2011

i was gonna make the usual new year's resolutions but then i realized that my resolutions never do get followed. so instead of depriving myself with those "i will stop/not --" resolutions, i decided on making 2011 the start of an enriching experience for me. and by "the start" that means this is not just gonna be for 2011 but from 2011-2015. see, 2015 is the year i turn (gasp!) 30. so i decided to get a jumpstart on my goals and here i am, presenting my 10 goals for the big three-oh.

1. learn a new language. - thinking of taking up mandarin classes by january. i have always been impressed by people who knows how to speak other languages.

2. finish my  degree - i am serious. i have to complete this by june or all my plans are gonna fall apart. i'm gonna need a lot less of the lazy's and grab more of the focus.
 
3. get a non-call center job - because yes, this is the dream. haha. seriously, there is nothing i want more than to get away from irate callers. i don't care of the workload is heavy or if the pay is low. i just want out of the call center industry.

4. take photography seriously - i've been eying some dslr cameras for a while now. no budget, though. so i've decided that this is the first thing i'm gonna be saving up for once i get a job. might also take some photography classes to enhance my photography knowledge.

best onscreen kiss ever

i was re-watching cloudy with a chance of meatballs earlier today and i just had to post this. so sweet. :) best onscreen kiss, indeed. :)

destination: ilocos - batac and paoay tricycle tour

we originally planned on commuting from one place to another in batac and paoay. but while talking to mang arnel during our ilocos tour, i decided to ask him if he knew anyone so he referred us to kuya wawie. we enjoyed the pagudpud tricycle so much that we decided to save ourselves the hassle of commuting. i called kuya wawie and the deal was struck at 600php for an afternoon tour plus the ride to the airport.

we took a bus from laoag to the paoay checkpoint where kuya wawie picked us up. we immediately went to the marcos museum and mausoleum where former president ferdinand marcos' remains are kept and preserved for everyone to see (no pictures, though). it was really eerie with the dimmed lights and somber music. plus, it was like a private viewing of the his remains since it was only me, my friend and the caretaker inside the mausoleum when we viewed it. near the mausoleum was a photo gallery where (you guessed it!) they have hundreds of pictures of the marcos family on display. in this gallery, one can also see a mural of the marcoses painted on one of the walls. i simply caught myself staring at the pictures of young imelda marcos. she was such a beauty in her prime. i was also impressed at ferdinand marcos' bar exam results.

we then got back on the tricycle and started our trip to paoay. we stopped to view the paoay lake. according to legend, there was once a village that stood on the very spot the lake is on right now.as per how the usual legends go, because of the rivalry between people and their greed to have more than others do, the gods got mad at them and flooded the place. so the village was submerged by water and a beautiful lake emerged in its place.

unfortunately, the malacañang of the north was closed that day due to renovations. so we headed to our next destination: the paoay church.

on my first trip to ilocos back in 2004, we mostly went to see the churches since it was for an art class and we checking out the architecture of the different churches. my friend, on the other hand, lived in vigan in his younger years and has seen most of the churches as well. so for this tour, among other churches, we just wanted to go back to paoay church. what i love most about our visit to paoay church this time is that we got to climb the bell tower. the steps were steep, since the friars back in the days of the church's construction were mostly spanish and much, much taller than the average filipino. i think my friend must have been a little miffed at me because he doesn't do well with heights but  i insisted he come up with me anyway. as slow as he was going up, he was in full speed going down. well, i say conquer your fear of heights! (if you're reading this, lv, i do hope you had fun anyway. :D)

and to close our whole ilocos escapade, we went to fort ilocandia: a high end hotel in ilocos that has become a tourist destination in itself. probably because it's too pricey for an average person.

this concludes our trip to the north. we headed to the airport, had a couple of beers while waiting for our flight and with heavy hearts, boarded the plane back to manila. a bit tired, yes. but will forever have the memory of the beautiful places we visited on our journey up north. :)

destination: ilocos - vigan walking tour

getting there:
we rode the first bus out of pagudpud which happened to be a non-aircon bus to laoag. the bus broke down mid-trip and we had to wait for an hour for it to get fixed (see this post entry for evidence. heehee.). once we got to laoag, we took a tricycle to partas bus station and hopped onboard a bus to vigan.

was stuck on the bus but on the brightside,
witnessed this beautiful sunset

settling in:
we were dropped off at vigan city hall from where we asked the information center for directions to vigan hotel. to our advantage, everything in vigan is within walking distance from each other and we were able to find our hotel in just a few minutes.

tummy filler:
we checked in the hotel and i got a bath while my friend took a little catnap. then, we had dinner at cafe leona but we really weren't that hungry so we just had sandwiches. mine was a longganisa sandwich which was surprisingly good. :)

the lonely cafe leona at night

hotspots:
i really wanted to see vigan at night. i think there is something hauntingly beautiful with the old buildings and almost empty streets adorned with vigan's dim lights. so after having dinner, we walked around crisologo street and the plaza before retiring to bed.

the following day, we got up early and after a brief examination of our vigan maps, started a walking tour of the city. we had breakfast at (guess where?) mcdonalds simply because we couldn't decide on where to eat. i have to say that i have always admired the way they keep the restaurants' facade to keep in style with the rest of the city. after breakfast, we headed to the burgos museum. unfortunately, we got there a bit too early as it was still closed. turns out the museum doesn't open until a little after 9am.. so we waited a few minutes, walked around the vicinity a little, and after getting back, we became burgos museum's first tourists of the day. :)

we resumed our walking tour. first, stopping over to see st. paul cathedral (which reminded me a little of quiapo church for some reason) and the arzobispado nueva segovia (the archbishop's residence).

