Pet Peeve #015

One of things I hate─HATE─HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE! are people who are in a perpetual state of out-of-body experience because every time you ask them something, it seems like they first have to find they souls in abyss before gaining consciousness, reflect on your question like you were questioning their moral fiber when all the while you were asking if they have eaten or not. 

Unfortunately, like a ceaseless punishment, some of these people are permanently linked to me...and this often result to a quick conversation, usually ending with me just going quiet, walking away, or asking the next person closest to me. I ask, "Do you think it's cold?" And the person stares at a distance, contemplates on why the weather is such then goes in a slow voice, "N-noooo...I don't think so...mmmaaaaybe, noooot sure." WRAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!    

QLC Moment #19

The other day my cousins, brother and I went out for dinner at Jaime's...and since we only managed to consume a few amount of beer by the end of the meal, my brother made me drive to another drinking spot for another round because he refused to go home without a proper alcohol-toxicity level. And while our cousins have all gone home, he, over a bottle of beer started talking about frustrated dreams and an unplanned life direction...and how I should not follow in his footsteps. 

There, in front of me was a man in his mid-thirties, telling me that adulthood is about survival. Childhood dreams no longer matter, it's about earning a living and paying the bills. I felt sorry for him; at this point, at my age, there is still a sense of idealism in me, unwilling to accept that as long as I have money in my pocket I'm fine and dreams need not fulfilled. I guess, life may have beaten me around a bit, but that should not stop me from ever giving up what I had set out to do. I refuse to let cynicism set in. It's gonna set my world into a flurry of grays and uninspired smiles. 

He said he strayed away too much for too long from his plans, that his detour kept him off the track more than he had realized and perhaps there's no going back but forward. I told him to wait for signs, that it's not too late, but he said that asking for signs can result to a lot of confusion. Far too many times he felt he has misinterpreted the signs being given, resulting him to further distance from the right track. He confessed that he had stopped asking for signs years ago, now he only prays for proper discernment...that he may find the strength to continue with whatever decision he might make with his life, and in the long run realize his life's purpose. Right now, his only concerns are what really matters to him, and us, his family.

I assured him not to worry, because as stupid as it might sound, this whole bum thing is still part of the ultimate game plan I had made way back in highschool. The whole jumping from one job to another, maintaining that uncertainty of finding a stable long-term 8-hour office job is, a sort of, half-conscious decision to keep my focus on the goal, and to avoid from staying too long in the grasps of self-serving corporations. Far too many people question my unorthodox strategy especially after leaving one of the biggest companies for this experimental business venture with my friends. Unknown to them, working for that company was just another one of those detours because I considered it as just one of those curious childhood what-ifs checked off my list of targets. Though it may be part of my dreams, it was never THE ultimate dream. 

So yeah...now I'm keeping myself in check...am I still within the realms of the world I had dreamt of building for myself? Maybe so...just some delays here and there, but definitely I'm still playing the game.

Catanduanes Escape 2016

In line with my 2016 Roundup post, claiming the Catanduanes trip as my "Most Fun 2016 Memory" and as part of my 2017 bucketlist of posting more entries on my blog, I find it a bit necessary to share my experience on that trip...even if it's been a while back.

My ignorance resulted to a baffled expression when I was told that we had to take the roro to reach Catanduanes. I have always imagined it to be just another one of those coastal towns somewhere along the edge of Luzon. Nope, it took us 3 hours of roro from the city of Tabaco to get to the port of San Andres, Catanduanes. One thing you must consider when planning the trip is the time because the roro schedules are only between 7am-1pm, with about two hours in between trips, if I remember correctly. And if you miss that last trip back, consider yourself stranded on the island until the next roro arrives the next morning. The land trip will also roughly take you 10-12 hours from Metro Manila to the port of Tabaco, plus the 3-hour boat ride. A real pain on the butt, literally. 

Is it worth the trouble? 

