and then Harry won the battle because of the Elder Wand's allegiance. That's something that was not very clear from the movie and I'm so glad I read the book. I even want to re-read some of the books (3,4,5, and 7) :)

On Tuesday... I'll be honest with you, I have no recollection of what I did on Tuesday haha.

On Wednesday my mom and I flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota; Yoyi took us to the airport and we were almost late (we were kind of late actually) because he picked us up late and drove like a literal turtle! Our first flight was to Houston and it was all right, I played on my iPad the whole flight. In Houston I tried the famous Pappadeaux and it was no big deal for me, we ate while watching the Netherlands vs. Argentina match. We also went to the United Club with my grandma's card (thank God for my grandma and mom to have the same name, lol) and I stole some cookies and stuff :) The second flight was from Houston to Minneapolis and it was a short flight -it was delayed though. And we got to Minneapolis around 10 - 11 pm, which means we spent the WHOLE day traveling! 

On Thursday Patty and Tia Marilu came loudly to our room early in the morning because that's when their flight got here and we had breakfast at the hotel which was actually good, we stayed at Fairfield Inn Marriot and let me tell you oh how much I missed high quality hotels (compared to Europe). We went hard core shopping the first day but before that Patty and I went to the Nickelodeon theme park inside the mall and it was pretty awesome! They had some really cool rides that spines a lot and best of all no heat or sun or mosquitoes! I didn't shop that much but I did get some clothes, the cool thing about this mall is that you don't have to pay taxes for clothes and shoes (every girl's dream!)

On Friday we went again to the mall because we only did the first floor the day before, but we went all together to the aquarium first and it was really fun. I think it's cute how my grandpa comes with these ideas and proposes them all shy like "would you like to go to the aquarium?", like how could you say no to that when you know your grandpa doesn't enjoy shopping as much as the other five girls on this trip haha. Then we went shopping on the second floor of the mall and this time I did buy a little bit more :) After the mall we went to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and had dinner at Applebee's.

On Saturday we decided to go to this theme park kind of similar to Knott's Berry Farm in California and it was really cool, it was Snoopy themed too and we rode a couple of sweet rides. Just before leaving it started pouring so I volunteered to go get the van so nobody, specially my grandparents, would get wet. We went to the mall again to shop on the third and final floor. There wasn't much there but we went to a mirror maze and it was pretty fun :)

And on Sunday we finally returned home, we had Pappadeaux for lunch at the airport and Acun paid $8 to watch the world cup final (Go Germany!) on the plane, just for the cable to drop minutes from the winning goal and the end of the game! Well, at least Germany won haha I had my shirt on the whole day and it was pretty nice seeing people with a Germany shirt too. In the Panama airport the security people "randomly" decided to check my grandparent's and aunt's baggage... My grandpa was about to burst with anger from such racism... And I'm mad too you know... Fuck racist people and their stereotyped vision of the world... We finally had dinner at Golden Unicorn with the whole family including Cristy and Yoyi who came to pick us up. Also, my iPad is dead... my water bottle spilled in my backpack and my iPad got soaked! It's ruined... and the only way I can get another one is through the out-of-guarantee Apple policy that let's me buy a refurbished one for $200 which is better than nothing, but I got so attached to my iPad this summer! It's gonna be really hard not to have it until August. 

EVERYTHING from my QUEST through Europe

Six weeks in Europe, knew nobody, didn't speak the language, and no plans at all. My trip to Europe was like jumping into nowhere, waiting for nobody to catch me; yet I met the most special people that made me feel at home. 

My quest through Europe divides into five categories: people, home, food, photography and trips. 

People, my roommates and I did everything together and we felt so comfortable living with each other. It started cordial as it should always be and ended in one of those friendships where pinching the other or making mean jokes just cracks you up. Sam used to always hit me, and man was it hard, but every time she did that I felt closer to her. And Stephanie was really like a brain to interact with, she kept my mind going and we really think alike, all my ideas and thoughts were imprinted on her mind and our responsive moves or expectations were twins. I got pretty lucky to have been paired with these crazy people, I think it's funny how one pulled me to the fun side while the other seek more balance and I used to pull them both to the calmer side. These girls really made my whole trip a pleasant and fun adventure. 

Home, our apartment was huge for being an apartment and had all the necessities we could've asked for. It had A/C which is the most important part for me and we felt so comfortable all the time. Every time we had a long day we all found ourselves longing for home - our temporary home. Having a safe haven so many miles away from our true safe haven meant a lot to me, and I really did felt safe and at home there. 

Food, I'm not into churches, museums or landmarks, I'm all about food. Food can be expressed as experiences, and I recollect little experiences from every place I go and that's how I remember places and create memories. I got to taste different culture in terms of food, and also had my dreams come true in the ones scratched off my bucket list like escargot and Italian pizza and pasta. Food for me is like chocolate is for everybody else, little moments of ecstasy. 