after just a few more steps, we were back at calle crisologo to check out souvenirs. i was really impressed by escolta de vigan as they have very unique shirt designs. we were also able to talk to the shop owner (who happens to do the shirt and other souvenir designs as well).

we walked a little bit further to see the syquia mansion and WOW! i don't think anyone, after seeing this, will not be in awe of the wealth of the syquias. oh, and i was surprised to find out that they still stay at that house whenever they're in town.

museum marker

another house-turned-museum we saw was the crisologo museum. i was a bit disturbed with the assassination pictures, though.

a little more walking and we were at the simbahan abassit chapel which is another unesco heritage site in vigan. a cemetery is situated behind it and it is in this cemetery where the graves of the town's eminent people are buried.

from the chapel, we took a tricycle to chavit's baluarte. it's a free zoo for everyone funded by chavit. it's great that he maintains a place like this but i do feel sorry for those poor animals they let people ride on.

that about sums up our vigan adventure. :) up next, paoay and batac! :)

destination: ilocos - bangui and batac tricycle tour

this is the second half of our 1200php-worth of tour with mang arnel. though covering only three locations (or four if you count the bangui viewing deck which simply gives you a view of the windmills from afar), these three locations all made an impact on me and inscribed vivid memories in my mind.

first stop: the bangui wind mills that makes you feel like you're somewhere out of the country. it is amazing how these beautiful windmills actually produces electricity to the residents. fun fact: pag tumigil na ang pag-ikot ng elisi ng mga windmills, ibig sabihin puno na ng kuryente ang windmill na un. :)

next stop: kapurpurawan rock formation. super rough road. i was kind of worried for mang arnel's tricycle. pero naisip ko, at least twice a week naman siguro nya pinapadaan ung tricycle dun. hindi naman siguro masisira ung mga gulong ng tryc nya. :P we had to do a little trekking to get to the place. actually hindi lang pala a little yun. ilang minutes din kami naglakad papunta sa rock formation. btw, if you're planning to go there, wear rubber shoes or super kapal na tsinelas. masakit sa paa ung parang corals na field na dadaana nyo to get there. BUT. the difficult trek is all worthwhile once you see the rock formation. medyo may black parts nga lang nung pumunta kami. sabi ni mang arnel, mga molds daw un pero pag summer, puting puti daw ung buong bato. still, the kapurpurawan rock formation was such a beautiful sight. :)

our last stop for the day (and for the whole pagudpud tour with mang arnel) was the cape bojeador lighthouse. it stands at 65 feet and has been in operation for more than 100 years. we climbed to the very top of the lighthouse and enjoyed the beautiful view of the south china sea while checking out the lamp that provides a beam of light to ships at night.

next stop: vigan

destination: ilocos - pagudpud tricycle tour

getting there:
from laoag, we took a bus to pagudpud. we told the bus conductor to drop us off at maoini, pagudpud (where our tour guide/tricycle driver picked us up). unfortunately, the conductor must've been a real meanie forgotten our stop. good thing i asked the lady i happened to sit beside with how far off we were from maoini a few minutes before we got there. and she told us that this was where we should hop off the bus before it left the stop.

recycling this picture from my older post:
this is where you get off the bus if you are meeting your tour guide at maoini

destination: ilocos - laoag walking tour

on the 30th of november, i hopped on a plane to Laoag and finally completed one of my travel wishes: to be able to go back to Ilocos. finally. six years from the last time i went there and 2 months of intensive internet reasearch to make my Ilocos backpacking escapade successful, i can now cross it off my bucket list. :)

the flight:
thanks to cebupac's promo fare, we got our plane tickets at 370php for a round-trip fare per person. the plane was scheduled to leave at 12:20pm but the flight was a bit delayed because some other plane was still on the lane waiting to depart. it was quite an experience as this was my first flight on a propeller plane. it was, as expected, small but i wasn't prepared for the temperature: it was hot inside the plane. AND there were no travel magazines to read. :( on the bright side, i was able to buy the cebupacific weekender bag which i've wanted since one of my friends bought one during our return trip from cagayan de oro. well, what can i say? orange is my favorite color and black is a close second so my eyes are really feasting on the simple bag design. i do hope it's sturdy, though. :)

(side note: i think shopping on the cebupac plane is fast becoming a hobby of mine. :P i bought the blanket and sleep kit from the flight to CDO, the weekender bag from this trip, and now, i'm eyeing the new jumbo tote they have. uuuuggghhhhhh! it's my love affair with orange and black. i can't seem to resist. :P)

NAVI, your life navigator

a quick intermission post before i bombard you with posts (yes, in the plural form) of my recently-concluded ilocos trip.

It's the last month of the year and the last month of me using my Navi 2010 planner. You served me well, planner. And because of that, I am dedicating a blog post to you. :)

I started getting planners in preparation for the year 2007. 2006 was my first "working" year and so I decided that going corporate meant I needed to get more organized. Starting with getting a planner. :P Back then, I drowned myself with coffee to get the Starbucks planner each year. I did this for 3 consecutive years until my trainer from my then-job at ePLDT Ventus introduced me to the Navi planner. I think it looks better than the Starbucks planner and if you're not really getting coffee on a daily basis, you're gonna get this planner at a cheaper price than 15++ Venti(s) from Sbux (yeah, I always order the biggest size 'cause I get 'bitin' with the Grande). The planner costs around 500php but with all the coupons inside, it's all worth it. Plus, it has sections for setting goals and a vacation planner (among other things). So it really appeals to the travel-hungry person in me.

