Wednesday, December 30, 2015

2015 Roundup



I wrote two things on my planner for my 2015 Bucket List—TWO very easy things: 1. Find a job, and 2. Get my SSS ID. OMG! Did I fail miserably! I mean, seriously, one year had passed, like 365 days since I wrote it but nada! Well, at least the find-a-job part was my choice to delay because every time I decided to start job-hunting something came up and I felt like the Universe was telling me “not yet” so I happily comply—at least I hope my interpretation is correct. As for the SSS ID part—holy crap! I completely forgot I ever wrote it!

My 2015 revolved around a couple of things: bazaars, accessory-making, travel, sleep, procrastination, food, TV, online surfing, hanging with friends, much down time and me-time. 2015 is what I would call the year of non-responsibility and live-with-what-you-got year. This is the supposed year that I had been dreaming of for the past four years now, wherein I survive and live without a job…in other words, be an unemployed-yet-not-so-miserable adult. Although I did survive on my savings, not having a stable income has been proven (by me) difficult…especially with my habitual spending attitude.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Stuff Accumulated this Christmas



Not belonging to an office got its downs and perks, for one, you both get to not receive nor feel obliged to buy gifts for officemates. This year, the gifts I got were mostly from kabarkadas and relatives, my favorites of which are or course the Herschel bag, the 2016 CBTL planner, and the cheque that I have not yet gotten from my parents...now I have something to survive on for the upcoming cash-drought season.

I've been more practical in buying Christmas gifts for others and myself. What I gave out were custom-made pouches by Teacup Ideas (the perks of having your own product,) while I bought myself only what I REALLY needed for 2016...like new pieces of underwear, cotton shirts, jogging pants, earphones and lotsa shorts. Help me, I'm poor. (-insert Kristen Wiig expression here-)

Let's go clockwise starting from the big bag:
1. Herchel Supply Hemp Collection: Little America Backpack
2. Forever 21 top (blue and white)
3. CBTL's The Giving Journal 2016
4. 70-200mm Lens Tumbler
5. Fake Nike Digicam Sling
6. Trader Joe's Coffee Spice Dry Rub
7. Soo Beaute Oriental Herbal Essence Mask (Ganoderma and Scutellaria-Ginseng)
8. Adidas Jogging Shorts (black and teal)
9. Designed by Zqfan Notebook
10. Le Petit Prince Notebook
11. Fullybooked Gift Card
12. Passport Case
13. Good Morning towel
14. Dove White Beauty Bar
15. Exped Charcoal Socks

Other gifts that are not on the pic are the foods because they're either frozen or half-way gone:
1. Victorias American Ham
2. A box of chocolate cake
3. Five Mini Frozen Pizzas
4. A bottle of Jarvi's Pesto Sauce
5. Three loaves of frozen garlic bread
6. A box of red velvet cake
7. A box of pound cake

--and oh yeah, the Mt. Pinatubo trek was also a Christmas gift. Yey for rich friends!! <3

Thank you...you! ;)

Friday, December 25, 2015

Snippets: Christmas in Boracay



Taken December 29, 2012...this was the time when the family decided to celebrate and greet the New Year 2013 in Boracay. I still remember how we convinced our mom to go with us, quite mean and firm actually since she wanted to do the usual yearly tradition of just staying at home and wait for midnight to strike, I plotted with my brother that we've already decided to celebrate on our own in Boracay with or without the rest of the family for a change...and that we could just celebrate the new year of 2014 together if they decide to stay. So yeah...she felt sad and pressured by that move that we ended up going with the whole family plus two other aunts for the new year. 

In rained real hard a few minutes before the clock struck midnight of the new year that we had to run to our hotel and celebrate our media noche over a can of sardines and a good laugh. When the rain subsided, we went out on the beach for the countdown and the fireworks display. The fireworks were meh but the experience was gold.

The Christmas tree was made out of seaweeds that had been piling up on the shores of Boracay for the past few years now...which is quite gross and sad. The snowman is of course made out of the fine white sand of Bora, while the rest are made out of random stuff at arms-reach from the spot.

Merry Christmas everyone! :3

Friday, December 18, 2015

Christmas Gift Wrapping Suggestion


When you're at point of friendship wherein you are so comfortable with each other that it doesn't bother you to wrap your present with something fancy, this is what you get. I used a crumpled piece of old newspaper found somewhere stuck in my brother's cabinet, and will be using the sando bag I got after buying can of sardines to protect the gift in case it rains. At least I'm concerned enough to wrap it in plastic, because we'll be hiking all the way to the lake at Mt. Pinatubo for our exchange gift...because we like to hassle ourselves for a different kind of Christmas party experience just because we can. 

