counting bombs

'twas the afternoon of my december birthday when i received word from my youngest sis about the explosions in unicity and jerry's, two shopping centers in iligan. i asked if the explosions were indeed due to bombs as she'd initially relayed or due to firecrackers exploding in unified booms. the answer was definite: bombs.

the bombs that blew off were deposited at the baggage counters by the perpetrators. they left a number wounded and immediately claimed the lives of two people -- baggage boys, individuals who earn honest living. this happened on december 18.

on december 19, another bomb was left behind in a bakeshop just across where the two shopping centers are. the improvised explosive device (IED) -- the politically correct term -- was placed inside a hollowed papaya fruit and was left behind by someone who ordered something from the bakeshop. due to heightened alert and all that, this was dealt with accordingly and the IED was detonated safely -- save for the fear it sowed from people around, no one was hurt.

when i got home to iligan from batangas last december 20, i felt the difference in the christmas air -- iligan is lacking of that this year. i expected to be welcomed by festive lights and feel more christmas spirit but... upon entering iligan, i had to strain my eyes to look for the lights. iligan was noticeably more quiet, more devoid of people than the last time i'd been around. i relayed this to my friends and one of them declared: "your birthday was literally a blast." i understood the context -- we're talking of IEDs in decembertime.

people are counting the days, the hours, the minutes to christmas day and the rest of the holidays and the good things that these days hold -- i can feel there's still excitement -- but, at the same time, we're also counting bombs here.

last sunday, december 21, another IED was left behind near maria cristina hotel. a group of scavengers discovered it on the vacant lot and the authorities who were alerted dealt with it accordingly. yesterday, two other IEDs were discovered -- the first of the two was left in trendline, another shopping center and the second was left near standard blue, a block away from the cathedral. these didn't have their chance to harm because they got discovered, too.

from the grapevine, they're talking about 100 IEDs to expect. the first number i heard was 15. 15 or 100, that's too many.

when the explosions last thursday made it to the national news, my workmates and even my bosses dissuaded me from coming home. they said i should just stay in luzon. however, my plans were fixed: i'm going home and i'll remain safe with my family and hometown friends. bombs or no bombs.

my yellow surprise

fave yellow
19th of december 2008
tanauan city, batangas


whoa, yellow
it was the night after my birthday and it was our christmas party. i left my desk & our workroom and announced i was going to change...

and changed was what i did. when i was making my way back to the engineering area, everyone was taking first-and-then-second looks at me... they just couldn't believe i transformed. hahahaha!

'twas fun getting all those surprise-induced and pleased reactions. i'm known to be such a stubborn (err... consistent) jeans-and-shirt gal so when i pulled my yellow surprise they were all like 'wow! what got into you!? you look so nice! dapat lagi kang ganyan.'

hahahahaha... wish!

world tour sunday

11.30.08 | around the world in one sunday

we went to experience the pasig river ferry ride and we ended up in hong kong, shanghai, the middle east, spain, singapore, greece, the rest of europe, the united states... until our feet got us to holy cow!

how so? see for yourself and just enjoy this album:
http://kulitjr3.multiply.com/photos/album/416

locations: guadalupe, along pasig river, escolta, the post office building, dambana ni andres bonifacio in ermita, the underpass, intramuros, the national museum, robinson's place

new things learned:
1. our group can make the philippines look so good (haha!)
2. taking pictures of malacanang palace is not allowed during the ferry ride
3. admission to the national museum on sundays is free

group composition: carlo, yoni, val, randz, jinx

breakdown of expenses (read: common damage to our pockets):
ferry ride fee from guadalupe to escolta - PhP45
kalesa ride around intramuros - PhP50 (this is better than having to spend pesos for a massage to soothe sore legs after all the "more walking" that we could have done)

this we can say: wow philippines! wow world! ;-P

taking notes and sharing them

the long and short story of this is: we have corporate bible study -- initiated by no less than the company president -- not to make us religious (nor to convert us into a new religion) but to help us make our lives better and understand how we can have prosperity in all things.

for weeks already, the main topic has been "the power of words". i am learning from the sessions and i try to apply the things i've learned (and re-learned) so far in my life. i am ever careful with the words i utter now. no more cuss words. no more negative declarations about my life or anyone's either. i do not get to say stuff like "i'm depressed", "i'm sad", "cursed" or "malas" when i find myself in unwanted circumstances. (and at times i falter -- as change does not completely happen overnight, i gently bite my tongue, say a positive thing -- without resorting to lying, and remind myself that i'm supposed to be nurturing a good habit).

i usually jot down notes whenever i can. let me share what i have so far in the trusty colorful notebook which i chose to write in during sessions...

It is written in Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the thoughts I have towards you, thoughts of good and peace to give you a hope and a future."

Find a verse applicable to your situation and remind God about it. Pray standing on God's word. Stand on God's promises.

Know what your rights are. You have God-given authority. Use God's word to attack your Goliaths.

God does not save by shield and sword. God's word will accomplish the purpose for what it was spoken.

Galatians 6:9: "Do not grow weary in doing good." At the proper time, reap a good harvest. Learn to perform consistently, even if it means performing out of the limelight. Persevere.

Do a little good here and do a little good there. Then, become big here and become big there. Demonstrate patience and success follows.

The Law of Confession: "By your words, that is what is going to happen in your life." What you say is what you will see in your life. Watch your words. Avoid the storm. Do not bring your life to the middle of the storm.

Stop talking devil talk. If you can't help it, zip it.

Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." You have access to power. You can change the direction of your life by the power of your words.

Words are the keys that open the doors to God's blessings.

Deuteronomy 30:19: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life..." Choose life -- abundant life! Choose restoration. Choose freedom. Open the door to prosperity in all things -- get all slices of the pizza of life, not just one or two.

"I am very blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved."

Think about this: Living under grace vs. living under the law.

How many of you (who have children) would be willing to sacrifice your own child to save someone else's life?

The Blessing brings in the blessings in to your life. Accept the Blessing.

Learn to thank.

"Write the vision down and it will happen. If it tarries, wait. It will surely happen."