The best part, though, is that a percentage of the proceeds from Navi goes to a cause. For 2010, it was MioFightsCancer: for Mio Mendiola, a five year old boy who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. I have yet to find out what their cause for this coming year is, though.

And so for this year, I want the new Navi 2011 planner. :) If you're feeling generous, you can get me one from their website or from any major bookstores in town. I am in no way imposing on you, though. 'Cause I'm also thinking of making my own planner. Get photos of my previous travels printed out on its pages and some of my writing too. 'Cause as much as I love Navi, there can be no such thing as a perfect planner as one you designed for yourself. :)

Hmmm.. Maybe it IS time to let the creative juices in me flow out. :)

destination: cdo-bukidnon-camiguin

I was planning on writing a very long post on my first ever Mindanao trip but then I saw this video made by my friend's sister (whose family, by the way, hosted our trip). And I found that this video says a lot more than I could in an extremely long and boring post. :P

So I just decided to put in a few photos of my Top Three Experiences of this trip to complete the post. :)

#3. Dahilayan Zip Line (Bukidnon). 

The Dahilayan Adventure Park boasts of the longest Dual Zip Line in Asia. And WOW, was it worth getting all that jitters. :)


#2. White Island (Camiguin). 

White Island spells paradise. I think my jaw dropped as I saw its majestic beauty. The island's white sand against the blue sky is simply perfect. :)


#1. White Water Rafting (CDO). 

Though I have to admit that I was getting cold feet as we were being oriented on how to river-raft and almost wanted to shout "Count me out of it!" before getting on the boat, this was definitely the highlight of our trip. The three-hour begginer course of rafting through 14 rapids was totally "bitin" and we would all go back to CDO in the blink of an eye to river-raft all over again. :D

Again, a huge thank you to the Abesamis family who hosted this trip. We will surely be back. Soon. :)

of love and misfortune

Today, I fell in love with Pagudpud. And I feel like I'm cheating on Camiguin 'cause just last week, I was in love with its White Island.

But let's set my "love" woes aside for a moment. Cause right now, I'm stuck on a bus to Laoag. The bus that me and my friend are on is having a bit of a problem. Gah. We have to reach Vigan tonight! C'mon, bus! Step on it! We've been waiting for more than 30mins for you to get fixed. :-|

drunken nights no more?

My coffee jelly, my pare's mocha frap and travel 'zines at starbucks.

Usually, the nights spent with pareng pan ends up in the wee hours of the morning after getting wasted over buckets of beers downed while barhopping in malate. Today, we bonded over UP's isaw, dinner at sefali and coffee at starbucks technohub..

Are we getting too old for booze and drunken nights? Haha. I don't think so.. :-P


*edit*
3:55am

Editing my post because it turned out to be a drinking night after all. Pare and I met with Pao, our former officemate-slash-drinkingmate, who suggested we get a couple of bottles of beer. So we headed to Tomato Kick along Maginhawa Street where I was literally within 5 inches from Franco Reyes (yes, from the band "Franco") while heading downstairs. See. I told ya we're not too old for booze. :P

jawbreaker

Why is it so hard to stay on a diet once you've "decided" to go on a diet?

Zark's Burgers' Jawbreaker

I want this.Right now. Someone take me to taft, please. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this masterpiece of a burger. Just thinking about those thick patties makes me drool. Hey you, jawbreaker. Get ready. This is one girl who has been told, on multiple occasions, that she has the appetite of a construction worker. :P

Prepare yourself to meet the depths of my tummy.

Aaah. Gluttony at its finest. :)

when lizards fall in love. literally.

soo freakin' funny. :)

but then again, anyone will tell you that lizards won't die from falling from the ceiling. :P

still. hilarious. laughed so much after i watched this, i got tears in my eyes. :D

why you shouldn't get drunk in bosay resort, antipolo

your friends will wake you up in the morning when it's time to go home but you will not have any recollection of when and how you got to your room and slept...

or how you got those bruises on your knees...

or how you lost your slippers.

XD.
 
oh, and just a little something i found on our cottage:

haha.

hahaha.

hahahaha. :D

yeah, yeah. i'm a meanie. whatcha gonna do about it, eh?

sabaw

so i was tasked to write an exposition paper on the successes and failures of the philippines in the past 50 years under the constitution. naturally, i consulted the highly respected (NOT!) mr. phytus bummer.

and this was his very poignant reply:

"sabihin mo 25 years ka pa lang na nabubuhay

sa 25 na yun,20 pa lang dun yung may isip ka na

sa 20,10 pa lang yung naging aware ka sa philippine consti

at sa 10 na yun,2 weeks ka pa lang kamo nagsimulang magcare sa consti

tapos as far as you are concerned,it is not that far and you are not really concerned.."

excellent, mr.bummer. XD

so i asked him another question: what are your thoughts on conserving and developing the patrimony of the nation?

to quote mr. bummer:

"we cannot conserve and develop what is already gone...

because patrimony does not play basketball for purefoods anymore

alvin patrimony"

aun. humagalpak na lang ako ng tawa. :P

tadhana - up dharma down

 

na-LSS ako dito for the past weeks. sarap pakinggan paulit-ulit. I love, love Up Dharma Down.

video taken while rehearsing Tadhana prior to Terno Inferno last Aug.21 2010. shot by Chi-town's Tony Rago. from youtube user ternomod. 