2016 Roundup

This 2016, there may have been a lot of global historical pitfalls, but to me it was a steady-gradual-in-the-middle year. Not too many highs and lows, just a year in between. Though I never forgot to keep my promise to myself last year of reaching new places locally, to the extent of my remaining savings, I was not able to get a new stamp on my passport this year. It was a year of certain news, and a whole lot of budgeting involved.

The year opened with a couple of freelance jobs to keep me busy the first few months, then subdued mid-year, and I was back into bazaars by year-end. The constant question that remained was whether I was ready to go back into the workforce or not. At the end of it, as it turned out, I was no longer that interested in a regular job. The freelance lifestyle has been really practical, especially when it comes to avoiding the rush hour and unfortunate days when thunderstorms bring in a hard time to leave the house. I'm no longer, for several months, used to the regular time schedule of a 9am-6pm office employee...for a time, I slept at 2am-9am. I am still my own boss, though a whole lot poorer this time around. Still, looking back, I made it through. Just when I thought that my money has reached its bottom limit, something comes up, and that's how I survived the rest of the year with a few vacations in between. A lot of the time my freelance was somewhat related to weddings, from prenup to a bridal shower to actual weddings...either a stylist or a coordinator. It may be draining, but it is definitely a more rewarding feeling than a collared job. 

Another thing about this year is that my brother and I began hosting parties just for the heck of it. Mostly it's intimate dinners with a couple of friends, other times it was just a drinking session that often ended with several empty bottles of beer and brandy. It came to a point that some of our friends would "book" us and our place for their birthdays, free of charge of course. This year we started collecting chopping boards and dining wares specifically for hosting purposes. It's part of the perks of having our own place where we can be ourselves, no worries about being told "It's late! Get to sleep!" at midnight. When we're tired, we go in our room and sleep, leaving guests to decided on their own...which is the part that makes them even more at home with us. Because that's the kind of host my brother and I are. And we do it without apologies. At the end of it all, we create great memories with everyone right under our roof─plus several leftover food for the week ahead. Win-win.

My Top 2016 Whatevers

Wow Moment: Getting an invitation to appear on PTV’s Good Morning Pilipinas show for Teacup Ideas to do a guesting on their Artsy Crafty segment last December 15. Never imagined to be made as a guest for an interview and demo on live television.

Heart Pumping: Just yesterday, December 30, when I was at the edge of the boat and realized that I was about to jump off a probably a twelve-foot height and into the water where I could not see the bottom because it was that deep. I have a certain fear of deep waters, and having a life jacket on did not completely remove that fear.

Davao City

Most Stressful: Trying to get a hold of Coldplay tickets for their concert in Manila next year. For an entire week I was so stressed finding any means to making sure I get them. I was seriously losing sleep and hair from the moment they announced they were about to release the tickets and everyone wanted one! Especially when the preselling of the tickets was sold out in a matter of minutes!!! 

Scariest: At Davao’s Eden resort, when we did the Sky Cycle, wherein we had to bike on a cable wire that is suspended about sixty feet off the ground for about fifty meters. That initial release of when the bike slid off the ramp and I looked down and saw that the only thing that is holding onto me was the harness on my back and the cable between the wheel. And the less you pedal on the bike the longer the agony, and the faster you go the greater the cables wobble. So yeah, that was awful...my niece even complained peeing on her pants, while my other niece was crying throughout the ride.

Lakawon Island, Cadiz City. The last time I came here it was barren, and the beach was clad full of starfishes and sea urchins. Now it's full of cottages and has no starfish or sea urchins, though the water is still itchy just like 20 years ago.

My overnight birthday trip to Legazpi was chuck full of bad lucks and frustrating memories.

Worst: It was also just yesterday, December 30, when I jumped off the boat with my life vest on, and for some stupid reason I jumped off laughing, so by the time I dropped in the water I was out of breath. In those few seconds after feeling the painful impact of the water I could feel myself suffocating, and it was the absolute worst feeling that I might be drowning because I was struggling to reach the surface as my lungs were collapsing. I could not hear anything under water and it was deafening, it was murky that I could not see anything but translucent teal. The greatest relief came when I broke out of the surface and was able to catch my breath again. Other than that, it was frighteningly fun.