Faith speaks.

sori naman

"Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap."
--Robert Fulghum

while i was deep into troubleshooting an unwanted circumstance involving my latest machine, my company-issued mobile phone beeped.

unknown number: bakit ##k ang sweldo mo?
ako: hu u? bakit mo minali ang sweldo ko?

even if the sender did not get the figures right, i still found the message irritating. my initial reaction to it was really something to the effect of "anong pakialam mo sa sweldo ko?"

i thought something slipped from the HR which got someone thinking and which resulted to that message.

unknown number: ay, na-wrong send lang po.
ako: hindi ka dapat nakikialam sa sweldo ng ibang tao, kahit kaano ano mo pa yan.

i know i should have let things go when the sender offered the information that the message was not intended for me. however, something in my boiling head (what's up, temper? hehe) pushed me to key in an unsolicited advice. i am not one to discuss about salaries -- whether mine or other people's. the least i know about how much the people around me are actually earning, the better for my peace of mind (and, maybe, for my level of confidence).

the reply i got after that was something to the effect of... (i cannot write down the exact text message i received because i already deleted it but i'll share what i can remember)

unknown number: alam mo ba sinasabi mo? asawa ako ni ____ _____ ka-trabaho mo ngaun ako nagb-budget para sa pamilya namin at ako din naglalabas nun sa ATM di ko kelangan ang unsolicited advice. WAG MO KO 22RUAN KUNG ANO DAPAT KO GAWIN. I KNOW MY RYT AS A WIFE (a lot of words here which i cannot recall anymore because i did not really read this part of the message which was keyed in using capital letters) NAIINTINDIHAN MO BA AKO KUNG GUSTO MO, PWD MO AKO TAWAGAN.

i did not make the call. i know how some wives can get praning when they get to find out that their husbands' colleagues at work are female -- regardless of physical appearance or whatever. i figured there was no need to disclose my identity nor my gender. my officemate's wife does not know who i am because the company number assigned to me was registered in her phone as her husband's. sometime after i got back from korea, my officemate had to bring my company line to his trip to japan -- hence, the reason why her wife mistakenly sent a message to me.

ako: sori naman. peace na tayo.

deadma. that's what i got.

what happened had me laughing. i was really able to sense the difference in my mood levels right after i received the first message and when i got that super-long reply. one moment i was so irritated, the next moment i was sincerely apologetic.

after sharing the incident with the rest of the team (which included the sender's husband) and after us sharing amused laughter over the consequences of my 'yet-another-temper-driven-judgment lapse,' i keyed in another message.

ako: i'm really sorry for what transpired earlier. i learned a good insight from you today. peace.

today, after giving in to the ill dictates of my temper, i was suddenly being unusually so kind.

i come from a household where my father does the budgeting -- as the family's breadwinner, he's the one who allocates the financial resources -- and my mother does second-degree/second-level budgeting of the allowance she gets from my father for her and their kids' emergency expenses.

i understand that for other households, the wives are the ones who get to hold the ATM card and that they are the ones who guard the family's finances.

doon pa rin ako sa walang pakialamanan ng sweldo (lalo na pagdating sa sweldo ko).

please try again

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

our company's biometric system seldom fails in not recognizing me. my officemates go through it with a green light matched with a 'thank you' while i usually get the red light matched with 'please try again.' it's always been just me since the start.

during our enrollment to the system, it took awhile before the biometric print collector could successfully add me. my work buddies didn't have a hard time. one try and they got in. i was altogether a different case. my right thumb failed. my left thumb failed. my index fingers failed. my middle fingers failed. my ring fingers failed. even my pinkies failed. although i was quite annoyed by all the hassle that i had to go through, my officemates and i found reasons to be amused about it. (read: guess, who's the alien?) only out of determination and patience and after several attempts did my right thumb and left thumb finally register. for good measure, my left index finger was enrolled as well.

every time i get the red blinking light, i mutter a 'not again,' take a look at my fingers, and wonder what's wrong. my fingers look like fingers should (and with distinct fingerprints) so why is the sensor being so discriminating? of course, that's what sensors are for but, i mean, why just me?

maybe it's one of the universe's little ways of helping me grow with patience. or maybe i'm really an alien.

could be both.

no, don't ask me from what planet i came from -- i'd still say earth.

meet calamansi

"It's a question of discipline," the little prince told me later on. "When you've finished washing and dressing each morning,
you must tend your planet."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

for over four months now, i've been taking care of two plants. i saved them from the bouquet of flowers my housemate and i brought home from our company's inauguration. when the flowers started to wilt and were about to be thrown, i separated two leafy stalks from the flower basket and, then, assigned a recycled sola iced tea bottle filled with tap water to each. the sola iced tea bottles were the ones i saved from my yellow cab affairs. i don't even know the real name of the plants. all i know is that they look like chinese bamboo and i had faith they would survive in water. they did! in just a matter of days, each of them sprouted confusing networks of roots. they survived typhoon frank, too.

my housemate baptised them with names we could both relate to and laugh over. they have been thriving in water -- both plants have grown longer and had shown more leaves -- since i started looking after them back in june. they're living just in front of our terrace, a prime spot for getting their dose of sunlight. in more than two occasions, i planned of buying them clay pots and transferring them to good soil but i never got around to executing the plan. to compensate for that, i diligently change their water homes every week or two to save them from the competition posed by moss and lichens and to discourage mosquitos from laying eggs inside the bottles.

i thought the third plant that i would care for here in batangas would come from one of the two. i intended to cut the longer plant and, with that, add one more bottle in front of our terrace. however, before i could carry out that simple operation, calamansi came along.

last october 29, 2008 -- wednesday -- during a lunch-out with our boss, my housemate and i fell in love with the calamansi plant we saw being sold for 85 pesos just outside the resto. there were several of them waiting for new homes and new owners but we chose this one that stood out.


meet calamansi
what's nice about it? at its petite stature, it already has fruits -- five of them!

calamansi is my new baby. it sits on our terrace -- a welcoming ornament -- like a favoured plant should. soon, calamansi will have a large clay pot for a new home.

with all that said, i'd like to remind my friends of the gifts of cacti i've been waiting for since november-december of 2007. hmmm... ;-)



p.s. october 29, 2008 was the day before i was to celebrate my year 1 with the company i am currently affiliated with and calamansi is actually my anniversary gift to myself. c",)

pabaon | my 8-year old end-of-october mover is over

"I've always been in love with you (always with you)
I guess you've always known it's true (you know it's true)
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say goodbye"
-- from Madonna's Take a Bow

with renewing of the mind comes letting go of unnecessary drag from the past. i am standing on more stable ground now and able to count on that certain brand of confidence i thought i didn't have.

for a time, i stopped writing about that sad feeling that's been nagging me like unwanted shadow since the latter part of 2005. i tried to bury it deep in the archives of my mind, celebrating the happiness that preceded it and the happiness i get from everything else in my life -- because i am capable. the situation, i soon was able to forgive. what i found difficult was forgiving myself.

i had to learn pushing my EQ to the level of my IQ. i invested on that and began to see with brand-new appreciation the fruits of my efforts. see, i was never really able to forgive myself -- only now (and by conscious decision, like forgiving should be!)

i am now a willing student of change. i shall not look into my old notes and old notebooks anymore. it's pruning (and may i add purging?) time.

with me, a clean slate, a full heart -- "whatever way our stories end".

read the lyrics of this song -- For Good -- for a happy goodbye.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

Because I knew you

I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

And because I knew you...