Just like our friendship, no pretensions, what you see is what you get...but we know beneath that torn off page is a gift more valuable than the piece of canned sardines I bought it with. No, it's not tinapa! It's not edible either...but in all fairness to her, I made the effort to buy it off her wishlist. Of course, I got the easiest pick of the bunch.

Anyway...

Try it. It's recycled. It's economical. It's unique...and quite frankly, will be a fun memory the moment you'll see her reaction the moment you hand it to her.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

QLC Moment #16



Ever since Facebook started featuring throwback photos in your timeline, stating the number of years it's been since you posted it made me realize that I can now count in decades. Statements like, "OMG that was five-eight-ten years ago...and that other thing was twenty years ago!"can now be stated as facts and not over exaggeration of years!!!!!!!!!!! Crap...certain memories can now be realistically labelled as "that-was-decades-ago". Oh yes, that bittersweet feeling of unconsciously aging will surprise you to no bounds when you one day realize that it's been THAT long. Does that make it a good thing?

Friday, November 27, 2015

Snippets: Don Salvador Benedicto



Taken November 11, 2009...this is undoubtedly one of my favorite views of Negros. I remember driving all the way here last October 11, almost exactly six years after this photo was take, just to sit and stare at the view. I had to drive for over two hours (because I got lost along the way since I was alone and refused to ask for directions) before I managed to park the car at the side of the road and breathe in the moment. Despite my feet hurting from the non-stop drive, just to sit still and listen to my roadtrip playlist made it all worth it. 

To get lost in the moment and find myself staring into the world in silent mediation are times that's a little hard to come by these days. Especially with a landscape like this. A contemplative moment of appreciation for the world is always a good thing to do, every now and then. To get away from it all and live for the moment, a different perspective of the term YOLO...no adrenaline rush, rather a subtle way of realizing that it's good to be alive, even for just one lifetime. That was how I felt that day.

I've passed by here a couple of times, mostly with friends or family for a trip to a resort or Dumaguete. Ever since the first time I passed by the area and looked out the window, I promised myself then that one day I'll be returning to this very spot on my own just so I won't be in a hurry; to no longer just see this place as a stretch of road but a temporary stop where I created a memory. That moment finally happened, and it was bliss...a stark contrast of what I felt like arriving back home after five long hours of driving in total that day.

The road sits at the foot of Mt. Talisay, just a few kilometers from the start of the zigzag incline going to San Carlos city. Considering that the car I brought then was a Grand Livina...I was not willing to regret the decision if I fall off the cliff because the engine cannot sustain the steep incline if I went on further the pass. What you're seeing is a horizon full of sugarcane plantations, subdivided into haciendas. It's usually around the last quarter of the year when farmers begin to cut down the crop for the milling season, hence tall lush green hues emit in the scene, the sign of a mature cane.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Snippets: Armi Millare



Taken April 26, 2014 in BGC for the first Satchmi Vinyl Day...it was one of the most awesome night of free music under the stars. The event composed of eleven bands which started from 4pm down to midnight. It was indeed a good night of great music. 

I went with a couple of friends who willingly came when I showed them the lineup of bands that would be playing in the event. It came as a shock when Up Dharma Down came up on stage as the front actno one saw it coming, especially my friends who decided to arrive late that day. Bwahaha! Some arrived only to hear the last two songs, while there were those who completely missed it. Good for them! It was also a pleasant surprise to hear the band play an entire set and not just two or three songs. That moment was surreal, especially when I was standing so close to the stage that the rest of the world felt like a blur; just the music and Armi as she sang through the lines of their songs felt present that day. Yep, Tadhana is one of my favorite local songs EVERRRRRRRrrrr!! And of course, I consider UDD as one of the coolest bands around, up to par with other bands I like internationally.

Lately...like the past several days, I've also been amused by their feature song on Oreo's Sing With Me together with Zee Avi of Malaysia and GAC of Indonesia. I have been intently looping the video several times now because it's just not long enough to satisfy my ears. I love Oreo's new advertising campaign by the way.




Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Optimist vs a Realist

Here is a random conversation I had with my mom years ago:


Me: My best friend is planning the wedding of her aunt, she said the guy she'll be married to is foreign. 

Mom: Where are they getting married?