Un-luckiest Moment: Crap, I still feel the air of bad luck whenever I think about it. It was supposedly an awesome spontaneous birthday adventure with a few friends, to go to Legaspi for the weekend and have an ATV trail up Mt. Mayon…but things turned from exciting to stressful when we realized that there was a typhoon coming in that weekend. As the bad omen was brewing my friend asked if we could rebook the flight, but I had to refuse because I was leaving the next weekend for another vacation and it will be over my birth month by the time I’d come back. So, we had our plane tickets, hotel reserved, and our itinerary ready for the trip. Our flight was at 5:30am, at 11pm, a few hours before the trip Cebu Pacific called saying that our flight was cancelled for reasons they did not bother to explain. We pushed on, accepting the 9:30am flight…by 7am we were at the airport…by 9am it was announced that the flight will be delayed for 1 hour…three annoying hours after we departed for Legaspi at 1:30pm. We arrived very late for our schedule, in turn had to give up two activities off the itinerary. We got to the hotel, the rain started pouring in, and just when my friend said, “It could not possibly get worse than this!” just like on cue for a comedy, the air conditioner stopped. The powers went out…there was a black out. We all shrieked in laugher at how miserable we were.  That night we pushed on our trip to Sorsogon for the firefly watching…we were the only ones who were there in the middle of the night, searching for fireflies under the rain, a little bit wet. The next day, we went to the ATV place as planned…and it was practically showering all the way through, at least we weren’t soaked to the bones. Our biggest disappointment was that Lady Mayon did not show herself, save for her feet. We really wanted to see her up close, but that did not happen. Also, we practically starved for two days because we never had a proper meal save for one dinner that we had at 10pm, other than that we skipped through two lunches at breakfasts. Apparently, I was with a group of jinxed people as I was NEVER that consecutively unlucky for the entire duration of the trip…in fact I have good luck when it comes to travelling…but I was overpowered by a three-people-bad luck-combo.

Stupidest: Locking myself out of the condo because I was shooing a fly out. It landed on my cup and I was quick enough to trap it in…and since it felt like a gross idea to kill it inside my cup I was kind enough to release it outside. The moment I stepped out the door, the wind blew real strong, pushing and shutting me out of my own place─on the day I decided to wear a real thin shirt with no bra. Just when my stupidity sank in, a horde of people started passing my area that I had to pretend it was my intention to watch television through the window…that was luckily open that time. It took three attempts and a lot of muscle pain before I finally, successfully, climb up the window and get myself in. If people saw the CCTV footage, I swear it would pass for those funny home videos. Urgh! Stupid fly!

I've always wanted to see the Good Friday procession at Baliuag, Bulacan. It is as grandiose as they the news states. 

I must've spent many many hours playing this game, Elvenar, this year. I love elves, and this game muses me.

Regretful: Delaying my visit to one of my lolas. We had planned to visit her a month before her birthday, but concluded that it would be better to visit her on her birthday as a surprise. Unfortunately she died a few days before her birthday. It was a painful move, and regretful most of all.

Most Kilig: Finding a new guy to crush on?

Coolest: Riding and driving an ATV up the Mayon trail. The feeling of the engine roaring, and that power of the wheels above the uneven terrain was a pretty cool feeling. It was especially cool maneuvering it through mud-rocks out a newly cemented road and seeing the beautiful landscape below. I could still remember the smirk I had when I saw the sight. 

Heart Warming: Getting a letter from Save the Children Org that I've done something amazing, and that I'm making a difference for children. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

A few of the highlights of my freelance job this year.

Proudest Moment: That moment I saw myself being interviewed for a TV show.

Cutest: Holding Baby Abram at his baptism. It was the first time I got to hold a really cute baby after so many years.

Most Fun: My trip to Catanduanes with a group of old and new friends. It was just a light group to be with despite long hours of being stuck in the van.

