embarrassing, how i had to google the correct spelling of caribbean. even more embarrassing that i had to double check if i was spelling embarrassing correctly.

temporary amnesia aside, things are getting really cold here down under. my fingers are in the process of getting a frostbite as we speak. even this computer keeps freezing a lot, although i doubt it has anything to do with the weather. jeff says it’s a very powerful machine but, i don’t know. even superman buckles under the force of kryptonite. i can’t even explain how that relates to the latter. my brain’s probably frozen as well.

occasionally my mind wanders to someplace warm and sunny. where the washing is bone dry by sunset. and i don’t have to forcefully un-glue myself from the heater or a warm bed.

most of the time, i dream of escaping to cebu, where my family complains about the extreme heat when we’re chatting on facetime. they say it’s scorching hot in there, saying it in a somewhat exaggerated tone which i still believe because i know what the wrath of the tropics feels like. it ain’t pretty.

so i go back to my happy medium — those days when it was neither too hot nor too cold.

one of those days was when jeff and i went to caribbean gardens. it’s nice there. they have this huge lake where you can go on a boat ride, or feed the ducks, or whatever. (but frankly, if ducks and lakes are your thing, that’s nothing compared to western springs lakeside park in auckland. the entire scenery blew me away. except for their native eels because i don’t like slimy, slithering creatures.)

you can also go on a carriage ride around the premises. or ride on the little train. or play mini golf. or hop on a cable car that would give you a bird’s eye view of the lake — a low-flying bird, at best, because it’s not very high.

i’m not really crazy about caribbean gardens, to be honest, but it does hold a somewhat special place in my memory, if not my heart. it was where jeff took me on our first date “as a couple.” our very first weekend together together, if you know what i mean. he posted a photo of me on that sunday two years ago on his instagram. i looked like shit.

these pictures here should be enough to redeem me.

i don’t know if you noticed but i keep carrying this bag with me about 80% of the time. it’s my favorite bag by bric’s. very versatile, not to mention sturdy. i have used and abused it for half a year now and it still looks amazing.

flight of ideas. why am i suddenly talking about bags?