Tadhana - Up Dharma Down

Sa hindi inaaasahang

Pagtatagpo ng mga mundo

May minsan lang na nagdugtong,

Damang dama na ang ugong nito

'Di pa ba sapat ang sakit at lahat

Na hinding hindi ko ipararanas sayo

Ibinubunyag ka ng iyong mata

Sumisigaw ng pag-sinta

Ba't di pa patulan

Ang pagsuyong nagkulang

Tayong umaasang

Hilaga't kanluran

Ikaw ang hantungan

At bilang kanlungan mo

Ako ang sasagip saýo

Saan nga ba patungo,

Nakayapak at nahihiwagaan

Ang bagyo ng tadhana ay

Dinadala ako sa init ng bisig mo

Ba't 'di pa sabihin

Ang hindi mo maamin

Ipa-uubaya na lang ba 'to sa hangin

huwag mong ikatakot

Ang bulong ng damdamin mo

Naririto ako at nakikinig saýo

Hooohh... hoooohh...

Hooohh... hoooohh...

Hooohh... hoooohh...

Lalalala...

Ba’t ‘di salubungin ang puso ko at kunin
Ang diwang malaya huwag sanang magpabaya pa
Ikaw ang pag-ibig, pakinggan ang himig ko
Wala na sanang lalayo, mundong ito ay hihinto

zombies must've gotten to my brains

i feel like my brain is currently sporting a sign that says: temporarily unavailable. please process your transaction later. or something to that effect. if you cut off my head, this is probably how it looks like right now:

gah! i need to finish my exposition papers asap! i kinda have this (very vague) idea on how to go through with it but it involves me racking up my brain / researching on the history of the philippine politics and economic history for the past 50 years. (mind you, history has always been my waterloo.) and i don't know where on earth im gonna start. :(
 
oh well.. looks like there's gonna be no drinking for me this week. boo! :(

pantutut

yan ang tawag sa kin ng mga kamag-anak ko(father's side) sa cavite. pantutut. ambaho no? haha. tapos sa mga kapatid ko, perendos at perenseng. i have no idea where they got these names from. ung isang cousin namin, bindonggo. ung tatay ko taring (my dad's real name is ceferino, nicknamed efren). haha. i know, we're just weird like that.

so i was thinking about the names i go by or get called by other people.

e.j.- my name's initials.  from edren joy. this is how my other relatives call me. i consider this my decent "for-relatives" nickname. because pantutut just sucks. really.

edren - my first name. a mash-up of my parents name: eder and efren. this is how GS/HS friends call me.

ate lily - how my cousins from my mother's side calls me. short for "ate lilitsunin ka na sa sobrang taba mo". because all my cousins from my mother's side has stick-thin bodies.

edz - simula ng mauso ang 1 syllable nicknames nung second year high school. this is how my close friends from HS calls me. pati college friends/acquaintances and everyone i met after that. kasi pag iniintroduce ko ang sarili ko as "edren" di magets agad ng ibang tao.

darren - eto medyo nakakahiya. some HS friends used to call me this. i refuse to elaborate. :P

babs - how me and some of my closest HS friends: she, chast and jovz call each other.obviously short for baboy. :P

ligaya - my stat 125 classmates called me this. because i mentioned that i hate the name joy and will never have that as a nickname. so, led by marlon, they decided to call me ligaya instead.

patty - short for patabain. was called this name by the members of P family. the family consists of shayne - nanay pinky, her then-boyfriend kuya allan - tatay pitsog, aster - pangs, lai - pranny, docs - pervy and ivy - porky.

budz - mga buddies ko sa angkan. jay, rap, mimay, oui. pero ito na din ang tawag sa kin ng housemates minsan.

ebren - isa pang tawag ng housemates. para instead of edz eh ebz ang itawag nila sa kin. what is it with people and pagpapabaho ng pangalan ko? :P

friend - how me and my closest sitel-maa friends jayson and sharon call each other.

montoya/pare - my sitel-cr "pares" pan and anievas. we call each other pare or by the last names.

bitu - ako si b2. si irma ang b1/biwan dahil magkadugtong ang bituka namin at palagi kaming pareho ng naiisip. nagkakatinginan na lang kami sa floor at tatanungin ko cya bigla na "naiisip mo ba ang naiisip ko biwan?" to which she will reply "sa palagay ko nga, bitu." and much, much, much more often than not, we are thinking of the same thing.

mare - my teammates from team jean: irma (ulet), shyr, lv and marge.because we are all ninangs and ninong of shyr's baby, mackoy.

bords - tawagan namin ng closest guy friends ko sa training sa ventus na sina joey at steve. from the spoof of 300 na napag-usapan namin habang pauwi kami galing office.

renren - how my closest CVG friends: pipay, drei aki and joan calls me. we call pipay - fifi, drei - dede, aki - kiki, joan - jojo. we will also all respond to being called "mama".

panget - how my little sis and i call each other. that's how sweet we are as sisters. hehe. walang basagan ng trip. :P

nailed

my nail polish is chipping so i decided to take a picture before i take em off. maganda pala ang red na nail polish. nakakaputi ng kamay. hehehe. :)

squeamish

taking my exam in an hour. my insides are feeling queasy. ive got some severe knots in my tummy. blech. this is what cramming can do to you. :P thank god the weather is good today. i take this as a good omen for my exam. ha! the heavens is on my side today.. :)

on a brighter note, my sem will be over next week. :)