Because I knew you...

Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good.

i got the lyrics from one of the emails that i saw in my gmail inbox today (timely!)

metamorphosis is

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
-- Romans 12:2 of the Holy Bible

thoughts dictate emotions,
emotions affect decisions,
decisions translate into actions,
actions form habits,
habits talk about attitude and character,
attitude and character make reality,
reality leads to destiny.

with revealed knowledge, we know the end from the beginning.

to change destiny, change reality
to change reality, change attitude and character
to change attitude and character, change habits
to change habits, change actions
to change actions, change decisions
to change decisions, change emotions
to change emotions, change thoughts.

real metamorphosis happens when one changes the way one thinks -- renewing the mind. this is my greatest realization today.

i am grateful for the revelation.

my father's song

see who's the guardian of the mic

this weekend being a videoke weekend with my pals from work made me reminisce about the family videoke sessions in iligan and recall tonight the song that my father always gets to sing. i like the lyrics a lot... the song speaks of love that is always supportive, always sustaining, always reliable. in two words: ever there.

My Love Will See You Through
Marco Sison

When times get rough
And your dreams just fall apart
And sometimes you feel
That you can't go on
Be strong, hold on
For my love will keep you warm
Through the coldest night
Through the rain, through the storm

When friends turn their backs on you
And you're so helpless
You don't know what to do
I'll be on your side to comfort you
My love will see you through

When tears are in your eyes
And you feel like you wanna cry
Just reach out and I'll be around to understand
When you stumble and fall
And you need a shoulder to lean on
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there with a helping hand

When the road seems so long and endless
And all you see is nothing but darkness
Don't give up just walk on
Have faith in your heart
For my love will see you through

My love will see you through
When you reach for your star
When you cross the deepest sea
When you climb the highest hill
My love will always be with you
In everything you do
In every step you'll make
In every road you take

Don't be afraid to follow your dreams....
For my love will see you through

my september 2008

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light
of memory flickers in her eyes."
--Frank Deford

the highlights of my september? bangs and south korea. did i write bangs? did i write south korea? yup, yup.


see?
as for korea...

i was given clearance to fly all over south korea during the fourth week of september 2008. it was quite tiring. 6 flights in 6 days. preparing for the trip was challenging because work kept on piling up to my neck and over my head even when i was finally about to go and attend to the company-mandated business trip. i wasn't quite ready even when the itinerary and expenses were already taken care of.

even if it was work, i enjoyed the trip and had fun. why could i not? our hosts toured us around. plus, my passport finally got devirginized. haha.

i'll probably blog about my experiences in south korea in a separate post. i took very few pictures (870+ only). you may view some of them (10+ albums only ;-P) in my photo pages in multiply (jr's gallery). perhaps, they can tell you the story.


inside the gyeongbok palace grounds in jongnogu, seoul, south korea
i should be saying help me i'm drowning. so much is going on... but why should i complain? i'm still having fun and opportunities continue to come my way.

i say, bring 'em on!

cooking 101: adobong manok

"Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success."
--Swami Sivananda

i already talked about doing the laundry in a previous article. now, i'm going to talk about cooking.

my friend, yoni, must be right. i am getting domesticated (and yeah we're growing old. no, i mean, we're growing up.) if before i couldn't be made to deal with mere rice cooking, now i have the will to cook whatever my mind fancies.

i remember that one of my reasons for trying to live far away from the comforts of my own home and family was so i could push myself to take care of my own affairs especially when it comes to doing the laundry, keeping my own place neat and organized, and cooking, among other things. to put that simply: so i could push myself to do household chores. at home, i found it rather difficult to do chores because if i did try to lift a finger and did something as simple as slicing potatoes or hold a broom, people in the house would start thinking something was definitely wrong with me and they'd tease me about it. the dear heavens know i dislike being teased about such things.

when i first moved away from home and stayed in diliman, my doing the laundry was limited to washing my own underwear and socks (as we were not allowed to do the rest of our laundry in the dorm and laundromats took care of my soiled clothes). i kept my side of the dorm room relatively neat and relatively organized (take note of that word -- relatively). i did not cook -- i just didn't have the will but i surely had the thought.

with my stay here in batangas, i re-wrote my own story -- at least, where household chores are concerned. not only did i have the patience and will to deal with my laundry on my own, i also earned the will to try honing my cooking skills (long-been-dormant cooking skills, i'd like to insist. after all, i belong to a lineage of good, if not great, cooks! hehe.)

just recently (read: more than a week ago), i tried my luck with adobong manok. one early morning, i went to the market. i had just alighted from the company bus then and i had just finished a night shift's worth of workload. i didn't know what got into me but i walked my way to the market and bought half a kilo of dressed chicken, had that said half sliced and took it home.

i remember being sleepy and i should have hit the bed right away but...

i had a half a kilo of chicken to deal with. after putting away my bag, i went to the kitchen, washed my hands, and did what i had to do. i had once observed my officemate when she came to visit and cooked adobong manok for us. i somehow had the confidence that i'd be able to cook adobong manok based on that one instance of observation -- with no written guide whatsoever to pull me through. i thought: "i'm gifted with good memory and, should that fail me, i could always go by with my instincts."

i got me some garlic, onion, salt, soy sauce, paminta, and vinegar. i simply mixed all of them ingredients in a clean used-to-be ice cream container. for good measure, i mixed them with my own hands. i then turned on the rice cooker (we don't have a stove in this house and we won't buy one anymore), put some cooking oil inside the cooking bowl, and when all that was ready, i transferred all the pre-mixed ingredients and waited for my adobo to be ready for eating.

either i must really be bad at waiting or i must have been really tired from work or both. i fell asleep! when i woke up, the contents of the cooker was close to drying up. good thing, i woke up just in time (to the tempting smell of adobo and before the chicken and the rest of the stuff got burned, you know) and was able to save the day. whew, that was close. i simply added some water, vinegar, and soy sauce and waited some more until i felt certain all was well with my first ever adobong manok.