Photography, you know me and my love for the camera. Of course I recollected Europe in small files with an appearance of RAW format and edited for an audience in JPG. Photographs are the best souvenir, and it's art at the same time. It's like a person in a sense, trying to tell you a story, and it can also be a place with a view and sensation strong enough that can be transferred through a screen. For me photography is a science, and right now I feel I've won Noble prizes with all these amazing inventions I've taken. Europe will always be my greatest little amazing invention (although there will always be a contender, Asia 2015 anybody?). 

Trips, the trips where the most amazing part of my quest indeed. Berlin, Venice, Rome, Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Prague, Munich, Sicily and a hint of Austria. Yes, I went to all those places in the six weeks I stayed in Florence. I found those trips as a place for inner thought, relaxing, adventure in some, and mind opening. I must say my favorite city was Munich and I have no doubt in my mind I would like to live there for a while sometime. I think it's wonderful how I got to experience so many different cultures in so little time, and I'm amazed. Amazed by the people, the scenery, and -duh!- the food. 

Thank you Europe, it was a blast!

Week #62: RAN MY 2ND 5K! (06.30.14 - 07.06.14)

On Monday my grandpa had me on photographer duty and I had to go to this lunch at the Sheraton Hotel to take pictures of the President of Taiwan, it wash't that hard of a job since I only had to take photos on a tripod at the stage where people took turns to take a picture with the president. The lunch was good, I specially liked the asparagus soup :) I ran into Agrupa people, aunts and uncles like Tia Nitzia, Tio Dupin, and Tio Mario, and even my high school Principal Prof. Caballero. The lunch was over and we returned home to chill before going out again for dinner at Vechio Forno with the family (Apo, Acun, Cristy, Patty, Tia Marilu, Yoyi, Mom and Dad), I was craving Italian after eating Italian for six weeks, lol.

Tuesday was triple feature day! I watched three back to back movies with Rod, which was on my bucket list for Panama so one done. We watched "How to Train Your Dragon 2", "The Fault in Our Stars" and "Maleficent", Jordan came to see Maleficent with us too and he is so sweet, when we kiss good-bye he hugs me so tight :) Me and Rod had a fantastic day, and when I got home I was so freaking tired I felt asleep once again. I've been falling asleep before midnight since I came back, that sucks.

On Wednesday I went to the movies (again haha) with Zhanzhy and Alex, I stopped by Zhanzhy's university to pick her up and then I picked up Alex at her house and we watched "Neighbors" starring Zac Efron (meltingggg). The movie was really funny and we had a really good time :) For the rest of the day I just came home and knocked out once again, but this time I fell asleep at 9 pm!

Thursday I had a lunch date with my buddy and we went for sushi because I was craving it real bad, he came to pick me up and we went to the Sushi Express a couple streets down. As always, I had the greatest of times with my buddy since we always have something to talk about. After our lunch date I had a meeting with Chung San Jr., the group my mom started, and I saw Beto, met her sister (which is just as fun as Beto), I also saw Meisy, Any Lam, and my grandparents and Cristy. They had pizza but I decided to take my own lunchbox because I had already had sushi and too much not-so-junk food in one day is bad. The meeting ended at 10 pm and it was funny because every once in a while that would all start cheering "Stacy for president" which is really odd because I rarely gave good new ideas, just a few but not much.

Friday was kind of my day off, I woke up and watched the Germany vs. France match and of course, GERMANY WON! Then I did a couple of nothings and nobody cares, jk I played some PS3 and watched some Harry Potter and then read some Harry Potter... and yes, the PS3 game I was playing was a Harry Potter one. So I ate and did Harry Potter all day (omg that sounds bad haha), but it's the truth (is it?). 

On Saturday I went for lunch with my family as always and had steak (yes, I broke my no red meat streak), and after I headed to the Debutantes practice to take some pictures my Tia Marilu asked me for. Halfway through the practice I was dying from boredom, not again will I go to a practice unless it's one of the last ones and everything it set up. And at night I went to Athen's Pizza with the family to celebrate Cristy's birthday and I saw Nandin after centuries of not seeing him! And believe me not, he's fatter :O he went from like Andrew Chan to Anthony Smith! But he's still funny as ever :)

On Sunday I ran my second 5k, Copa do Mundo Power Club, at Cinta Costera. I was suppose to meet up with Jordan but he left because I never got back to him as of where the race would take place, oops. I ran the race in 38 minutes with something seconds and although it's not my best, thank you Panama climate, it's still within my time goal which was 40 minutes. 

AWKWARD STAGE

To all the people going through an awkward stage, 

I've been there and I occasionally go back. Yes, you are going to go through an awkward stage if you have nobody to tell you otherwise. I had the luck of having a couple of friends help me through, older friends (you know who you are). But not until now I feel I have finally got over that awkward stage. 