Edited Post: 9:18pm
exam done. was reminded by the registrar that i only have until the first week of november to complete my semester. ack! 4 exams to go.. currently in cavite. planning to pull up an all-nighter to do my exposition paper on the philippine constitution. must take exams on friday-saturday-wednesday-saturday. gaaah! the pressure! :(

celebrating solitude

deactivated my twitter and plurk accounts. offline on FB and skype. had cellphone turned off for the past week.considering the deactivation of my FB account as a desperate attempt to stifle my laziness. horrified that i have become too dependent with the world wide web. someday, i'll muster up the courage to live a month without internet connection. not really cool trying to separate oneself with the world if you're getting to see updates from friends on your FB wall. me time has suddenly turned into site-surfing-slash-stalking-people-on-FB kinda thing.

will go back to civilization tonight/tomorrow (depending on what time i wake up). being all-holed-up for that long makes me all the more excited to see my friends. i'll probably be quite the chatterbox once i get there. :P but for the moment, my body needs a bit of sleep. :)

(nail) art attack!

had my nails painted last night courtesy of my mom. don't really like the design on my fingernails all that much but i like the tiny flowers on my toenails. (my toenails are really small so these teensie-weensie flowers are all that they can fit in there. and ugh. i have ugly feet.)

i am now thinking of growing my nails and having them painted regularly. my mom gets her home-service mani-pedis once a week. if i get my mani-pedis done at home on her scheduled mani-pedi day, she'll pay for mine too. bwahaha. the benefits of leeching off the available resources in the house. :)

who can resist freebies, anyway? :P

oh, and pardon the low-res pics. i don't have my cam with me so i had to make do with my phone cam. 

thirty days hath september

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty one
Except February alone,
Which hath twenty eight days clear,
And twenty nine in each leap year.

i've had this mnemonic memorized for as long as i can remember. i don't even know where i got this from.sa book siguro namin nung grade school sa rws.

thirty days hath september...

i've been chanting this line in my head the whole day. na-realize ko kasi na patapos na ang september.. at matatapos ang september na sobrang baba ng productivity rate ko.

limang araw na lang. hay.pwede bang wag na munang mag-october? or i-skip na lang ang october ngayong taon? fast forward na lang tayo sa november..

october equals acad month. i need to take lots of exams sa school.. kasalanan ko, i know. tamad mode kasi ako from july until now. by october, bawal na ko pumetiks. super acad mode: on. plus, something i've been dreading might happen in october. :(

november equals travel month. cdo-camiguin-laoag-pagudpud-vigan. excited na ko. :) tapos start na ng new sem ko. so pwedeng pumetiks ulit ng konti. :P pwede bang november na? please, please, please...?

oh well. it's inevitable, anyway. sana pwede ko na lang i-fast forward ang october. haaaay.

one more chance

 hahaha. one more chance trailer facebook version. ang kuleeeeet. :D

credits to the maker, youtube user imarc7. view his tumbler account here. 

destination : dumaguete/siquijor

this post is three months late.

On the last week of June, I went to a Dumaguete/Siquijor Trip with some good friends. This trip marked a lot of my firsts.. First plane ride, first trip to a non-Luzon destination, and first dolphin watching activity. That said, i was sure that me and my pare(s) are in for a heck of a ride. :)

DAY 1 

We left Manila on the 24th of June.. The plane took off from NAIA Terminal 2 at 2.10pm. Upon getting to the airport in Dumaguete, we were immediately met by our friend-slash-host-slash-tour guide (a former trainer who is now a very close friend of ours) and after a quick stop in the city itself to buy some things we forgot to pack along, we were whisked to the city port to get a ride to the island of Siquijor..

clockwise from top left: upon landing on Dumaguete, Siquijor port,
sunset view from the road, resthouse

U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!

 

A quick appreciation post for the UP Pep Squad for winning the 2010 Samsung UAAP Cheerdance Competition. (And as I've posted on my plurk/twitter/FB, I still find it weird that it's called Samsung UAAP Cheerdance Competition and not Nestlé Non-Stop Cheerdance Competition. I take this to mean that yes, I am old. And if you feel the same way, then so are you. :P)

Oo na, olats kami sa basketball. But this is cheerdance. And once again, it is ours. :)

Btw, I am posting this vid and not the one aired on Studio 23 because some good parts of the routine wasn't shown on the live telecast. In my humble opinion, this video showcases the pep squad much better. Oh, and credit to where it is due: I do not own this video. This is from youtube user aamonces.

summer camping

Marine Base. Ternate, Cavite. May 2010. The first and last of summer 2010 for the housemates.

Tent. Sand. And marines to wake you up early in the morning. :)

-just trying out email blogging from my mobile phone. if you can read this, then i'll be able to blog anytime im bored even if i've got no access to a computer. ha! technology right at my fingertips! :)

fail

new promo for Cebu Pacific! i have been wanting to go back to ilocos for quite some time now so i was really excited when i saw this promo today.

so i quickly looked for dates that i could work with (which is virtually any 3 or 4 day period. ah, the benefits of being a full-time home-school student.) and was all set on conquering ilocandia alone. i was pondering on whether or not going on a solo trip was a good idea, knowing full well how bad i am with directions. fortunately, my friend (the one who just got back from thailand) was online and was willing to go with me. :)

cluttered

seems like i have a lot of digital clutter in my life.

i always find myself trying to de-clutter one thing or another.