it smelled like adobong manok, looked like adobong manok, and tasted like adobong manok. i say, it was really an adobong manok which i was able to cook on my own.

that was more than a week ago. tonight, i made adobo out of canned tuna. next time, i'll try cooking pork adobo. when i cook, it's usually a hit or miss. i tried cooking tinolang manok not too long ago and it ended up being a nilagang manok, pft. hopefully, when i try pork adobo, it'll be a hit.

well

surprise. surprise.

after a while of not being able to share my thoughts and what-nots here, i'm back again. i haven't really been gone. i can't remember a day i haven't been online for the past month but it took me until today to write another entry again.

my life's going good so far. i get to experience the usual fluctuations of day-to-day living but everything's been bearable and i'm having the time of my life going through my highs and lows, learning, growing, becoming.

during the time i wasn't able to update this blog, i've been regularly multiplying -- that is, updating and using my premium multiply account. of course, i have to make the most out of it.

between shuttling back and forth, going here and there, catching my breath, i could say i've been putting my energies to good use.

there is so much i want to share but, let's face it, so much can happen in a month that if i start sharing now what i've been through during the month i haven't written anything, i wouldn't be able to finish anymore. babbler that i am, i could go on and on and on.

for some updates, you may visit my multiply account. huge parts of it are accessible to everyone.

for more of my thoughts, wait 'til my next entry... or entries for that matter.

lately i've been able to watch footages of iligan, kauswagan and kolambugan on tv -- yes, i now have my own TV in my batangas crib -- no thanks to you, bravo (if i were in your shoes, i wouldn't want to carry a name that could be mistaken for a mere pack of biscuit. oh, that reminds me. i don't want to be in your shoes because you are evil.)

i'm upset with what's happening in mindanao. it's really disturbing to read about lawlessness. people are being displaced from their homes, pushed to run far away from where there is threat. the unlucky ones die without justice. men, women, and children suffer and all these unfold for the name of what?!

when i read about the barely two-year old child that they (i don't know what to call them -- the first thing that comes to mind is the word 'killers' but even that seems to be inadequate, they're worse than that) left dead in pantar, my eyes welled up. God bless them.

with all that's happening in my home island, my biggest consolation is that my family in iligan still remains safe.

one step closer

"A passport, as I'm sure you know, is a document that one shows to government officials whenever one reaches a border between countries, so the officials can learn who you are, where you were born, and how you look when photographed unflatteringly."
--Lemony Snicket

as i was preparing breakfast early today, i heard someone calling from the gate. when i went out to check what it was all about, i was delighted to see the small package that was meant for me.

my passport!

machine readable passport

finally, it got to me! it was supposed to be delivered to me last thursday but when i called the forwarder to locate my passport last friday, i was told it wasn't released as scheduled and that i needed to call the department of foreign affairs.

so...

toot toot toot toot toot toot toot toot toot (to represent the act of pressing numbers, folks, and NOT cussing). after pressing the right numbers, i was already on the line -- my call was acknowledged politely by the person on the other end. i learned that they did not release my passport because i asked for something to be resolved first.

doinks!

i had no idea what needed to be resolved because i did not ask for such a thing. so, without missing a beat, i told the person on the other line, "sir, promise po, wala po akong kinalaman sa sinasabi n'yong pina-resolve ko last july 10. i was there 9th of july and not on the 10th of july. whoever made the transaction in behalf of me the day after that, i did not authorize it. ang alam ko lang na pwedeng maging issue ay pagiging DOST scholar ko noong araw pero po i submitted all the necessary papers to support my application and nakasaad po doon that i am allowed to apply for a passport."

"don't worry. ok na siya. na-release na at i-d-deliver na siya bukas."

saturday (that's yesterday) came and, during late afternoon, i received a text from the forwarder's rep saying he was at our company's immediate neighboring facility earlier that day to deliver my passport but since i wasn't there, the next resort would be for me to get my passport at their (forwarder's) office.

doinks!

mheeeen! how many strikes do i have to endure? my reply went this way: "sir, company address po namin ginamit ko and hindi po address ng kapitbahay namin. inasahan ko pong ihahatid n'yo sa tamang address kasi po existing naman po ang building namin and may daan naman po."

i then called the rep and sought some clarification regarding the delivery. i listened to his side and i explained my stand on the matter. then, the compromise...

the compromise? he's gonna deliver my passport to my residential address here in batangas.

so...

today, all's well that ends well. my passport is already with me! yey.

oi, i know your question. am i traveling soon? that is not for me to say. when my immediate superior told me this for the umpteenth time: "wag ka nang pasaway. kumuha ka na ng passport," ayun, nagpaka-effort* na ako. madali akong kausap, di ba? hehe.

mga friends, tulungan n'yo ko mangolekta ng mga tatak sa pasaporte ko. it's about time. travel tayo. hihi. ;-)


*pa-picture sa nearest mall dito then pila sa DFA manila (kung di pagpapaka-effort ang pumila sa DFA manila, i don't know what is. also throw in to the equation an early trip from batangas to manila, okay?)

in pursuit of more

"There will be times when you will be in the field without a camera. And, you will see the most glorious sunset or the most beautiful scene that you have ever witnessed. Don't be bitter because you can't record it. Sit down, drink it in,
and enjoy it for what it is!"
--DeGriff

anyone who's familiar with the board game ca$hflow would probably say, "doodads!"

BUT

yes, i've just upgraded my (until recently) free multiply account to premium. i have lots of albums and stuff there already and my experience with multiply has been, so far, so good. i wanted to keep all the photos i uploaded in hi-res and i did not want to risk losing any of the comments that contacts and passersby have left there. it was easy for me to do decide on doing the move -- upgrade!

you might think i've gone overboard there and that i'm crazy enough to be shelling out some money for such a thing. well... HEY, i may be crazy. when i realized i could lose the hi-res versions of the photos i have published online, it was a no-brainer for me to come up with the decision: buy the account.

i told my friends i was going to apply for a credit card -- if only so i can purchase my multiply account. "my no-plastic-money personal policy be damned." (adik! haha.) good thing, i did not quite reach that point since a good friend offered to pay the account for me (i just have to pay back in pesos.)

back in 2004, i signed up for a flickr account but i was never tempted to upgrade (read: pay for) my account there. the interaction and network options just seemed inadequate. with multiply, i am more than satisfied with the interaction and the options -- blog, photos, videos, links, reviews, music, guestbook, etc, all in one even with a free account. (with generous bandwidth at that!)