Me: Well, the guy and his family will be flying over to Bacolod for the wedding. Ain’t it sweet?

Mom: Smart girl, she knows there’s no divorce in the Philippines. 


At first reaction in my mind then went something like, "What are you talking about!? Why are you thinking like that? Can't you just be happy for them!? You're being too negative." 

Now, looking back...girl's got a point. A valid one at that. 

Am I becoming my mother!?!?!? 

For now, I'll just say that I'm still an optimist; maturity just happen to have taught me to try and look at the other side of the coin as part of becoming a logical adult.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Designer Blooms Cafe



I realized that it's been a while since the last time I managed to post about a cafe. There have been quite a lot of new ones and a couple of those that I've been to, it's just that I haven't gotten around into taking respectable photos of them. In any case, Designer Blooms Cafe is one of those cafes that have been around for a while and I've been wanting to go to, but the idea of travelling all the way to Alabang has cut my interest short...until my brother managed to convince me during one of his visits to the house he'd be constructing in Calamba. How? Because I like the location of the house and I wanted to see the view again, plus the company car was available to service us. Yey!

Designer Blooms Cafe in an offshoot from the actual Designer Blooms flower shop in Megamall. The charm of the cafe is that they also sell their beautiful flowers in the coffeeshop. The interior of the cafe is bright with mismatched furniture to give it that foreign appeal, especially with the use of rustic decors.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Random Advice on Secrets



It's one of those random moments when your system is longing to let something off your chest but you know it could get you in trouble someday if done unfashionably discrete. My friends would always say, "I just want to go away, scream at the top of my lungs and shout all the frustrations away." There are sentiments that can be shared, but there are certain secrets that should not be kept within the confines of the visible world...and so saying it out loud for the spirit of universe to hear is ultimately safer than keeping it in your blog or journal. What if someday, the world will conspire and reveal it just because you have kept an existing proof of that supposed secret? Will self-loathing and eternal regret be a worthy option?

***

On a side note, the background is a photo I shot on top of the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar. It's one of those things that when I look back in reflection, I still could not believe that I managed to stand in that place sometime in my life. Just one of those items in my bucketlist that seem to have gotten a check sooner than I thought...and to think I only came to know about Bagan last year. It's just a feeling of gratitude and disbelief whenever I stare at the photos I took. 

Thursday, November 19, 2015

I Was Made For Loving You by Madilyn Bailey



It was around last week when I noticed a new-yet-familiar-sounding song being dubsmashed in Kalyeserye...I never got to catch the lyrics during the episodes, yet the melody and the voice of the singer got me curious. After some time spent aimlessly browsing on Twitter yesterday I saw what I was hoping for, the title. It's "I Was Made For Loving You" by Tori Kelly feat. Ed Sheeran...and a whole night of looping the song started from there. 

Tonight's my second night of LSS...and it's wrrraagggghhh! when you listen to the same song a dozen times over but cannot stop that need to repeat it one more time. I was actually on the MRT when the urge to listen to the song came to me that I hurried back home because I don't have it on my cellphone. I know, it's just a temporary addiction. At one point I started to search for covers of the song, and there were some good onesbut thisTHISgave me goosebumps, like real GOOSEBUMPS that I have to twitch my neck when she reaches certain parts and notes, especially right at the end when she unhumanly belches out the lines, "But I was made for loving you." Urghhh! I feel like the hairs on my arms have been raising and falling in chaotic symphony for the last several minutes now. 

I am forever grateful to YouTube that artists (amazingly non-linear ones) are now being discovered without being screened with repetitious formulas by capitalists industries. The music scene is now immensely diversified as compared to pre-YouTube times. And I am just happy I get to drown myself in their music (original and covers alike) as much as I want to.

Here's the chorus of the song that I love so much by the way:



I was made for loving you
Even though we may be hopeless hearts just passing through
Every bone screaming I don't know what we should do
All I know is, darling, I was made for loving you


Too much feels. So serendipity-driven.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Snippets: A Farewell Shot for Penang



I posted this photo on my Instagram last August 22 as a quick update of our Malaysia-Myanmar trip since I knew uploading other pics will take over a month after our arrival. It's actually the 4th photo I uploaded on my IG account since it took years of convincing before I finally decided to add another social media account. I posted it with no caption, just the hashtag "wanderlust".

