Ruby Loves Adventure

It's a nice and sunny day outside in Jacksonville - and I realize that I have been posting mostly about my book reviews than concentrating on my travels - so, this is one of the first that I'm posting since I moved to America nearly 6 months ago.

Hanging out at the boat deck during the cruise

One nice November weekend, my boyfriend (then friend) asked me if I wanted to do a sunset cruise in Amelia Island - and I said yes, of course. Anything for a new experience right? I do not remember how much it costs but it departs from Amelia and tours you around the nearby river areas - where you can see Fort Clinch, and parts of downtown Fernandina Beach. Mostly it tours you around the Cumberland Island area - where there were wild horses roaming around.

Wild horses, you may think? Oh yes - they're really wild. They don't have an owner, and apparently they have a shorter lifespan than normal horses. Aren't they cool?

The sunset was bloody amazing - if you check on the photo I have uploaded below, you could just imagine yourself being in an African safari - it was just that pretty! Plus the reflection of the sun in the water was just so pleasantly nice.

Wild Horses at Cumberland Island - we were lucky!

On the way back to Fernandina Beach from the cruise of Cumberland Island, it got so bloody freezing - hey, what did I expect? It was November! I thought the weather in Jacksonville would be warm (Florida = warm weather = NOT) but I was proven wrong - it was definitely really cold. Maybe because we were in the water - and that's what made it worse.

Sunset view while on the cruise - amazing!

Getting to the cruise/Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach - I do not remember which tour company we booked the cruise from but just google Amelia Island cruises and you should be able to find one or a few companies offering this service.

Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach is around 40 minutes from Jacksonville and can be reached by I-95 or by A1A. To be honest, the drive down A1A is better and more scenic - you get amazing views of the water as you drive through the coast.

Other things to do - While waiting for your cruise, you could walk around Fernandina Beach, which is a quaint little town. You could eat at some of the local restaurants and shop at some of the boutiques they have. I do like some of their kitschy souvenir shops. They could be quite overpriced but you are supporting some local stores, and not chains! You could also do a short day trip at Fort Clinch - a Florida State Park, where there is a preserved 19th century fort and a nice long boardwalk. You could also walk down the beach while there. It is a nice and tranquil place to just relax and just spend the day pondering.

I had a really wonderful time during this trip - and it was only just the beginning :)

No, no - this is not an April Fool's joke. This is just random musings when I find myself in a room all alone, with nothing much to do but ponder on the wonder of life and anything else under the sun.
I'm currently not in the mood to read, but am definitely in the mood to write.

I was looking at the blog and realized that my peak posting period was in 2009 and 2010. Back when I was looking for outlets to express myself more when the frustration of living more and more in Manila was getting to me. In 2011, I slowed down significantly when I had to live in England for a short term assignment at work.

Then I discovered traveling - and although I love doing it to bits and pieces, I realize that I haven't really been posting much about it. Blame laziness, I know, but I really should. I promised all my friends back home that I would keep in touch by posting places where I've been, and reviews of what I've seen - even pictures.

But then I've been posting more book blogs instead. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course - as this blog got a few hits here and there because of the book blog - and maybe some of my random musings here and there.

These book blogs do not really encompass my life and what I'm currently feeling though. Ever since I left Manila I have been trying to travel every single weekend - exploring new places here and there around Florida, just trying to check for festivals, or some other new thing I could do, in my own backyard.

Maybe I'm just rambling - but I feel like I've gotten my life back. This is exactly what I wanted to do.
I want to be able to have time in the evening to just stare at a blank blogger page and just ponder some thoughts. I love that I can walk home from work and not waste 4+ hours every single day trying to commute form my house to the office, as compared to my old house.

Not that there's anything wrong with my old house, of course - I just hated the stresses and the traffic that that place had.

So, there you go. Everything you may need to know. I'm very happy where I am right now, and yes, my life is back to normal - and I feel like I have so much more time and opportunities now (which I plan to utilise fully, thank you very much) that I am so content. So full. So happy. :)

And yes, you do have to step out of your comfort zone to know what you really like.. and what you want.. and discover more about you in general.

Here's to all of you having a happier life :)

There has been a lot of buzz about Rainbow Rowell's books so I decided to jump in the bandwagon and borrowed one of her books from the library. Seeing that Fangirl is the newest book out, I decided to borrow it (and partly because the waiting list for this book was shorter than Eleanor & Park).

Fangirl revolves around Cath, who grew up with her twin and has to go to Uni. But then her twin, Wren, has told her that she doesn't want her to be her roommate and pretty much have her own college experience.

Cath was devastated and keeps to herself most of the time and create her Simon Snow fanfics (Simon Snow being their equivalent of Harry Potter - a series of books and movies and they're huge) - until Levi comes along..