Wildest: Just allowing myself to do a few extreme activities this year, from ziplines to biking on a cable to diving off into a really deep water.

Most Challenging: Still, as forever has been, time management. Because I don't live by routine, my body clock was all over the place.

A view from the port at Tobaco. Mt. Mayon showed itself to us the first time I went there. The upper right photos are from Binurong Point. It was an awesome view, though we were pressed for time. The lowers pics are from Puraran beach.

Masungi Georeserve at Rizal. It was a tiring but breathtaking trek to experience. So much beauty in nature here.

Magical Moment: Staring at a whole bunch of mangrove trees flickering with thousands of fireflies in the middle of the river. I've seen fireflies, one or three zoom pass me, but not in the thousands. I could remember the stillness of the night as we stared in awe at what looked like nature's Christmas tree. And although holding one on my hand kinda semi-freaked me out because it looks like a cockroach with its butt on fire, seeing the natural glow was magical.

Mesmerizing: Watching dozens of hot air balloon take flight in the sky at the break of dawn. It's one of those that make you stare up the sky in silent contemplation, almost unmoving until you see it disappear at the distance.

Awe-Inspiring: Seeing Mt. Mayon's in all its majestic beauty.  

Best Feeling: Getting hold of the Coldplay tickets. It was really just the best feeling I could describe that in an almost impossible feat, I made it happen. Though the struggle was real, I got it in the end.

OMG Moment: Realizing that our guesting on TV was LIVE and not a taping with cuts and all─three minutes before we were asked to go on air! When the invitation of PTV for Teacup Ideas to appear on TV came, we did a few adjustments for us to be present on the taping. There were no instructions or too much details given, save that we go to the studio at 6:30am. Not knowing about the whole live-TV guesting thing, we arrived a little late due to not having a service that morning. So, we were there by 7am, got our hair and makeup done...we were then told to proceed to the studio, the host gave up sample questions then you know that moment when you just have to ask, "Is this live?" and she said "Yes." I just remember telling two of my friends with an OMG expression that we were going in with no take twos. Panic never had the chance to set in before we were told that we had to take our places because the segment was about to start. It's quite a funny story to tell, especially when I recall the faces we made upon that realization. It was all too sudden, that we were not able to contact any of our family nor friends that we were going on air. The conversation went something like, "When are we going to see you on TV?" and we go, "It's over."

Best Discovery: Manjuyod Sandbar in Bais. Seriously, it was the best swim I had this year, and probably one of the best swims I experienced─EVER!!!

Manjuyod sandbar at Bais. Yes, there are that many shades of blue in the water there, and the wild oysters are almost that big as the watermelon beside it. The water was really calm, it wasn't that salty, and it is as clear as it could get.

The first time I went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival, we didn't made it in time to see the balloons, just the air show. This time, we slept the night before, and was one of the first to arrive, giving us premium position to see them take flight.

Favorite 2016 Drink: Malagos 70% Dark Chocolate being turned into hot chocolate.

Favorite 2016 Food: Crispy Chicken Sliders and Onion Cube from POUND by Todd English, and Vigan Longganisa with a side of Buttered Cabbage that I must’ve cooked for many meals this year.

Favorite 2016 Dessert: Profiterole from Paul Boulangerie and the Zucchini Cake from Karen's Kitchen

Favorite 2016 Restaurant: POUND by Todd English

Unforgettable Meal: The lunch we had at Cafe Tavera in Davao. That grilled tuna belly and tangigue ceviche was spot on. Also, the tuna sashimi that was freshly caught and specifically air-lifted via helicopter from Gen San to Davao as a surprise gift to the diamond couple. I'm usually allergic to uncooked tuna due to mercury content if it's not fresh enough, but that one did not made me turn red nor itch because it took a few hours from the sea to the table at the wedding reception. Man, Davao has good food...something to look forward to again on my next visit.