The pouch is one of our products under Teacup Ideas. The horse is an original artwork I did for our coloring book. It's one of those few pieces that I'm actually proud to show off and claim as my own. I did a lot of research as reference, but the steampunk idea with an industrial city thriving in its belly is one of those out-of-the-blue moments after a self-pressured brainstorming activity. It took me three days to finish the artwork, and it's actually a full body short of a horse with a blimp chasing after it from behind, but I cropped it down for the layout of the pouch.


The background of Two Kids on a Bicycle is actually one of the more popular murals in Penang. I also have a picture of me on the actual wall getting a back ride with the little boy looking squished by my ass, but that's for another post. I was on the plane and we were about to land back to Kuala Lumpur after staying for three days in Penang when I decided to snap the photo using my cellphone, hence the grainy quality. It's the in flight magazine of Air Asia and they did an article on Penang with the title Appetite for Travel. I can still remember the panic I had when the concept popped into my head only after the captain had made orders to ready ourselves for landing. I had to briskly turn the page, set up the pouch with my passport and ticket peeking out for drama and take a couple of quick shots before the flight attendant could catch me with my table unsecured. 

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Pet Peeve #025



SOME. PEOPLE. JUST. DON'T. GET. IT.

There's an art to sarcasm, and those who don't get it I label as people with dry humor. 

And I'm not even gonna explain myself.

QLC Moment #4



One day, you wake up and start asking the question over and over again...only to do nothing in the end. It's a question that I try to justify with excuses every freakin' time, but at the end of the day, whether I deny the truth or not...the answer is something I have to face at the end of my life. 

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Scary Stuff: Part 1



Since today is Halloween and I’ve had a bit of time to type this down, let me tell you a few personal stories I’ve had with the paranormal. I don’t have a third eye, but I have three friends who do. One of them managed to partly open her third eye because of her best friend who has hers opened…which is why I’m scared to get too clingy with someone who has these abilities because she said they can influence you without you knowing it. The other two they said, sort of was inherited from their family, slowly opening their third eye as they got older whether they liked it or not. I have met other people who claim that they also have their third eye open, but I’m not sure if it’s true…. Some things I learned from hanging out with them are:


-The more you talk and are interested in the paranormal, the more you become a target.
-Those with third eyes are more vulnerable to things when they are tired or in an emotional state.
-When you suddenly smell a stench that resembles garbage out of nowhere, the tendency is that the spirit close to you is that of a rotting corpse, and if you could see them they would be in a state of decomposition.
-When your friend with a third eye suddenly falls silent and uneasy, chances are they are seeing something. (I hate it when they do that!)
-The closer you are to them, the more chances you’ll get of experiencing paranormal activities.
-At some point they will be get used to it, but they will always be afraid when they see one.
-Based on my friends who have their third eye opened, they are more sensitive towards people as they have heightened senses and they can tell your emotions without you telling them.
-Said one of my acquaintances (who I doubt has a real third eye) the church is one of the places that a whole lot of spirits reside in, much more than other places.
-They say some spirits have no faces. If they would describe it to me like looking at the face of a person on TV with bad reception, wherein the faces are blurry and has a warped to zigzag distortions, like static effect or something so you don’t see the details on their faces…
-Every person is vulnerable of having his/her third eye opened.

I’ll cite three top experiences I’ve had of a scary encounter…other than crossing the elliptical road towards Quezon Memorial Circle or that time I almost got bitten by my brother’s then pet snake. I have more stories though…but maybe that’s for another post. Probably one of the memorable ones that I’ll tell in another post is what I experienced staying in an all-girls dorm in Manila for one semester—and was told a few hours before I was about to leave and transfer to my uncle’s townhouse that I had been sleeping in a room where a suicide had occurred. Wahhhhh!!! And it explained a lot of things—but that’s for another time. 