so, why did i upgrade to premium? because. i. just. felt. i. should.

pay me a visit there, okay?

p.s. if i were to pursue a different career path, i'd opt to do full-time photography. right now, except for my trusty sony ericcson, i don't have the camera. for the time being, i am making the most of what i have. as they say, it's the surgeon, not the scalpel. in the same line of thought, it's the one taking the shot, not the camera. see ya around!

growing better

"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."
--H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book

these days, i know people aren't pulling my leg when they say, "oi, tumataba ka na!"

i can see and feel the change myself. i'm growing into my clothes (i'd rather say it that way instead of "i'm outgrowing my clothes") -- my pants, most especially. before, i had no trouble putting them on but lately i've been struggling to fit into them. nowadays, i have to wriggle my way in. i badly need new pairs and all of them new pairs have to be at least a size bigger! swear.

just last weekend, the locking button of my fave cargo pants popped off. nope, the thread did not give way -- the button-holes of the dear button gave up on me!

the thing is, i am not growing a belly. i am simply growing, growing, growing.

i'm still reed thin (i dare say; and i am probably still underweight?) but...

if they see me now, people who know my history of being ridiculously thin (through grade school, high school, college, graduate school...) could tell that i've recently achieved progress with my (lack of) weight issue.

i never thought it would really happen. even those who get to see me everyday didn't fail to notice.

i have grown a bit heavier and a bit bigger. i do not need a weighing scale nor a tape measure to verify the claim. you can see it on my cheeks. you can see it when you see me.

"namimintog eh."

"hahahah... tumataba!" (sabay puna sa braso ko.)

"kung dati mukha ka lang grade three; ngayon nagmumukha ka ng grade six. oi, nagdadalaga na."

"nakakaaliw. you're looking better."

"bagay pala sa 'yo napapagod." (sabay sundot sa iba: "hiyang na hiyang. dagdagan nyo pa trabaho nito!")

:-) hehe. tama bang alaskahin ako?

p.s. i don't believe in rice shortage. picture? click here.

to write again

"You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it."
--John Updike

one thing i realized when i started running my own place: cleaning is therapeutic. other people may find this too trivial that they either take this for granted or fail (worse, refuse) to recognize but, for me, this is one great realization.

with "running my own place," i mean paying for the rent, taking care of the bills, spending for the house needs, looking after my own, keeping my place clean and organized, minding the laundry, etcetera -- the works so to speak -- with my own pocket, my own sweat, my own efforts.

for close to six months, i lived in laguna and had a place to look after all on my own. click here to see glimpses. then, i moved to another crib in batangas. click here for another set of glimpses.

ever since i transferred to batangas from laguna, i never had the time to go to the laundry shop or look for a laundry shop or a manang labandera for that matter -- so busy-busy-busy, OT most of the time -- so i resorted to doing all the laundry myself. i go to work early, arrive home late and i de-stress by doing the laundry.

on some days that i do get to step out of the workplace early, i spend and enjoy after-work hours with my friends visiting places... but when i go home, i still have the energy to do house stuff including my current fave chore: doing the laundry!

i honestly don't know what has gotten into me. i got excited on running my own place that i am now able to do housework willingly. just recently, my housemate and i acquired a rice cooker. soon, we will be buying a stove. we're excited to cook! i'm planning on getting a TV and a washing machine.

yup, mentioning the washing machine which i don't have yet means i've been diligently doing all the laundry by hand. ;-D joyce, my housemate, is saying maybe i'll surprise everyone by switching careers pretty soon -- i might just follow the "other" path and start running a laundry business. hahaha!

as i write this, i also get to remember that, sometime ago, somebody wrote about the youth being desensitized when it comes to doing household chores. i am not sure if by writing this i am making a case against it -- maybe not because that is not my intention. i merely wanted to share a realization -- something which i've already done in the first paragraph. now, let me go back to it.

one of my friends rationalized and summarized cleaning's therapeutic benefits into this one thought: when you clean your own place, organize your own stuff, and take care of your own house affairs to the point that you brush-clean your bathroom, at the end of it all, you're given that liberating feeling that there is still an aspect in your life that you're still in control of even when the rest of your world seems to be falling apart. i say, amen.

obligatory post

"I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all."
--Richard Wright

i know. it's been awhile since i last updated this blog and today can't wait. in just a few hours, this territory of mine in blogosphere will be on its fourth year of existence.

how time flies, eh?

i'm happy caterpillartalk is still up and running. here and here.

summer fun in laguna

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is hardly a waste of time."
--John Lubbock

on april 29 to may 1, 2008: from sta. rosa to calamba to los baños to lumban-caliraya to pagsanjan-cavinti-pagsanjan to sta. cruz to bay (read as ba-i) to los baños to san pablo city to sta. rosa.

let the pictures do the talking.



04.29-30.2008 caliraya | lumban, laguna



04.30.2008 fun in caliraya | lumban, laguna



04.30.2008 wallclimbing in caliraya | lumban, laguna



04.30.2008 caliraya outing | lumban, laguna



04.30.2008 overnight | pagsanjan, laguna



05.01.2008 boatriding | pagsanjan-cavinti, laguna



05.01.2008 boatriding rest station | pagsanjan, laguna



05.01.2008 pagsanjan falls raftride | cavinti, laguna



05.01.2008 pagsanjan falls | cavinti, laguna



05.01.2008 reminiscing tabing ilog | pagsanjan, laguna



05.01.2008 kamayan sa palaisdaan sa bay (read as ba-i) | bay, laguna

related albums:
end of april in caliraya: album #1
end of april in caliraya: album #2
aprilthirtieth: our stay in pagsanjan
mayfirst: pagsanjan, laguna
mayfirst: tabing ilog
mayfirst: bay, laguna

balay-balay talk

"Every individual has a place to fill in the world
and is important in some respect
whether he chooses to be so or not."
--Nathaniel Hawthorne

next saturday, i will be living under a different roof. an apartment in batangas is already waiting for me and my officemate slash roadtrip-buddy slash would-be housemate, joyce.

yesterday, we found it -- the new place to live in. it's a one-bedroom apartment with a spacious sala, a kitchen with a number of cabinets, a cute CR (i can't think of a better adjective; rest assured it's a neat-looking CR with a shower and a bowl), and a terrace -- all tiled and with a gate that can be trusted to keep the unwanted a safe distance away. i made the downpayment today and got the keys.

there are no pictures of the apartment to share for now but i can say that it's pretty. in the next few weeks (or in the next few days, i should say), my spending will be geared towards acquiring stuff for the place since it's not furnished unlike my place in sta. rosa.

