As you may have surmised, I am terribly uninspired lately. Blame it on PMS, cabin fever or depression over my perpetually empty bank account, this month has so far been terrible.

In an attempt to cheer myself up, I’ve started reading up on places I want to visit from now until 2009. Hey, it’s never too early to plan, right?

I’m limiting it to two years because I want to make this list as realistic as possible. I don’t want just write down a place even though deep down I know it’s not possible. Then again, it wouldn’t hurt to dream

And so, the 10 places I want to go to in the next 2 years:
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Saw this meme over at Kyameel’s blog and I must say, whoever started this is a genius! We need more memes like this!

The Three Reasons Why I’m Proud to be Pinoy

1. I live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It’s true. People should look and travel beyond Manila to see and experience what the Philippines has to offer.
2. Filipinos are among the nicest in the world. Sure, we have our fair share of shady characters (who are fairly prominent, unfortunately), which country doesn’t? If you go to a Filipino household, they will offer you everything in their pantry, and even insist you take home some food or even spend the night.
3. We celebrate the smallest things and we celebrate with food. Everything is a cause for celebration, and a celebration is a great excuse to gather family and friends together to gorge on the most delicious dishes and get drunk and sing along to videoke. It’s embarassing, but it’s one of our most cherish memories.

Tagging Anna D., Christine, Anton, Ajay, and everyone else who wants to share their three reasons

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Something came in the mail for me yesterday. No, it’s not another doll or free plane tickets — my mix CD from the BootsnAll Secret Santa Mix Tape exchange. Or in this case, CD.

My secret santa has sent me the most awesome mix: Food songs.

I’m not kidding. All twenty-one songs in this mix is either about food. The songs have pretty good beat, overall pleasant to listen to. The downside though is that I got hungry just 5 songs into the CD.

The receipient of my mix CD had already received my little parcel from Manila, and claimed he liked it (c’mon, who wouldn’t? Haha). My mix included songs from the USA, France, Japan, China, and of course, the Philippines.

I was so pleased by the rave review that I signed up for the next round of Secret Santa exchange. This time however, instead of sending just one CD, I will be sending four more to interested blog readers, as a terribly belated celebration of JustWandering.org’s first anniversary. Yeah, I completely zoned out and forgot about my blog’s birthday. It was on April 27th, by the way.

So, are you open to new music? Perhaps a couple of new tunes for your library? Or maybe you just want a post card from the Philippines? C’mon, the post office needs some love Leave a comment if you’re interested and I’ll e-mail you about the details (please don’t put your address in the comment box. There are bad people out there). The first four to comment will get a copy of my 2nd Secret Santa mix.

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Dave of GoBackpacking blogged his 5 reasons for traveling, and has tagged me to do the same.

Hmm, why *do* I travel anyway?

1. Something new.
   I’m always eager for something new and different.
2. Take a break from the usual
   I easily get bored and demotivated by routine. I lose focus on matters that need my full attention (i.e. work), and my morale is low. By traveling, I get to recharge my energies and start looking forward to working again (so I can save up money for my next trip!)
3. Photo op!
   Photography really goes hand in hand with traveling. I can’t imagine traveling without any camera. I don’t spend all of my travel time looking through the camera lens, but it’s always great to take photos of the places you’ve seen to share with friends and family.
4. Research and Planning
   I really enjoy reading about new destinations, and updating my spreadsheet. I really am a geek at heart.
5. Shopping!
   Shopping is my downfall. The best thing about shopping overseas though is that you get stuff that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to buy at home (or if it is available locally, it’s too expensive).

I am tagging Christine, Cayce and Christina to share their 5 reasons for traveling

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So here I am, back in Manila and daydreaming about my next trip. I want to go overseas, but I also want to visit a new domestic destination. I also want to buy a new camera, preferably a DSLR. The problem is, I don’t have that much money.

Do I:

Buy a DLSR and go on a domestic trip

Or

Travel overseas and pacify myself with a compact digital camera

I would prefer the overseas travel and DSLR, but I have to be realistic; that isn’t possible.

Why do I always have these thoughts when I’m broke?

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