Sleep Paralysis at a Hotel in Iloilo

This happened on the eve of April 28, 2012 (I know the exact date only because I still have the pictures I took that day.) We were on a family trip to Iloilo; basically the whole clan was there to celebrate my aunt’s golden anniversary of being an Assumption nun. If I’m not mistaken, we booked in Amigo Hotel, the room I cannot recall the number though. Since we booked several rooms, one of my aunts asked me to stay with her in her room. The room was a double bed deluxe; she slept on the bed close to the window while I slept on the one close to the bathroom, right in front of a huge full-length mirror. On our first night, everything seemed fine until I woke up in the middle of the night and could not move my body—any part of it! It’s like something was pressing me against the bed, heavy weight and unmoving. I couldn’t even move my fingers and it freaked me out. All I could do was swivel my eyes making sense of the dark room, at some point my eyes landed on the mirror right at my foot—it was positioned right in front of my bed so I was supposed to see my reflection, but it was PITCH BLACK!! The light on the bathroom was left on and I could see that thin line of light reflect on the wall because the bathroom door was slightly open…and I was trying to just stare at the mirror waiting for my eyes to adjust to the light—BUT NO, I found myself staring at a black hole for what seemed like a really long time. It took some minutes before my brain cells started to digest the reality that I was awake enough to be living the nightmare—and the worst part of it I wanted to pee! So yeah, I kept it in and closed my eyes forcing myself to sleep off the situation. The next day I convinced my mom to stay with my aunt for the second night without her telling my experience because I’m a good daughter like that, and went to stay with another aunt that night without much thrill in the room we stayed in. I asked my mom if she was fine with the room, she said it was okay…so I kept mum and spoke the experience with my friends instead, one of whom said his mom experienced the same thing.

He said that it was the same situation, but it was in their house when it occurred some years ago. His mom woke up in the middle of the night, her bed was also facing a full-length mirror. . .but hers was a much scarier thing because while I saw no reflection in the mirror, what she saw the image of a ghastly lady that resembling Sadako staring at her from inside the mirror. He said his mom also could not move any muscle and felt helpless at the situation. The mirror he was referring is no longer there and is already covered in mantle in their storage. I later found out about the term sleep paralysis, and that it should be nothing to be scared about…darn right. It’s that state wherein we are awake but the signals cannot be transmitted to the muscles so we are unable to move, and to which my friend’s mom’s case she was just hallucinating. Yeah, I have been told and have read that mirrors are portals and that positioning it right across your bed makes you vulnerable to other dimensions, my bed in Bacolod has my late lola’s huge round mirror right across it but I never experienced such things in my room…I experienced something else…

Whispers in My Ear

This creepy unexplainable experience happed in my room in Bacolod. So…I think there were only two or three of us in the house that day, we’re usually nine if it’s a complete count. Anyway, I’m not sure how long ago this happened, but that memory still gives me the chills every time I ponder on the memory. Brrrrr! It was afternoon, right after lunch because I was having a much unnecessary siesta that day, when all of a sudden I woke up to a whisper right at my ear. I can’t recall if I was in the middle of a dream or something, but I just remember suddenly opening my eyes because I can feel a breath of air wafting at my ears trying to say some ancient language. Until now, I don’t know what language it was…like a babble of a Gregorian chant, but not specifically sounding exact. It’s like being in a classroom where everyone is mumbling all at random and you can’t make out of one specific word, now imagine that chaotic noise being whispered right at your ear by a collective of male voices and you feel that tingle in your ear when someone whispers right next to your ears that you feel the hairs vibrate. I just remember opening my eyes, scan the room if anyone was there, jumping out of bed wondering if it was a bad joke or something—BUT NO! The maids were also in their rooms asleep far from mine, my parents were not in the house, my lola in another room also sleeping. . .so yeah, that gave me really bad goosebumps when I realized it was not a normal thing to happen to a person. My other lola died in my room back in 1997 and I moved there after she died, and I smell the scent of roses at random times, but at least it’s a comforting feeling…the voices weren’t. The fear was real. It made me uneasy—and on top of that, it ruined my completely beautiful afternoon nap!

When the Chair Moved on Its Own

This happened more recently, like several weeks ago, also in our house in Bacolod. I know, there’s something in our house in Bacolod, but I have to live with it since I live there at certain times of the year. This time, it was in my parents’ room. Since they went out of town for the weekend and I was sick with flu, I decided to vacate my room because my other lola sleeps there now (I’ve accepted the fact that there will come a time when I’ll be staying in a room where both my grandmother died,) and I wanted to be a loner that night. Anyway, four of us were left in the house that night, and roughly a few hours before my bedtime (usually around 12mn-2am) I was on my mom’s bed playing with her iPod, suddenly I heard something fell from her desk, like the sound of a small Tupperware falling. I stared towards its direction and saw the office chair swiveling. It didn’t make a 360 turn, but I saw its seat still moving, ever so slightly turning like someone just tapped it on to one direction. I pretended to be brave and searched for the item that fell, ever hoping that it was big enough to cause the chair to move—BUT NO! I checked everywhere, from her desk to the floor as to what went missing, but everything was in place. Grrrr…I stood up and left the room swiftly deciding that I should sleep with my grandmother. To my luck, the door was locked…so I had to slap myself and make sure that the moment I return to their room my eyelids were at a point of a breakdown. I slept with the lights on that night…but nothing else creepy happened right after. Right now…if I reflect on the incident, it still gives me the creeps.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Blog is Three: Here's Ten Whatevers