So that pretty much is my own version of the book summary - seeing as I can't log in to Goodreads to get a summary using this PC I'm typing the blog in at the moment.

This book has been.... disappointing. At first I was really intrigued because of all the praise for Rainbow Rowell's books, but then I started reading and realized what a loser Cath was... and I was really turned off by her personality (ie she has none) in the first 100+ pages of the book until Raegan and Levi came along to at least help develop her.
Given her twin sister's limited appearance in the book, I find myself rooting for Wren sometimes as Cath is just too bland for my liking - I mean how can you like someone who just wants to stay in their own room and who doesn't even want to make friends? Give me a break! (I know, I know - to each their own, I'm just saying I can't relate with the main character. It took me ages to convince myself to pick the book up and give it another chance, read it until the end!)

In page 180+, the book FINALLY picks up with Levi and Cath's cute scene in Cath's dorm (FINALLY, Cath seems to have more of a personality now!)

And then it went downhill again. After finishing the book, I was still highly disappointed - I was thinking - "This was one of the greatest books for 2013? Bummer" To each their own, I guess.

For me:
1) Cath didn't really grow as a person in the book - sure, she had Levi but her resolutions about not going much out of the house/dorm and not being friendly enough to other people, and getting over Simon Snow and the obsession about the fandom wasn't really addressed at the end of the book
2) What about the other characters? What about Wren, Raegan, Levi, her dad? What happened next to them? For me they were just cameo appearances to the book but they were quite essential to Cath as a person as a whole.
3) Simon Snow - it was confusing trying to follow the mini stories within the book. I know it's fictional, and I know that it is sort of based on the Harry Potter series but how does it end? Any closures in the story?
4)  400+ pages of a story that went nowhere for me. Gaah..

Good thing I just borrowed this book from the Jacksonville Public Library - at least I did not pay any money to buy this book.

Overall Rating: 2/5.

So, another day of freebies again today :)

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for a Bath and Body Works offer - you refer a friend's email address and both of you get a free soap from BBW.
Of course, I referred the bf's email address.

So I got Aloha Orchid for myself. At the time we claimed this offer, the bf did not get the email yet. He only got it a few hours after.

Then, when I checked my mail today, I got a few things, most of them I am very happy with.

April 2014 issue of Marie Claire - free 1 year subscription c/o mercury magazines. This is my 4th issue so far.
March 2014 issue of Vogue - free 1 year subscription - points redeened from rewardsurvey.com. This is my 1st issue so far.

Then a couple of weeks ago, me and the bf had signed up to get free magicbands from Walt Disney World. They are offering this to annual passholders. Since we plan to renew our passes every year to WDW (We live 2 1/2 hrs away from Orlando so it us not a biggie to drive there and just spend an entire day there and go back home), we thought this would be an excellent deal.

I love the level of detail the package has. And also that you can customize your magicband. As you can see, my name is printed in the box.. and embossed in the magicband. The boyfriend's name is printed and embossed on his. He just had to pick the colour blue.

So, there you go. Another day of freebies. Out of pocket: $0

Maybe next week I'll post what I borrowed from the library :)

Where else can you find a place that has amazing deals?
This is one of the reasons why i love living in America.

Out of pocket:
$1.87 for hand sanitizers (x4)
$3 for L'Occitane hand cream fans edition

Freebies:
4 fragrance mists from BBW - full size.
3 travel sized lotion/shower gel

How to get it:
Liked L'Occitane and claimed an offer they had for cheap hand cream (L'Occitane is an expensive brand. The mere fact that I could get 3 hand creams for $3 was an excellent steal)

Claimed 2 separate offers last Thursday and Friday for BBW. Free fragrance mist with any purchase as a celebration of the fragrance day. Decided to just buy pocketbac as it was the cheapestthing they had in the store that i would definitely use (I did consider getting the pocketbac holder for $.50 but I don't really use it as much)

Redeemed a coupon for free travel sized signature collection, no purchase necessary. This coupon was mailed to my bf's parents house, and his mum gave it to me cos she knows how much Iove BBW.

Redeemed an offer to get a travel sized lotion from the new Hawaii collection.

Note: my bf claims deals and offers with me so we gave 2 of everything.

So, this book was in my to-read list for the longest time - as a big follower of nomadicmatt.com, I figured this would be a good way to get more travel-related information and how to save while traveling long term.

I was gravely disappointed.

I thought it was going to be full of new information that you wouldn't have read before from his (or other) travel blogs, but some of these tips are common sense, or would be known for people who have backpacked - even for some time.

Case and point - I think every chapter says - "ask your hotel/hostel for recommendations". I was thinking "Uhm I read this book to get your opinion on tips and recommendations, I don't really need you to tell me to ask the hotel/hostel people."