take today for example. i'm de-cluttering the laptop. uninstalling programs and deleting files that i no longer use.

i've also been backing up some files from my portable HDD to DVD-RWs the past week. my 160GB HDD now has less than 10GB free space.

or maybe it's just my OC-persona taking over.

i remember a couple of years ago, i took pain-staking time to arrange my music folder by artist. i had thousands of songs in there and it took me months to finally get it all sorted out.

this obsessive-compulsiveness attitude that i've got towards my computer data does not only run through my music files. i also have all pictures arranged by folders of my group of friends and then by occasion. (if it's a multiple day trip i even have them sorted as day 1, day 2, day 3 and well, u get the point.) i also have my videos organized into tv series (subfolder-by season), movies, and separate folders for every camera i've ever used (subfolder-by date and/or occasion).

i wish my OC-ness will manifest itself with my material stuff, though. i can't seem to declutter that part of my life. my room always looks like a tornado hit it ten times. (i'm exagerrating here.. or maybe not.. :P) this has always been a major argument between me and my mom when i was younger. now, i think she's learned her lesson and is trying to stay as far away from my room as possible. :D

okay. so i just ranted about computer files. how much more boring could my life be? :P between this and studying the constitution, i seriously need a break (and a heavy dose of booze :P).

marathon

Nope. Not the sweaty type of marathon.

I've kinda been into movies the past couple of weeks. So I've been having a movie marathon of just about any movie I could think of. You may have noticed that I was watching Pretty Woman while I was writing the last blog entry. I also watched some more recent films like Letters to Juliet, Despicable Me and Chloe.. Btw, is it just me or is it weird seeing Amanda Seyfried as Sophie? She's got some expressions that reminds me of Karen (her dim-witted character from Mean Girls) and of Chloe (crazy title character). Or maybe just because I've seen all three movies within the last month due to my sudden movie addiction. I kinda don't remember how she looked like in Jennifer's body though (but that could be because I thought the movie was really bad).

clockwise from top: Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, Chloe and Karen

hello, september!

My first blog post for the -ber months. 1 month to finish my current semester, 2 months till my next out of town trip, 3 months till Christmas, 4 months till New Year and 5 months till my Coron trip! :)

So much for the countdown, let's talk about my recent activities (or inactivity to be more precise).

I was set upon taking an exam at school last Monday. I didn't realize, though, that it was a holiday so I wasn't able to take the exam. And I woke up too late yesterday so I decided to just take the exam by Thursday or Friday. I'm gonna head home to Cavite in a few to work on my essay (which is in need of much revision). The long commute really puts me off but I'm running out of cash so I really don't have much of a choice.

Right now, I'm all set to go home. Bags are packed and I'm all dressed up.. Pero tinatamad pa ko magbyahe. Hehe. I've been attacked by an unproductive, lazy bout the past two days. That's another reason why I want to go home. Baka sakaling sipagin na ko pagbalik ko. 

Anyway, just some of today's thoughts. (In no particular order. Or, well, in the order I'm gonna be thinking of them starting this second.)

1. The 21st Philippine Travel Mart will be held on September 3-5 at the Mega Trade Hall, SM Megamall. Sooo... I've enlisted  the help of one of my friends to attend the event and try to find some travel packages that will suit my student budget. (Which reminds me.. I need to save up for my CDO-Camiguin trip this November and my Coron trip February of next year.)

2. The above mentioned friend just came home from a vacation in Bangkok, Thailand and I am soooo jealous. My passport is in desperate need of stamping! Take me out of the country, please. Again: on a student budget. :P

3. I've finished transferring the entries from my old blogs into this blog. These are from 3 different blogs I used to have. From my late teen years to my early working years, you'll read about the thoughts of a younger me. It's funny to read about the thoughts of an 18 year old version of yourself. Oh, memories. :) (P.S. You can find them on the top right part of this blog under where it says pages.)

4. I left my cellphone, camera and PSP chargers in Cavite. Thank God for the invention of usb charging. (Or maybe thank technology would be a better term. :P)

5. I've informed the laundry shop that my laundry is ready for pick up but they're still not here. I'm waiting... waiting... waiting....

6. It just started raining. Now my long commute will be even longer. :(

7. I need to drop by the mall on my way home. I am in need of:

• DVD-RWs (..to back up my data with. My external hard drive already has roughly 110GBs worth of videos, pictures, music + other files)
• dermatographs (I have this inability to study without dermatographs)
• pencil sharpener
• shoes (I have no shoes! I've had to make do with slippers for more than a month now! This can wait, though.)

8. The rain just got heavier. Paano ako uuwi nyan? I hate using umbrellas. It cramps my style. (Yeah, right. As if I've got style. :P)

9. Diet. Yeah, I'm trying to lose weight. I am horrified that I've gained so much weight in the past year. I hate exercising, though. So I'm gonna have to cut down on my food intake and maybe start drinking some of those slimming teas. Chanting my new mantra: I need to slim down. I need to slim down. I need to slim down. Argh!

10. I've got to go get dinner and then I'll go home once the rain stops. Might be stuck here for another day if it doesn't.. I wish the rain would stop. Then I can go home tonight. In the meantime, I'll try to get some studying done. 

Hey, September~ amp up my productivity please! :)

isaw love

this post is brought to you by my love of isaw and my ability to eat a hundred pesos worth of isaw in one sitting. :)


i discovered my love for isaw while i was in college. i think UP Diliman has the best isaw in the country. (though my housemates tell me that the isaw in tagaytay is much, much better.)