 When you have a blog and see that you’ve made six blog entries at this point of the year—add to that the shocking fact that your blog just turned three years old today—suddenly your life goes into turmoil, thinking what to write? What to write? What to freakin’ write!? After some thought, I’ve come into the realization that the easiest topic where words need not much thought nor research is when I talk about myself. As a treat for myself, here are ten random whatevers about me…simply because I’m not in the right mindset to think about more important matters as of present:

1.  The best years of my life happened when I was 16 and 21 years old. Those were graduating years, because I really enjoy the idea of new life chapters, plus school works were far lesser than usual—and the bonding with friends are more intense because we know we’re about to part ways for longer than just a weekend. These were years when I felt my stomach churn out of excitement for what’s coming (yep, I’m more of a future-inclined person.) There were a lot of life-changing decisions I made those years, decisions that I would look back from time to time and still smile about at this point. The worst years happened not so long ago . . . BUT I can feel the bestest ones are about to happen not so long from now (I told you I’m a future-anticipating person.)

     2.  I was named after Saint Marie Eugenie, the founder of the Religious of the Assumption, because almost all of my aunts were Assumptionistas, yet I never really went to Assumption school for three reasons: I was afraid of being a target in the school because of my name; I was too clingy with my parents back then and didn’t want to live across the Guimaras Strait; and finally…I liked being in a co-ed school, an all-girls school never really appealed to me. Harot!

     3.  I was never a fan of boy bands or girl groups (except Celtic Women) because I prefer the sound of a solo vocalist or duet. So yes, Backstreet Boys, N’ SYNC, Spice Girls, and all other 90’s bands were not in my childhood. While my contemporaries were busy drooling over Nick Carter, I preferred going gaga over Michael Jackson, Kenny G and Richard Clayderman (Yes, I’ve been into long haired men since the day I saw Prince Adam of Beauty and the Beast.)

     4.  My ability to not retain much in my memory bank has caused me a lot of awkward moments. I’m terrible at remembering faces, and even more so at recalling names of people. Some of my more embarrassing encounters were: mistaking the parish priest to be the husband of my cousin, mistaking my friend’s mom as my teacher in grade school (I even said the whole “Wait, come back, you look familiar. I know you!” line when she was about to leave because she thought she’s mistaken, lines that my friends still annoy me with!) Another was when the wife of my uncle spoke with me at home and I had no idea it was her I was facing even after the conversation ended (I only realized it was her when I described her face to my mom a few hours after. Urgh!) I can still remember when my cousins would try to introduce themselves every time I went to their house as a child. This is where I truly appreciate the labels of lola, lola, tita, tito, ate, kuya, manong, manang etc. because it has saved me countless times from having to say a random name at someone.

     5.  A couple of my better ideas (especially my plates when I was in college) were conceived while I was in the bathroom. I don’t know if it’s the damp air in a tiny silent space that lets my brain cells collide, but I just remember going out for a toilet break every time I’m stuck on a concept for an artwork or copy.

     6.  Part of my fond childhood memories were spent in the cemetery in one of the cities I lived in. For some introverted reason, I like spending some lazy afternoons in the cemetery, playing with the goats that grazed there or just hung out at the tomb of my relatives. No. . .I don’t see nor talk to dead people. . .I just happen to avoid those alive in the cemetery. I like the contemplative silence in the cemetery, and I’m just weird like that.

     7.  I get restless whenever I had to cut my fingernails short before, until now. Starting Grade 6, I just decided that long fingernails is my thing and that it shouldn’t go less than 1mm—a decision that often got me in trouble at school. Since part of our grade in Deportment is good hygiene…well let’s just say my grades have gotten a couple of points lower because of my constant refusal to cut my nails down to the edge of my skin. I remember being called out of class a couple of times to go to the Disciplinary Officer’s office so that I could cut my nails there…he even provided me with a nail cutter just so I could keep my fingers less lethal. Thank goodness those days are over! From a 90+ in Deportment, I’ve gotten down to 83-85 because of my freakin’ nails!