bed, pillows, aparador, racks, rugs... then, a small table and chairs, and a divider -- maybe.

hiking distance ra siya from the church, the barangay hall, the municipal hall, the water district, hospital, dental clinic, beauty salon (lol!), the fire station, the police station, jollibee -- yey, chickenjoy!, sakayan, palengke, and mga palitanan ug mga grocery items. what's more, if we're out walking towards the highway, we get to see a beautiful view of mt. makiling. so far, all the dogs we encountered in the area are tied and are inside their respective cages -- hihi.

our would-be next-door neighbors are 4 working girls who are about our age -- we have yet to meet them but the owner of the building told me they speak bisaya. i am hoping that this means bisaya as in cebuano.

the move is all part of a preparation. this may will sure be hell month (yes, forget hell week. it's hell month, baby) -- this despite may being my second fave month of the year next to december. work will be very, very demanding (hence, the need to live in batangas area since the bulk of my work is no longer in sta. rosa) and there's that very, very big possibility that so little of me will get to my friends.

'tis may soon and i've prepared myself for "the long, hard pull". hopefully, i will be proven wrong about this may being hell month. who knows? may 2008 might just usher in more great things for me and those dear to me. praying. believing. affirming. yeah!

a jolt back to reality

04.16.08. taking this photo jolted me back to reality

i set my alarm for 5:30 a.m. but when i woke up, i had to rush because i was already running an hour late. what was i thinking relying on that alarm!? duh.

i managed to squeeze in my usual hour's worth of morning rituals into 20 minutes and by 6:50 a.m., i was out of my place and making my way to work.

i hailed a tricycle to take me to where the company shuttle usually picks me up for my 7 o'clock ride.

time check: 6:50 a.m.
reality check: a tricycle ride from my place of stay to pick-up point takes at least 15 minutes.

boy, was i running late! worse, the driver of the tricycle decided to take a detour to the gasoline station. i wanted to blurt out, "manong, ma-le-late na po ako!" but i held back and bit the tip of my tongue as an attempt at temper management. inside, i was seething. argh. of all days! of all times! how can a potentially good day start bad?

"Lord, help me."

my patience was thinning out so early in the morning. i mustered for control over the temper that was about to blow over. i tried to divert my attention to what's around me and, in the distance, i saw the rising sun. i told myself i should take a picture of it, so i did.

it may not be the best sunrise photo but it's something worth sharing. when i took it, i experienced a turning point.

as i was fumbling with my phone, getting ready to take my shot, i noticed the time. the display said, 5:57 a.m.

wham!

all along, i was moving disoriented, warped. when i woke up and read 5:30 a.m., i mistook it for 6:30 a.m. ding di ding!!!

bwahahahahahaha...

just when i thought i was running an hour late, i was, in fact, being one hour early. (kay naunsa ka, val?)

one thing i did not fail to recognize, He was quick in answering my simple prayer. His timing's impeccable.

i needed that experience, that morning, that day to remind me that, yes, He's still watching over me and paying attention even to the smallest of my utterances.

chasing sunsets, taking chances

"Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape lay as if new created
in all the freshness of childhood."
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

observing the sunset while on a moving vehicle
9th of april 2008 | wednesday
sta. rosa, laguna

i could have asked the driver to stop for a little while so i could take a better picture but i didn't.


"hello..."


"...see you soon."


the sun was a full orange circle under the clouds. the vehicle i was riding on was heavily tinted. the SE phone did more than i expected -- the pictures are not way too blurry considering the vehicle was doing past 70.

here or there

"The butterfly counts not months but moments,
and has time enough."
--Rabindranath Tagore

if you can't find me here, i'm here. yes, here.

yahoo messenger

kung totoo ang sabi ng mga kaibigan ko na nagmamahal na lang ako ng isang alaala, bakit nasasaktan pa rin ako?

kanina.

na-busy ang yahoo messenger ko. si former roommate. nangungumusta. mega kumustahan. pakonti-konting kwento tungkol dito at tungkol doon. habang may team meeting, nakikipagdaldalan ako sa yahoo messenger. smiley dito, smiley doon. sagot dito, sagot doon. hanggang sa umabot sa topic na boylets.

ikakasal ka na ba?

ako: hindi, ikaw ba? pa'no 'ko ikakasal?

simpleng tanong. pero affected ako. hindi sa dahil gusto ko nang magpakasal. naalala ko lang si all-time fave guy. kumusta na kaya siya? naiisip pa kaya niya ako? bakit ba ang layo na niya?

matagal ko na siyang hindi nakikita. ni anino niya, di ko na nakita since more than two years ago. ayoko na umasa pero mahal ko pa rin siya. yan ang alam ko. wherever he is. whatever he is doing. ako, i'll root for him. masakit man umasa sa wala. mahal ko pa rin siya. siya na hindi ko na nakikita.

Lord, pag humiling ba ako ngayon, pagbibigyan mo ako? gusto ko na po siyang makita ulit. pero kung wala na po siyang pakialam sa akin... sana matutunan ko na di na umasa.

roadtrip!

"A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act,
and life's worthwhile."
--Author Unknown

1st of march 2008 | saturday
gurls' day-out in southern luzon

maybe together we can get somewhere
any place is better
starting from zero, got nothing to lose...

the plan was to drive from calamba, laguna all the way to pagbilao -- one of the municipalities of quezon province nearest to bicol -- and enjoy a pristine whitesand beach in pagbilao grande island. well, we had more than that!

from calamba to batangas to san pablo to nagcarlan to majayjay to lucban to pagbilao grande island and all those places in between that we had to pass by...



marked!

one car. five gurls. one long road trip. unexpected destinations. wonderful day. fantastic way to start a month!


first spur-of-the-moment stopover
san pablo city
multiply photo album: roadtrip: san pablo city stop-over

san pablo city of laguna is one of the philippines' oldest cities and home to seven lakes -- sampalok, palakpakin, yambo, bunot, pandin, muhikap, and calibato.

we made a stopover and went to see one of the said seven lakes.



03.01.2008. san pablo city stopover: one of the seven lakes

another spur-of-the-moment stopover
nagcarlan, laguna
multiply photo album: roadtrip: nagcarlan stop-over



03.01.2008. nagcarlan stopover: nagcarlan underground cemetery

nagcarlan underground cemetery was used as a burial site from 1845 until 1981. it also served as the secret meeting place of the revolutionary leaders in laguna in 1896. in 1981, it was declared a historical landmark and placed under the responsibility of the national historical institute.

ghost stories? don't ask why we didn't take pictures while we were underground. just visit the place and, if you want goosebumps, ask the site custodian :P

by the way, nagcarlan is also famous for sweet lanzones.