Not sure what's an awkward stage?

Awkward Stage - oh`~ kuard es~teich -
The ability to downgrade yourself by terms of clothes, personality, and extremely rare talent of saying dumb shit that leaves people judging you and staring at you like you are a monkey doing ballet. 

And yes, they will look at you like a monkey doing ballet, nope... I'm not exaggerating. 

And it seems like just yesterday I broke out of the awkward stage bubble, I realized it does not matter what other people think about you and that the way you dress should be to your own comfort. But also not too comfortable, because yeah... that is kind of awkward. 

So keep you head held high and remember the golden rule to not embarrass yourself:
If it's not important, possible to harm anybody, and it's not relevant to the conversation - KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Yeap, that's a really valuable lesson I've got there. 

Week #61: FINALLY BACK HOME! (06.23.14 - 06.29.14)

On Monday I woke up in the apartment, I got back from the train station at midnight and slept until 8:30 in the morning, I bought some bread and went to the train station to catch the bus shuttle to the airport to go to Amsterdam. In the plane I was surrounded by babies! I had one on the other side of the aisle, one in front, one to the northeast and two at south east! But the one across from the aisle was the cutest baby ever! He was half asian half something else, I'm guessing dutch and had almond hair and asian eyes! The taxi I took from the airport to the hotel was so freaking expensive (tip for next time: research more about public transportation from the airport), it cost me close to 50 euros! The taxi driver was nice though, he recommended some good places to eat and he also asked me if I was in Amsterdam for the congress, isn't that funny? I don't look like a congress woman haha. The first thing I did after checking in was going to the Van Gogh museum which was cool but not my style really. I had Argentinean food for dinner and stopped by the Apple store, yes I found an Apple store! And it was really fancy and had two floors and the way you paid was going to somebody and they would check you out on their iPhones! The city was really pretty and the houses were movie-like.

On Tuesday I went to the Anne Frank house and it was mesmerizing and I really enjoyed it, I also got a tour bus around the city and the canals are beautiful, and my last stop was the Heineken Experience where they show you how they make it and it was kind of the same layout as the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta. I also had a stroopwafel (again haha) which was amazing, I'm gonna buy more at the airport when going back home :)I also had the best burger ever at a place ironically called "La Place" haha. 

Wednesday was oral presentations day, I had one for both of my classes and I stunned the hell out of my wine professor, he was amazed at how much I knew about wine and that makes me feel so good. I usually don't talk much in class so I'm guessing all he was thinking in his mind was "wow! Stacy speaks!" haha. I got off early from the italian class and I told myself to have a gelato every single day from here until the end so I went to my favorite gelato place, Festival Del Gelato, and got my favorite combination: pineapple and lemon :)

On Thursday I had my two finals, I know for sure I didn't get a hundred but maybe something around the A- :) I had gelato twice! Once right after my italian class and another one at night when Stephanie and I decided to go for a stroll. We walked without having any direction and saw the funniest thing, a guy was playing romantic music on the violin and the environment was perfect, and we were talking about how romantic it would be to be here you you S.O. and the guy playing the violin suddenly has one of those great coughing episodes yet he keeps playing and we laughed for like 10 minutes straight about how passion killer that was and how funny it looked XD 

On Friday me and Sam went on train to Cinque Terre once again and it was so perfect, the weather was amazing, we had seafood all day, we had piña coladas, we stand up paddled (I did twice) and it was and amazing end for this amazing 6 week-journey. We came back to Florence, I showered, went for a gelato and Stephanie and Sam sent me off to the train station. I went by shuttle so I got there at 1 am on Saturday and had to wait until 4 am for the airport to open!

And finally Saturday! I got back home after a two and a half hour flight to Amsterdam where I bought more stroopwafels for Panama, I actually checked in my carry on because they offered it to me for free and without thinking I said yes but that whole way until Panama I kept worrying about my laptop and my camera, never again. The flight to Panama was living hell actually, I got seated next to two middle eastern guys and the one next to me every time he raised his arms his armpits stank the whole place with the middle eastern smell, I was also in the window and he had this tendency of opening the window shade, for what I don't know since all you saw was clouds and sky... After 10 and a half hours I landed in Panama and went home :) I went to dinner to my favorite place, La Mexicanita, and my dad told me he knew I was going to wanna go there haha. 

On Sunday I had to work already, Chung San Jr. was having this family day and I had to help out. I told Rod to come over and help too, and he actually drove there, I'm so proud. I saw my grandparents, Cristy, Beto, Ana, and lots of people and it was so fun! Of course, everything is fun with Beto haha, and Rod actually behaved really nicely with my family and stuff, my grandma actually called him "el gordo". We played ping pong, soccer, watched the match, and it was really fun. 

I'm Kinda Into Photography #24: Week 6 - Amsterdam