     8.  I never go out of the house without at least three sprits of perfume or mist on my neck and clothes. I can go out with just combing my hair with my fingers and tie it into a bun, but I cannot smell like bad sweat. If for some they feel naked without their wristwatch, I feel incomplete without my scent. Actually I don’t have a signature scent because I like switching my perfume after I consume the whole bottle, but one of my more constant go-to for a casual day out is Victoria’s Secrets’ Enchanted Apple (because it has a nostalgic effect on me) other staples that are cheaper options are Bench’s Handsome Girl (because they phased out Naughty and Nice—GRR!) but if I do have some extra cash, I like David & Victoria Beckham Signature for Her. I remember a scene in high school when a friend who was blindfolded for an activity said, “I know it’s you. Your scent is familiar.” Without me having to say anything, I just stood beside him and immediately he muttered those words. I was quite flattered when he said that, one of the reasons why I love spritzing.

     9.  Horses are my spirit animal and dream pet. I have a great fascination for them as young as I could remember. My constant birthday wish to my parents since I was a wee lass was either a pony or a horse—of course that never came true, but if fate allows, I still consider owning my own horse someday . . . some day. I’d even point and scream “HORSE!” every time I spotted one on the side of the road during our trips to the province. The sight of them makes me happy. One of the most elated feelings I had was around second year college, when the one pulling the horse during a horseback riding trip let go of the rope and allowed me to steer the horse on my own. I can still distinctly recall the fear and exhilaration I had when I felt the horse galloped and I was left to cling onto the reins as my body hopped against the saddle. I felt so free and alive and proud that very moment. It was amaaaaaaaaaazing!

     10.  I enjoy mythology, the paranormal and the occult, but I’m not fond of horror movies; I prefer reading or watching documentaries on the topic. The series Ancient Aliens amuses me especially Giorgio Tsoukalos. Other shows I watch are Destination Truth, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. One of the first books I read outside of my school textbooks were short stories of Homer’s Odyssey Greek and Roman Mythology. 




Monday, September 28, 2015

Thoughts of a Silent Fan

I’ve been stopping myself from posting this because I’ve been waiting for September 26 to happen before I sit here and lose a couple hours of sleep, again. Just the other morning I was out with my parents, right after exiting the hospital my mom asked where we should go, whether or not we should eat lunch out; I stared at my clock (11:30am) then blurted, “Uwi na tayo!” The moment I stepped in the house, I dropped all things and turned on the TV. I just gave up the possibility of having a decent meal and chose to eat leftover food just so I didn’t miss the Kalyeserye. WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME!? 




Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Le Jardin and le Mousse Au Chocolat




I've seen the blog posts and the photos, but never occurred to me that I should go and dine in Le Jardin because: one, it's expensive, and two, I never chanced upon it. Now I know why...it's located at the penthouse of W Fifth Building, the building that seems to be inspired by Minecraft with all the boxy-pixilated blues. Anyway, we came looking for Black Sheep, but the guard said it closed down and recommended Le Jardin instead. Why not? We were bored, had time, and didn't want to go home just yet. 


I had to edit this a lot because of so much blue in the original shot.


Skip everything else...the place was empty, so I loved it. The interiors were clean resembling that of a French villa with lots of white, plus it has a birds-eye-view of the city. And even you can spot shanties in between the concrete slabs of different hues, it's a charm that reminds you of being in Metro Manila despite all the fancy knickknacks. And even if lacks a certain degree of jardin in the Jardin, it's a nice place to sit back for an afternoon coffee or tea. 

The coffee was okay...not as tasty as the ones you get from other cafes, but you'll get by. 

It's their chocolate mousse that I want to commend more than anything. The pièce de résistance of my visit. We also tried their berry cheesecake, but this huge morsel right here fulfilled my craving of a really good mousse cake. The consistency and the taste was spot on...and it's also only Php140 a slice, it was even bigger than the average slice that most cafes offer these days. The taste reminded me of the mousse being served in Chateau 1771 which is my favorite, only here it's cheaper and bigger! 

The best part is that after 9pm, if they're about to get new batches of cakes, they sell their cakes at 50% off!!! What more can you ask for? It's just a matter of knowing when though. 



Triple Chocolate Mousse (Php140.00)

Friday, July 31, 2015

Polymer Food Things



I just wanted to make sure I post something for July right before it ends and my birthday month begins. Sooooooooooo excited for what's ahead! <3

These are some of my new handcrafted creations that I did for our bazaar at 98B's Saturday Future x Market in Escolta, an awesome place for independent artists to sell their creations. It was our first time to sell in the location and despite the really humid weather that made us sweat icky stuff, the turnout was actually better than bazaars in malls. I personally love it there, if it weren't so hot and far from my place.  