03.01.2008. nagcarlan, laguna: all gurls

spur-of-the-moment stopover #3
majayjay, laguna
multiply photo album: roadtrip: majayjay stop-over

from nagcarlan, we continued with our trip, and passed through liliw -- a place in laguna province known for very affordable footwear. we decided not to stop to shop around so we satisfied ourselves with just looking at the footwear shops through the car windows. we drove through slowly, eventually passed through more country roads, and saw more countryside sights.

then, we made another stopover.



03.01.2008. majayjay stopover: taytay falls

it was drizzling and all, the drive to the place wasn't easy (thank God, we were on a 4WD!), and it's a long walk to the falls but... the sight's all worth it!


stopover for lunch
lucban, quezon
multiply photo album: lucban stop-over

for lunch, we swung by kamayan sa palaisdan in lucban, quezon. ambience there was great and we got precious memories of awesome-tasting food!



03.01.2008. lunch in lucban: kamayan sa palaisdaan

it felt nice to be walking on bamboo bridges to get to our choice of floating bahay kubo (nipa hut). all the food we ordered tasted way soooo good -- and that's not because we were just so hungry. it's not a crime to admit that we'd been munching on the way.

for our lunch, we ordered ginataang sugpo sa pako, pork sisig, laing, spare ribs, sinampalukang manok, inihaw na tangigue, and rice. we got calamansi juice, green mango shake and fresh buko for our drinks. while waiting for our order, we had pilipit -- a native delicacy.

i was beyond being "officially" busog because food tasted very, very good. i told the gurls, "help! busog na busog na ako pero gusto ko pa kumain. parang nasusuka na nga ako sa sobrang busog." haha. actually, we all felt that way.


destination: pagbilao grande island
pagbilao, quezon
multiply photo album: pagbilao grande island

the drive after lunch got more exciting. we passed through tayabas, calumpang, sariaya, and lucena before we got to pagbilao and the whitesand beach that we were after.

pagbilao grande island is a beautiful place.



03.01.2008. trekking to the beach

to get to the whitesand beach, we parked the 4WD and went on a trek... first, through a narrow footpath, then through a walkway, down a riprap, on a rocky shore, up a hill, through a forested area, through the caretakers' gate, down another footpath... until the beach, aptly named puting buhangin, revealed itself.



03.01.2008. experiencing pagbilao

the sight was... wow! we had fine white sand flirting with our feet! everything looked so clean and serene. the best thing was, for an entrance fee of PhP50 per person, we had the place (including kwebang lampas -- the nearby cave) all to ourselves.



03.01.2008. destination: pagbilao grande island

when it was already almost sunset, we left the beach and went back to the hill where we spent a little bit more time watching the awesome play of colors in the sky.



03.01.2008. almost sunset in pagbilao

truth be told, i did not know of pagbilao's existence before. southern luzon residents, especially those from pagbilao, ought to pardon me for my ignorance. i first heard of pagbilao only two weeks ago, when my certified gala officemate mentioned it and coaxed us to go there with her. she volunteered to do all the driving. fuel expenses? travel party's responsibility.



03.01.2008. members of our travel party

all in all, each of us shelled out PhP750 for the trip. that amount took care of our contribution for the fuel that took us all the way to pagbilao (including our sidetrips) and back to calamba, for our sumptuous lunch, for entrance fees, and for the food & drinks we took with us on the road.



03.01.2008. all that in one day


in just one day, we went to see a lake, we visited a historical site, we hiked our way to a waterfalls, we had lunch on a place defined by floating nipa huts, and enjoyed spending time on a beautiful beach --- all for a good budget.



03.01.2008. some sights along the way

...and the sights we saw along the way were priceless.

pink power: my weekend find

"Make your feet your friend."
--J.M. Barrie

inexpensive and comfy.
light and pretty.
shoes.
mine. mine. mine.

colors and bubbles in the air

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts.
Untie the ribbons."
--Ruth Ann Schabacker

fly, colorful butterfly
good morning, world. i am in a happy mood.

life's getting challenging and, therefore, far from being boring. my recent interactions and observations have given me inspiration and renewed hope. i have been made to see opportunities through different perspectives. things are gonna get better, better, and better!

the good thoughts i have in mind? they WILL happen. i believe so. who knows, maybe as i speak, they are already happening.

meanwhile, i'll exercise more patience.

patience. THAT. that is something i really wasn't born with. being patient and remaining so IS a struggle. it is a virtue i have to continuously sow and allow to grow in me.

i have to submit to and pass tests of patience. yes, the marshmallow test included.

-¤-
driving patience home


here's for taking the road
allow me to drive patience home by sharing these lines which i am currently doing my best to live by...

continuously build your character. self-discipline is won through practice. develop discipline. always. do not be tempted by shortcuts. have patience. always.

when bad things happen, view them as training. it is a duty not to allow the devil when it comes to steal and destroy. hold your ground. do not grow weary in doing good things.

do not grow weary in doing good things. that is something worth saying again and again.

you reap what you sow. watch your words. do not curse your own life. do not curse anyone. do not curse anything. do not curse at all.

do NOT say bad words. always remember THAT very simple line.

while i still know all those profane phrases and foul words inside my head, i have learned to hold my tongue. you know those... sh*t, BS, g*go, bu*ng, d*mn, and the relative words? i have long stopped releasing them -- even as mere expressions. i realized life won't get boring without them, life gets better.

all i needed to know, i learned when i was younger. since i want to live more, i have to learn more but, first, i have to go back to the basics. i am re-learning them all now.

ride with me.

ever-there

"General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed but I don't see that -- seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified, or newsworthy - but it's always there."
-- from the movie, Love Actually

there are a lot of people whom i can run to and be with. i have both family and friends.

during the past few weekends (throw in a few workdays, too), this is something i was made more aware of -- when i had to move from one fun-filled overnight session to another just to make it from one circle to another. i am not complaining. why should i? so what if i had to dash from batangas to laguna to metro manila and vice versa?

it's fun to be stretching my energy to the limits (but i'd like to believe i have boundless energy, hehe) and i always get to have a great time dashing through it all, anyway.

thank YOU so much.


02.01-02.08: weekend photo craze with the p6peeps
this overnight with the p6peeps was followed by an overnight with the ids99 peeps. ids99 pals, when do you think our pictures will be uploaded?