Clockwise from upper left: The Malagos Dark Chocolate I bought at Davao is worthy of its international recognition; The lobsters were bought at Puraran beach for only P200 a pair; The Satay Bee Hon from the International Street Food Festival at BGC that I went in line for two hours to taste; A third of our feast during our Christmas party with the family, wherein it was the first time the lechon was ignored because the rest of the dishes were divine; The Crispy Chicken Sliders from Pound is something I craved for a few times this year; The cheese room at Sprial Sofitel...that Camembert was heaven!  

Favorite 2016 Hang Out: My room, especially after I cleaned it up.

Favorite 2016 Songs: Nervous by Gavin James, ILYSB by Lany, Up&Up by Coldplay, Send My Love by Adele

Favorite 2016 Movies: Doctor Strange because it tapped into the whole new age theme that I like. And The Little Prince...I know it's a 2015 movie, but I saw it in 2016...and not only because I am biased as it is my favorite children's book, the animation is charming as the added storyline did not destroy the magic of the original one.

Favorite 2016 People: The people I went on a trip to Catanduanes with, because we became fast friends after meeting on the trip for the first time. And of course the three people involved who made it possible for me to get my Coldplay tickets. ~Oh angels sent from up above, you know you make my world light up, when I was down, when I was hurt~~~

Will Be Most Missed in 2016: I'm not sure...maybe if they ban firecrackers from the public, I'd miss the smell of the gun powder after the firecrackers explode, and that feeling of holding it or lighting the fuse. Other than that, there's nothing to look back on.

My brother and I really got into hosting dinner parties this year. We made a lot of new friends this way. I would do the cooking, and he would do the plating, while our guests did the clean up. Several celebrated their birthdays with us because of it. It's both fun and tiring though.

A few of the events I went to this year. And YES! That's the Coldplay tickets right there! <3 

Achievement Unlocked this 2016: 
1. Stepping foot on Mindanao soil─finally! I've been wanting to go to Davao for as long as I could remember, but it never pushed through until this year, when my aunt and uncle decided to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary there, bringing the whole family along.
2. Working on a project for Ayala Corp. even just for a freelance job. Ayala has always been one of my target companies to work for, and being made to do an artwork for one of their offices is absolutely an honor.
3. Driving an ATV. As young as I could remember, it has always been my dream to drive one.
4. Seeing the perfect cone of Mt. Mayon. It's been a curiosity since those grade school days when we were being asked to bring postcards in class, and the photo of the Cagsawa Ruins with the volcano peeking from behind has always been present.
5. Being an event stylist for a wedding. The opportunity finally arrived this year when we were asked to do the setup for the reception of a wedding, and it turned out well in the end.
6. Receiving a 5-digit commission for an artwork. That was a $_$ moment.
7. Appearing on live TV for one whole segment.
8. Sort-of cliff jumping. Well, it wasn't a cliff exactly, but it was high enough.

Lesson Learned for 2016: I can survive accordingly within my means─simply because I have no choice and nothing else.

First Time Places I Went to this 2016: Davao City, Tagum City, Legazpi City, Sorsogon City, Tabaco City, Catanduanes Island, Bais City, Tanay Rizal, Baliuag Bulacan

2017 Bucket List:
1. Going to a place for the first time. Anywhere, near or far, as long as I've never been there my whole life.
2. Deleting unnecessary files on my laptop, like old photos and that take up so much of my disk space.
3. Be in top condition at some point this year because boy, am I out of it.
4. Post more blog entries. I've gotten a lot more useless this past two years, considering the amount of time I have on my hands. Typical.

Scary Stuff: Part 2

Amazing how it felt only a few months ago when I wrote three personal experiences of the paranormal, now it's that time of year again when all I see on TV and online are horror specials.

I wanted to start writing the entry around 1AM today...but I must've watched too many Halloween specials on TV that my imagination started playing tricks on me, you know, that feeling of paranoia that something might pop up in front me anytime soon, so I decided to sleep instead. I had my rest, and though I'm feeling a migraine coming on, I'll finish typing this down before the day ends.

