Yaya's 5th Year Death Anniversary

So time indeed flows fast and it's been five years since my yaya passed away. I have yet to finish my thesis proposal and I know I need to work on it soon to finally make my yaya proud. It's not so much the degree, but the pride associated with having completed graduate studies. My yaya knew the importance of education and I feel sorry for her because although she obtained honors when she was a student, she never got to college and had to work. She taught me many things but the most important thing she instilled in me is to be independent and to be specific, to strive for financial independence so that I can do whatever I want to do with life without being a parasite to anyone.

When I was in Spain, I have learned to let go of many things. This lockdown I can very well imagine how she must have felt living with toxic people for many days on end for many many years. I know now because just the first week of the lockdown last March, I wanted so bad to go back to living on my own. I really hate stupid people meddling in other people's affairs when their own lives are so messed up. So I am happy for my yaya now that she is in a pace where there is no suffering nor toxic people. Today I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, I made vegetarian fried rice composed of beans, carrots, tomatoes, and turmeric. For lunch, it's fish stew with tomatoes and chili. There was some rice left from breakfast so I paired it up with the fish resulting in a very colorful meal. For dinner, I made chicken lumpia shanghai. I love healthy food so I put in only a small amount of chicken and threw in carrots and onions as main filling. The critical part is frying it which is a success. I now know how to fry things up in such a way that they stay crunchy later for dinner. My yaya will definitely be super proud of me.

Fish stew with tomatoes over vege fried rice: I always tell my mom I must be half-Mexican half-Indian in my previous life.

Crunchy spring rolls without much guilt because there's more vegetables inside than meat. And I used chicken instead of pork.

I wish Q and I became close when my yaya was still with us. She will be very happy to see me with a gentle man who is very talented and despite that, very humble.

The Bund, Shanghai 04052013

After being enthralled and overwhelmed by the number of beautiful artifacts we saw in Shanghai Museum, we had a quick snack to wait until 6pm or so before we proceeded to The Bund. Before our trip, I had been researching on the place and I was expecting many people there since it's part of most (if not all) travel tours in Shanghai.

Samsung Building. I don't know if this is owned by Samsung or Samsung just put an ad on it...

It had begun to rain again. But at least now we were more prepared, having brought out our umbrellas for protection. Walking along East Zhongshan 1st Road and savoring the radiantly splendid architectural works that greet our eyes and which stretch until the end of the long road was a treat in itself, and for free, too. One cannot help but just bring out a camera and take consecutive shots of these Western-style buildings. Architecture students and enthusiasts will definitely love the place.

Pudong as seen from the Bund; note the many people despite the cold rain

We had our short rest at the end of Zhongshan road, in Huangpu Park. I was even more amazed at how the Chinese incorporate nature in its structures. A wall in Huangpu Park is covered with brightly colored flowers, adding up to the gaiety of the place at night.

colorful flowers on the wall and Customs House (right)

Customs House, considered as one of the most popular buildings in the Bund. And no wonder, since it  stands out  being a clock tower.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower as seen from the Bund on a rainy night