02.09-10.08: still looking sooo bright!
a two-day grand event, a celebration of 10 years... and still counting

i do have both family and friends and they are ever-there. with family, i do mean the whole bunch -- papang, mamang, brother and sisters, cousins, uncles and aunties, and friends of the family -- who do care and who make complete the very idea of family. with friends, i do mean REAL, trusted (and tested by circumstances) friends.

i do not consider myself lucky to have them -- i consider myself BLESSED. very BLESSED.

i hope you are, too.

guess where i'm off to after posting this... i'm getting a haircut and will be spending time with EVER-THERE people.

'not going anywhere good'

"People choose the paths that gain them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort -- that's a law of nature --
and you defied that."
-- Dr. Gregory House of House, MD

'not going anywhere good'

had i affirmed that phrase, had i believed in it, it would have held true.

BUT never did i and never will i.

i examined the basis and found it wanting.

i have learned to choose the words i take to be true -- not out of juvenile denial but out of wisdom. i will believe only those that are worth affirming. a negative phrase like that, when left unchecked and unopposed, can snowball. words, after all, are powerful.

imagine if i had no mind of my own. if i bought that phrase hook, line, and sinker, i would have allowed myself to be irreversibly tricked of and robbed of a meaning, and i would have been sent running away from my life's path.

i guess, in my case, defiance is a gift. i am carrying on with the road i was left with because i still believe in it. without wax.

it is mine to care for and live for. it is something i often prayed i could tirelessly fight for.

just because it is a rough road it does not mean that it is not the right path. there are surprises to be had and blessings are poured on those who have the courage to labor for them, thereby, deserving them. the best fruits of the path are revealed only to those who dare not turn their back when blocked with obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. faith has its rewards, unwavering faith moreso.

to you who said it, it's been awhile but i am pretty sure our paths will cross again... soon. don't take that as a threat.

it's an invitation.

blogsignment

"Each forward step we take
we leave some phantom of ourselves behind."
--John Lancaster Spalding

i just remembered that i've been given an assignment by one of my fellow bloggers. i'm supposed to share seven things about me. now that i remember, i also recall (yeah, i'm being redundant, so?) that some months back, one of my classmates from high school who discovered the joys of blogging last year also gave me the task of sharing eight things about myself.

so, there's seven. there's eight. howell, if bloggin' means spillin'... gosh. two years ago, i was asked to share twenty random things about myself. shortly after that, i shared another twenty out of whim. double gosh.

right now, i don't really know what to share. i'll just try to ramble on and see just how many i could come up with this time.

1. it's been over a year since i last actively participated in a drinking session. december 30, 2006 was the last day and since then, except for red wine on special occasions, i've been alcohol-free!

my friends have started calling me KJ (read: killjoy) but i'm proud i haven't budged... yet! (hehehehe.) actually, it feels great being able to say 'no' everytime someone offers me a bottle... or even a can... or a mere glass. how far i can take this resolve, i don't know. for now, should anyone persistently insist on making me glug again, i'll also persistently talk my way out of it.

2. it's been over a month since i got my design-it-yourself starbucks tumbler but until now, i haven't given it my own design. i've been taking it with me every workday -- to batangas and laguna (since i report to both places everyday, how's that? i'm a supergurl!) -- and, from time to time, i stare at it thinking when i would see my own creativity reflected on its sides.

i already have a concept in mind. all i need to do is to implement it. sure, i'll need will, too. for now, my starbucks tumbler houses my water. coffee? nah... i hardly drink coffee. but yeah, yeah, it will house coffee -- on rare occasions -- only after i've put my design.

3. i'm still addicted to naruto. i'm into shippuden now. during my last night-out with the p6peeps last weekend, i was barely into our dance revo challenge-slash-craze because i was concentrating more on my doses of naruto shippuden. thanks to my friend jerk's collection and to edson's laptop!

yesterday, i got myself my very own collection of naruto shippuden! nik, are you reading this? hehehee...

4. i'm wondering when i'll be able to see sweeney todd. johnny depp, hello! i was supposed to watch it this weekend but... "but" circumstances do happen, don't they?

5. by currently living on my own and alone in my own balay-balay (as mae -- she's my earth angel here in laguna -- would call it), i'm living up to my surname. (heeheehee.)

i may be on my own BUT i am far from being lonely out here in sta. rosa. during workdays, i have the company of my new-found-friends-slash-workmates and on weekends, i either join my old-time friends in manila (or wherever) or, on rare weekends like this weekend, i get to explore laguna on my own. the set-up feeds my adventurous spirit (and promotes my independence)!

plus fresh air, cool breeze, lots of natural greens, peaceful community... the environment here is really a far cry from metro manila's stressful hustle-bustle.

6. [i decided to erase what i originally wrote for this item.]

beautiful people...

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."
--Maori Proverb

...cast beautiful shadows


...deserve a marvelous sunset


...make an awesome photo even more awesome!

-¤-

more importantly, beautiful people...


...make a big happy family!
(eventhough quite a number have already migrated, we're still that many :P)

note:
the first three photos are courtesy of albert who took photos of me and my friends while we were out savoring 2007's last sunset in our hometown.

chasing the last sunset of 2007

"In the right light, at the right time,
everything is extraordinary."
--Aaron Rose

12.31.2007: bidding bye to a year that was...
i spent the last week of 2007 practically sprinting from here to there and spent the first day of 2008 in a similar way. whew! you can say "LAAGAN!" and i'd just chuckle.

i was still in tangub city with my family when one of my awesome friends -- sealdz -- sent out an invitation to watch 2007's last sunset in OUR iligan. knowing i'd be back just in time, i said yes to the invitation... and la daaa daaaaaaa... swish swish flick! just take a look at the photo album i published in multiply to get glimpses of what i and a few of my hometown-slash-great friends said yes to! it's quite a year-end special.

the wonderful sunset experience was made even better because somebody -- a stranger to us -- approached us and asked if he could take pictures of our group. since it was a dslr nikon camera that we saw him cradling, we didn't dare refuse and we became instant models!

we had fun with the point-and-shoot cameras that we brought with us. we had more fun when somebody aimed his dslr cam at us and the sunset.

actually, with the sunset-painted sky as our oh-so-natural backdrop, only our shadows could be seen in the fantastic shots... but they were such fantastic shots! they'll definitely find their way to our respective friendster (& whatever) pages once we get hold of our own copies.

by the way, ENJOY 2008!