Unlike last year, I'll just write two personal experiences for this year's scary story entry...my paranormal moments had been slow lately─not that I'm wishing for one any time soon. Both experiences happened during college days...which was like─OMG!!! D: ─ten years ago, because both occurrences happened in and around my school. Go USTe! And as promised a year ago, I'll tell you about my experience living in a dorm near our school.

The Hospital Turned Dormitory 

The dormitory I'm talking about is an all-girls dormitory right along España Blvd. It's right across the main gate of UST, the old building standing on the opposite end of the foot bridge that is situated near the main gate. I was with my mom and my tita out dorm-hunting when we came across the building. My mother being named Concepcion felt at ease when she saw the name. We went it, and a nun gave a tour of the gloomy place. It had been around for seventy-five years when we came there, and apparently it was a health center during World War II. A piece of information I came by when it was already too late to back out. The nun showed us a couple of available rooms, but it was on the fourth floor, right beside the fire exit that we made a this-is-the-one moment. I can't remember the room number, but I could clearly recall that it was the only room out of all the rooms we saw that had a religious statue placed on top of a shelf. The room was an electric fan room for three occupants, and there were a lot of potted plants on the fire exit stairs, and a lone bathroom at the end of the hallway. It was a St. Anne statue, my mother's patron saint. The nun serenely explained that they leave the statue there and have it and the room blessed once a week a least. I assumed it was just a typical thing...but as it turned out there's a reason for that. 

As a sixteen-year-old who left her hometown to be on her own for the first time and is made to stay in an all girls dorm, but is left by her roommates on the weekends to be on her own. And on the weekends, when she's on her own, she feels like there's someone staring at her from the corner of the room. Yep, it felt like a plot-material for horror story. It was horrible! There were nights when we would hear someone knocking on our door only to open it with no one in sight. It happened often enough that we would even ask our dorm-mates whether they were playing a prank on us. But no, even if we would go out and check the down to the corners of the corridors if they were hiding, we never saw anyone. It was usually three light knocks on the door, sometimes louder, but often times it would repeat every few minutes and only stops if we open the door. It was because of that fact that I would sleep with the doors open whenever I'm on my own, other times I would invite other dorm-mates to sleep with me in the room. There was a constant feeling of being stared at by someone whenever I was alone, even in broad daylight. The moment I stepped in that dorm, they air suddenly becomes heavy and it was less than a delightful feeling. Huhuhu...I'm so happy I survived four whole months in there. 

At some point, other girls would give me subtle clues that they knew something I didn't. A month before the end of the semester one of my two roommates moved out because she was done with the review leaving only two of us...and that roommate of mine always makes sure to go home three days a week, urgh! Majority of those who stayed in the dorm were CPA graduates reviewing for the board exams. Right after the board, two thirds of the occupants were gone, leaving us poor innocent students on our own. There were also days when we talked about scary stuff, and they would claim that there are times when the shower in the common bathroom would suddenly open on its own, or a toilet would flush with no one in the cubicle. One even showed me a photo of a sort of distorted face posing behind their group pic on our floor...but no one would ever tell me anything about the room I was sleeping in. The staff would dismiss any question regarding the paranormal, while other girls would say they'd tell me only after my last night there. It was both frustrating and unnerving being told an open ended piece of information.  

Anyway, fast forward to my last day...I had finished moving out my stuff because I was to transfer to my uncle's townhouse in Cubao─thankfully─for the rest of my college life, I went to my friend who owed me a story. She said, the room I was staying in was the room of girl who committed suicide inside the closet. The story goes that she took the CPA board exams, lost faith in herself and could not contain the possibility of failing the board so she hung herself in one of the closets in our room. Thankfully not mine, but the one next to the door that we kept hearing knocks. To add to the tragedy of the story, it turned out that she passed the board exams...killing herself in vain. 

