The Life of Sophia Ysabel

Tentatively, I slowly began to open my eyes after a good night's rest by the sound of a possibly too hyper toddler's giggles. "Oh, Sophia's awake. Mayap a abak pu!*" Mamu, my always cheerful grandma, greeted me. "Mayap a abak pu, Mamu..." I murmured groggily, my body heavy and eyes narrowed, still adjusting to the sudden brightness. I would've at least tried to match my grandma's jolly tone to my greeting, but the usual morning grogginess weighs me down, and affected my tone of words.  If everyone is in a good mood, then I have to be too, I decided. Flashing a smile to my uncle and greeting him a brief "good morning!", I strode toward the bathroom, towel and attire in hand. Disneyland trip with my family, here we go!! * As a girl who'd been living in New Zealand for 5 and a bit years, I never anticipated that I would be hit with a ferocious bone-chilling thrust of breeze when the automatic doors ushered me outside into the busy stre...

Previously on " Going to Hongkong Disneyland for a family trip .𖥔 ݁ ˖"... "Great. What are we gonna do for the next 3 hours now?" I dejectedly say. "Well, we could find the nearest Jollibee..." Mum mindlessly states while searching for the nearest Jollibee in Google Maps, and there's a brief moment of silence. She looks stern as her index fingers do a series of scrolling before exclaiming "THERE'S ONE 3 MINUTES AWAY." "Really?? WHERE?!"  "It's in Tsuen Wan West... exactly where we are right now." We both stare at each other, then without a moment to waste, starving and desperate, head to the Jollibee. The automatic sliding doors move out of the way to reveal frigid air, sending goosebumps down my whole body. A step outside and we're both crossing our arms, shivering. But no pain no gain. We are hungry. We are freezing. But we  must  push through. So we power on through the cold, which feels like we're insi...

Hello everyone 😚!! We're officially in 2026, the brand new year has started, and... it's almost the end of January. I feel like the first 2 or 3 months of the year feel unbelievably quick, and it eventually starts to slow down after settling into the new year. And it won't feel like a new year anymore. Hopefully new year's resolutions have been written down, and you've already spent the holidays with your loved ones just last month. So with that, new year means new blogs waiting to be uploaded, and right now I'm highly motivated to make quality content~!  {Slight change on uploading schedule: I'll be uploading blogs on Fridays, instead of Saturdays and Wednesdays } So now about this family trip of mine. It's been one my parents had been stressing over the most during the holidays, endless and piling lists of flights, itineraries and accommodations to book. And it's not just 1 or 2 countries that need bookings to tend to. It's 5 ?! A nd this re...

Previously... Smoothly, they conclude the dance by exiting the stage, and back into the original situation. It's almost like the dance scene never even occurred in the first place. "Whoa... so this is how Christmas is like in New Zealand." Olaf, still starstruck, comments on a few second's term of events. "Yup! Christmas time here in Aotearoa is always magical.", agrees Aroha. "We really hope you enjoy your stay here Olaf and Aroha! ...Now, how many nights will you stay?" They both sort out the final details, and Olaf can't help but wonder why Aroha is going out of her way and doing all of this. It's most likely out of the goodness of her heart. Olaf is touched by this, and wishes to repay her back somehow. "Thank you so much for everything, William. It was magical!" Aroha lights up more brighter than a Christmas tree. "You are absolutely welcome! Bye!" William walks off, still his hospitable manners showing in his face....

Previously on the last blog... Singing the last line, concluding the song, everyone gives applause for their admirable talent. I do so too. It was nice for once to be part of the audience instead of being the one singing of stage. Presumably, the host walks up to the stage, mike in hand, with a huge welcoming grin on his face. It reminds me of those TV game shows where the host walks up to the area and says all their repeated lines. But this time, instead of watching it on TV, I'm watching it in real life. And it's beginning right now. "Welcome to the Queenstown Christmas Show 2025!!" The crowd's deafening cheers and bellows erupt the whole room in an instant. "I'm Eric, and I'll be your host for today's Christmas Show. But before we begin, let me run some safety protocols to keep us safe." He drones on about nearby exits, what to do when there's an earthquake, locations of toilets, etc. After finishing with the safety procedures and warm...