Also, I find that to really only travel the world on $50, it would entail a lot of eating in & cooking. While I do that sometimes when I travel, it is also fun to just walk around and eat in local food places and try new stuff.
The $50 budget would also mean trying to cut back on a lot of activities. Now why would I want to travel the world without checking out the sites or doing something new for the first time? Just not feasible for me.

This book would be perfect for a first time traveler who is not quite sure how much to save up for their first trip abroad, however for people who have managed to backpack around and survive, you'll probably just get bored reading this book.

Book was borrowed from Jacksonville Public Library.

On another note - I am wearing the shawl I bought from Cambodia and I swear to god, it still smells like Cambodia!! I miss Cambodia and backpacking now!!!

Summary from Goodreads:


Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.
In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.
The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.
Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke–about–town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous–though utterly romantic–results. But will she ever see him again?
Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.

This is a cute, cute book. I never expected to pick it up when I was back home - well, because I have a rule back home that if it isn't available at a second hand book shop, I won't buy it. Since I've moved to America and knowing that the nearest district library is just two blocks away, and my boyfriend's apartment building is beside the main library, I decided to track down a copy and borrow it.

This was originally recommended by a good friend of mine, who has read it a few years back and said it was a good read - she was correct. From the summary, Ginny receives a package from her dead aunt, who tells her to travel to different places and do several tasks - all expenses paid, of course. Now who wouldn't want to do that, right? I sure would love that. Travel for free? Hey, I'm in!

Ginny goes to London, Edinburgh, Paris, Greece, and Denmark (did I miss any countries) while following the letters - although she did not stay long in many of the places, which bummed me a bit. I mean, why spend all that money just going from one place to another, right? But oh well, every person's travel itinerary is different, and that's hers.

So, what do I think about the book? It's wonderfully written, and I also love anything that involves travel (not sure I mentioned that above too). I also love how realistic it is about the hostel senarios and meeting other people on the road. Oh, and also losing your stuff - did I mention that I lost my camera when I was backpacking? Oh well. I did also get my fair share of horrible hostels that I stayed in, ahh those were the days.

So, overall, I would say - PICK UP THIS BOOK!

Book was borrowed from my local library (Jacksonville, FL - Main branch).

125th street subway station.
New York!

NYC goodies bought. CO Bigelows

I should always do a quick look back post each and every year, regardless if I'm feeling lazy or not.

So, 2013 is a roller coaster year for me. Here's a breakdown of what I did:

1) Passed CIMA C04: Business Economics Exam. Yay!
2) Went to Siem Reap & Phnom Penh, Cambodia - February 2013
3) Went to Bangkok, Kanchanaburi & Pattaya, Thailand - March 2013
4) Went to Calaguas Island, Philippines - May 2013
5) Went to Dumaguete, Siquijor & Oslob, Cebu - May 2013
6) Went to El Nido & Puerto Princesa, Palawan - August 2013
7) Went to Singapore & the 2013 Grand Prix, and Johor Bahru, Malaysia - September 2013
8) Moved to America - Jacksonville, Florida - October 11, 2013
9) Finished 4 books: One Day - David Nicholls, The Fault in Our Stars - John Green, and two others I cannot remember for the life of me, to be honest.
10) Fell out of love.
11) Fell back in love
12) Discovered and did things I never thought I would before.
13) Went to Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island in Florida - November 2013
14) Went to Charleston, South Carolina - November 2013
15) Went to Cumberland Island, Georgia - November 2013
16) New York City - December 2013.
17) Been to 4 States (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, New York) in the United States of America within a span of two months - a great feat indeed!
18) Conquered Batad, Benguet - June 2013

Here's to more travels, adventures, and experiences ahead :) Here's to 2014!

I've just checked and the last time I blogged was two months ago, wow. I haven't really been up to much, just traveling and well, living my life in general. It was only a few days ago that I got to finish a book, and it was "One Day" by David Nicholls.
I initially started this book two years ago, when I picked it up from Tesco while I was living in the UK. I picked this up again in Manila, and now, I finished it when I am now living in the US

It was a cute story - of course, I've seen the movie before I read the book but the movie and the story did not really differ much from each other. It's the story about Emma and Dexter, who met in uni, had gone their separate ways, but remained friends despite everything else.

And while it does have a tragic ending, the book paints a really, really cute picture of two people who should belong together, and do belong together, even during the years that they are not together as a couple.

It is a story of love, and loss, of moving on, growing up, and everything that life can throw at you.
What I like about this story is that it's so realistic, it paints an entirely big picture of how big and bad the world is.
I also love the fact that it paints a very, very great picture of Edinburgh too, one of my favourite cities in the world!
Do pick this book up if you liked the movie, available at your local bookstores online or in-store.