Mang Larry's isaw (near kalayaan residence hall) and the one across the law building (formerly isaw-ilang as it was located across ilang-ilang residence hall in my college years) were two of my favorite isaw spots (i prefer the latter, though). but sometime within the last two years, my housemates introduced me to Maong's (which is just a brief walk from where we live). since then, Maong's isaw has been kinda like the official isaw of our inuman sessions at home.

the photos above were taken by my housemate for one of his fraternity brothers using my digital camera. taking the opportunity, i had him buy 60 pesos worth of chicken isaw which i quickly devoured for dinner. 

note: if you happen to come across this blog and have no idea what isaw is, it's grilled chicken/pork intestines.

of motivation

today, i learned to use a non-working lighter to light up another non-working lighter. very useful skill, i tell you. :P

SEE. :) learning really is based on motivation and need. i wanted to smoke. i had 2 lighters (both non-working) and a pack of marlboro lights.

kinda reminds me of when i learned to open a can of corned beef using a knife. another useful skill. :)

now, i can live alone in an uninhibited island with just a knife, a supply of canned goods, 2 non working lighters and reams of cigarettes...

if you know me though, you'll know i'm kidding with that last part about living in an island. :P

la isla bonita

Ayt. So this one's not really with the whole team but with my 2 best buddies from MAA, Sha and Jays. I can not and will not imagine what my life in MAA would've been without you guys.

Marinduque. May 20-24, 2009.

white sand. clear water. almost-private island. frustration with tan lines. me being sick (as usual) while out of town.

this is how summer is supposed to be (sans the sick part).

summer of '09. good times. :)

priorities

i like making schedules. it helps me get organized and gives me a sense of urgency to get things done. :) my schedules do not get followed most of the time but hey, it still helps me get things done faster than i would've without it. :) so this is me, prioritizing and getting my afternoon all-scheduled-up.

today's sched:

12pm-2pm - watch pretty woman (because yes, i haven't watched it yet)

1pm-2pm - take a bath (yes, i take really long baths)

2pm-4pm - write paper for school

4pm-5pm - pack for QC

*will update this list later to see how much of it i've followed.

time check. 12:03pm time to watch a movie. :)

2:10pm - done with movie. off to take a bath.

2.50pm - done with taking a bath and changing clothes. magsusuklay na lang then off to work on some essays. :)

4:20pm - got distracted by FB chat. ngaun pa lang mag sisimula sa essay.

priorities: an FB chatlog

4.33pm - 2 essays to edit +4 essays left to construct. i decided to get "offline". FB has been too much of a distraction.

plurk status: exhibit A of my attempt to finish the essays. :P

6:15pm - dooooneee! :) not my best work, though. i swear my brain is like a rusted-hasn't-been-used-for-so-long machine. it's in desperate need of  some oiling up! but anyway, here it is!

the final product! agh! see what i did with the spacing?! horrible!

Ayt! imma go get my stuff ready now! looking forward to going back to QC! must leave the house before 7pm! off to get stuff fixed! :)

7:51pm - logging off from the computer. off to kyusi! :)

see, i'm only about 3 hrs behind my schedule! :P

don't go chasing waterfalls

true to my reminiscing phase.

Team Chris Majayjay trip (Nov 25-27, 2008).

I think this was the first ever trip we went to together, as a team. Although technically I was no longer part of the team that time. Still, these people will always be the coolest teammates I ever had. Miss you lots, guys. See u sat! :)

pure shores (take me to the beach)

natry mo na bang magpictorial a-la survivor sa beach?

i miss my former teammates/travel friends. and since i'm seeing these guys on saturday, i will be reminiscing some of our previous out of town trips in this blog. my entries for the next few days will be about them as well so magsawa kayo s mukha namin. haha. let's travel back in time. starting... NOW! :)

THIS IS....

Team Chris



OUTWIT. OUTPLAY. OUTLAST.

San Juan, Batangas (Jan 30-Feb 1, 2009).

from an impromptu tagaytay trip

i've wanted to go to sonya's garden since.. well i don't really remember how long i've wanted to go there pero matagal na talaga. more than 5 years na cause i remember discussing it with a friend way back in college. ewan ko ba. for some reason naaamaze ako sa thought ng pagkain ng bulaklak. :P

musings of a bored pseudo-student

warning: no sense in this post. read at your own risk

CURRENTLY.
watching tropic thunder. gross but funny.

MUST.
finish studying my module. 3 lessons left.

memorize a hundred page module. (damn. i hate memory works)

write essays. (more than ten essays on the list. down with just one. i am really getting rusty when it comes to writing)

EVERYTHING MUST BE COMPLETED TODAY.
(so why am i wasting time watching a movie?)

SICK..
down with a bad case of colds. i hate being sick. and i've got my moon flow. so really, my productivity rate is doomed to shoot all the way down until i get better.

NOCTURNAL.
thought i fixed my sleeping pattern the past 2 days. unfortunately, i've been in bed the whole afternoon so i'm back on the "night life". night life minus booze / night life minus job that pays premium for living the vampiric life)

BROKE.
sacrificing money for the chance to make my folks happy. still find myself constantly thinking about getting a regular paycheck twice a month.