The Balete Tree Near the Grand Stand

If you ever go to UST, notice that there's a huge balete tree on the left side of the stage behind the grand stand. It's the one beside the ROTC office and across the publishing house; a stone throw away from the Beato Angelico Building─my CFAD building. Below the tree there's a faucet there...and we were busy doing our plate then in one of the pavilions. I, needing to wash my paint palette clean, lazily decided to wash it using the faucet there instead of the one in the CR. I was alone when I did this, cleaning the paint off my palette using my hand and washing my hand after as well. It took a few minutes after washing my palette when I felt pain on my legs. I tried to ignore it at first, but the pain kept on. Maybe ten minutes after my using of the faucet below the balete that I went to the CR to pee, and when I pulled down by pants and saw my legs I was horrified with what I saw. My legs were full of black and violet patches, scattered all over were bruises reaching probably twenty individual small bruises that I could not explain. It was painful, and it hurt every time I took a step. I chose to ignore it at first, not really knowing how to handle the situation. On the second day it didn't hurt as much, but both my ankles started to swell like I was having a gout or arthritis or something. I could clearly remember how slowly I had to walk then because it was numbing to a point. It was actually the turning point in my life when it came to eating bitter melons because I hated that stuff, but I was constantly being told that it's good for blood circulation. For the first time in my life then I was forced to eat an entire serving of pinakbet without leaving the ampalaya on the side. On the third day I decided have it checked in the clinic. The doctor said it must be an inflammation of the muscles of some sort because I was too young for joint illnesses, so he gave my medication. I drank it for three days but nothing happened. It was during the weekend, five days after the incident when I finally told my family about it because I was not getting any better. The patches of bruise on my legs had turned yellow and starting to heal, but the sore on my ankles never improved.

I'm glad that one of my mom's sister was in Manila that time and I told her what happened. I was still staying in the dorm then when it happened, and it was during the weekend when I went to see my uncle and aunt in Cubao that I was able to ask for help. Luckily they know a mangtatawas...or taga tawas or mytical healer something, a guy who does rituals for those who are being bothered by elementals. They texted my full name to the guy and explained what happened. He did the ritual with a candle and I was told that a bunch of dwarves or tree druids did not like getting wet so they made me suffer for my actions. I was ordered to return to the tree and ask for forgiveness for what happened. Lo and behold, it took less than thirty minutes after the text that the inflammation on my feet healed, all pain completely gone. As quickly as I was hurting, I was restored. That experience made deepened my belief of the occult and elementals and faith healers...that there's more to the stories than simply being legends.

A week after it was a full cycle, I was back under the balete, this time I asked two friends to come with me so if I go down we go down together. I can still vividly recall that awkward moment of me talking and bowing my head to a tree apologizing while my friends giggled right behind me. To this day, I never went near that tree again...and my friends who witnessed what I did still laughs at me whenever we come across that topic. 

Nervous by Gavin James

It's torture to have a Last Song Syndrome when you don't know the artist and the only lyrics that keep running in your head is something you can't Google nor ask your friends. In my case it's the "Ohhhhh-uhhhhh-whooooo-ohhhhh-whoooooo-ohhhhhh" part !!!! A very useless clue in the world of lyric-hunting. @#$%^&!!! I practically gave up, until, by some strike of luck I saw Gavin James being featured on MTV a week after my LSS. I don't normally watch MTV, but I was drawn to the channel earlier today, the BAM. Goosebumps. I felt my world stop for three minutes as his yodel sent chills down my spine and up my hair strands. Listening to this song is an experience. And finally knowing the title of the song and the artist is a relief. Now I don't have to make stuff up in my head to make some sort of assumption as to what he's singing other the ohhhhhhh.

It's only now when I'm reading the lyrics that the melancholy in the melody makes sense.

So I won't say I love you

It's too late

ILYSB by LANY

There is something very sensual about this song, and it helps that it's sung by a sexy voice. I've had this on repeat since last week because of the casualness of it all: beat, lyrics, and the works. 

The simpleness and the heartfelt chorus is what gets me. It describes perfectly the title of the song: I Love You So Bad

Oh my heart hurts so good

I love you babe, so bad, so bad

Oh yeah, oh my heart hurts so good

I love you babe, so bad, so bad