I'll be posting more about it soon, but for now I gotta rush out to meet up with friends to work on a new project that we hope to release by next month! 

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A Day and One-fourth in Hanoi

This is right across St. Joseph Cathedral. I wanted to go to Hanoi House Cafe, but we didn't have time. :(


When I saw the fire trees were in full bloom during a recent roadtrip to Dumaguete, I reminisced the same fiery sight I stared at in Vietnam and how the flowering tree popped the place with its deep orange color--and then it occurred to me--it's been a year since my Indochina trip! Funny how it took this long for me to make a post, considering the excitement I had  to update my blog when I arrived in Manila back then. zzzZZZzzz... 

What I did find is a short paragraph of how I described Hanoi during our first night at our hotel. I wrote:

"Staring down from the airplane window, I could see the city lights of Hanoi and how far it is from the airport, a pitch black gap distanced the two. We're thankful that our hotel, May de Ville Backpackers Hostel, provided us with a free shuttle service...even if the driver was half-asleep and almost crashed the car several minutes in. I was about to have a my flashback-of-my-whole-life scene but our panic thankfully woke him up, making the 45-minute ride to the hostel more memorable than most. We arrived at our place in the city's old district at 2AM, so it's no surprise that it was dead quiet and unalive." -May 21, 2014


Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Gourmand Market



Although it was a totally bad idea to have decided to drop by the event after pigging out at Niu, causing me not to get excited at the sight of food AND not want to eat any more despite how pretty they all looked because I was still recovering from a food coma. Instead, what I found delight in was the whole set up of the place, transforming the site into a very rustic-vibe market with the whole crates and pot with dainty flowers thing going on. I had no camera with me, but the place was too pretty to ignore that I decided to use my cellphone to take the pictures instead. It was high-noon when I got to the place that I could not see what I was shooting at, but here's a few okay ones that I got at the end of the day.


With so much going on, I didn't really notice what they were selling.

I will never get tired of seeing coffee shops.

Reminds me of the movie props where the car smashes
right into the fruit stand and the pieces fly out the screen.

It was so bright I didn't see my finger was covering the lens.

Added attraction were three poor goats unsure of the whole situation.

This was the first thing that made me want to take photos
even if all I had was my cellphone.

Now, this could have been a better shot had the child chose not to sit there...

Chilled Taho from Holy Carabao for Php50.00


I did buy chilled taho from Holy Carabao to take home, and it was nice with them opting to use the large pearls instead of the typical tapioca ones. The taste though was lacking as compared to the ones being sold by manong taho on the streets...but they did guarantee a sanitary product at least. 

I did try the free samples being given out and the were tasty as the ones your aunt makes. You can feel the love they've put into every morsel of their product.

They provided picnic tables for a communal dining experience with other guests, and the whole setting was really a nice place to hang out in for those who like to be surrounded by food and all things organic.

The event will be until tomorrow at High Street Central...and I'm hoping they do it again soon because it's a pretty place to stroll through a few minutes especially when it's smacked right in the middle of a concrete jungle. 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Cafe by the Ruins

Strawberry Shortcake. A layer of fresh strawberries, shortbread, whipped cream and syrup. Yummehh!


The moment the bus arrived in Baguio city, after almost seven hours of butt-aching travel, we immediately thought "Luuuunch time!" Since we did our research, we knew the place to be was at Cafe by the Ruins. Doing research is one thing, but navigating the actual site posted as a challenge. We called a taxi to take us there and he said, "Lakarin niyo na lang!" and left us. :( It was nowhere in sight! We went to another taxi and asked him to take us there, and he said, "Mag jeep na lang kayo!" :(( At least he was kind enough to assist us and instruct the jeepney driver to take us there. It was the right decision not to walk all the way to the Chuntug branch from where we were at. We arrived at Cafe by the Ruins and was 16th on the waiting list. :((( On our way back to Manila we realized that there was actually another Cafe by the Ruins two blocks away from the Victory Liner bus terminal. :(((( I managed to buy a bottle of their fresh milk for Php120.00 before getting on the bus. It was so fresh that it got sour on the third day and I only managed to drink half of its content. D: Although interior-wise, I prefer the one at Chuntug St. than the one in Upper Session Road.

Despite the setbacks, their Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa alone was worth the trouble.