DEGREE.
one more year. one more year. one more year.
(oh please give me strength. :P)


*this post was created last week. di ko maalala kung bakit di ko na-post. nagtotopak ata connection ko nun.*

on the verge

malapit na akong sumuko.

as in.

konti na lang.... :(


malapit na akong sumuko......

sa pagiging BUM!

ang hirap ng walang sariling pera. :(

eh kasi naman, ung 20k nga na sinusweldo ko dati per month, minsan kinukulang ako eh...

pano nga naman ako mabubuhay sa allowance lang...?

well. at least i am surviving. (for lack of a better term)

pero....

ang mga luho koooo! :P
 
haaaaaay... kaya ko ba 'tong tiisin?

hanggang kelan...?

giving up. i'm on the verge of doing it. someone find me a freaking job!

cram!

gulps of seattle's best, puffs of marlboro, a pilot pen and some blue pad.
MY MODULE IS MY BEST FRIEND.

So this was how I spent Saturday night. Studying with a friend in a coffee shop somewhere in Makati. It was my first time to study for an exam somewhere out of the house and it was a very productive (and expensive) experience. I actually got some studying done! (in between chatting sessions with my friend, of course. :p sometimes, i tend to just chatter on and on about stuff. i should really keep this habit in check while on study-mode.)Too bad Seattle's Best is only open 'till midnight on Saturdays. And Starbucks was just too noisy for our taste. Anyway, I now understand the hoards of students going to coffee shops and 24-hour fast food chains. See, once you're there, you won't have as much distractions/temptations/choice as you would have if you were studying at home. :)

Anyway, I took an exam last Monday. Which, surprisingly, was EASY (well, as compared to exams I took in UP. the exam was actually even easier than most quizzes I had in college.). Unfortunately, I'm still not confident about the results. The thing is, some stuff on the exam were stuff that I didn't consider important while studying so I didn't really make an effort to remember them. Oh well, the disadvantages of studying by yourself. No professor to stress out which information are important and which parts to be skipped. I guess I'll just have to make an extra effort to be more meticulous about ALL the information in the modules. I'm pretty confident that I passed, though. It was just that I was hoping for really high marks since I'm studying full time now.

I'm gonna be getting the result on Monday. Sooooo..... Wish me luck! :)

BITCH

I hate the world today 

You're so good to me
I know but I can't change
Tried to tell you
But you look at me like maybe
I'm an angel underneath
Innocent and sweet

Yesterday I cried
Must have been relieved to see
The softer side
I can understand how you'd be so confused
I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything
All rolled into one

 
I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way

So take me as I am
This may mean
You'll have to be a stronger man
Rest assured that
When I start to make you nervous
And I'm going to extremes
Tomorrow I will change
And today won't mean a thing

Just when you think, you got me figured out
The season's already changing
I think it's cool, you do what you do
And don't try to save me

I'm a bitch, I'm a tease
I'm a goddess on my knees
When you hurt, when you suffer
I'm your angel undercover
I've been numb, I'm revived
Can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it any other way

State of the Nation Address of President Benigno S. Aquino III

July 26, 2010
Batasan Pambansa Complex
Quezon City

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Vice President Jejomar Binay; Chief Justice Renato Corona; Former Presidents Fidel Valdez Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada; members of the House of Representatives and the Senate; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps; my fellow workers in government;

Mga minamahal kong kababayan:

PS

thank you..

i know i'm all fucked up.

but you are, indeed, a pleasant surprise...


AND btw, Happy Freakin' Birthday to me! :)

frame me up

this is what i've been doing when i was supposed to have been studying and cleaning up my room.

i was bored. so shoot me.

pics from last quarter of 06- 1st quarter of 07

oh and btw, this is a scheduled post. by the time this posts, it's gonna be my sister's birthday. so HAPPY BIRTHDAY li'l sis! :)

ang birthday girl na nagmana sa pagiging camwhore ng ate nya. :)

in fairness, maganda ung photo-editing churva na ininstall nya sa laptop namin. :)

P.S. magkamukha ba kami? yung totoo! haha. :)

coelho

today, one of my friends posted this as her status on facebook:

"Don't be someone that searches, finds and then runs away... "
- Paulo Coelho

how timely. i was searching, (posssibly) found what i was looking for and then i ran away.

tsk tsk.

when will i be brave enough to stop running away...?

rainy night

i met you one rainy night. we talked. we clicked. you walked me to my destination. you told me you loved talking to me. that i'm not like other women who only talk about the frills in life. you held my hand for a brief moment. suggested that we meet again. we talked about where i like to hang out. what i do. what i don't like. we talked about you. simply put: we hit it off. you asked for  my number. you gave me yours. and you asked if you could see me again. i said yes. 

it was nice. yes, it was. 

you sent me a message. i replied. you sent another. i said i'm in the middle of a conversation with my friend. and you sent another message. and i never sent a message back.

you could've been the one. or you could've been another mistake. 

if i had the courage to say it flat out, i would've been able to admit why i never texted you back. but i'm a coward. a coward who has commitment issues. and i could tell that's what you wanted. and it scared me off. 

so maybe someday, if we meet again. under different circumstances. maybe then, i'll be ready. maybe...

hey, you.

i miss you. :( it's funny 'cause you're just right here. still, i do. i do miss you.

you are what you decide

decisions, decisions.

i'm being impulsive and reckless again. takes me back to memories of a year ago. around the same time of the year, maybe 2 weeks earlier. same old snap decision to let go of the only stability i know. same reason if we're basing on the papers i've submitted. but the first one as an excuse. this time for real..

thinking twice for the same pros and cons. moolah being a big factor. this time though, i've got better plans laid out. one that i know will work to my advantage in the long run.

more decisions.

stay? move out? move back home?

if i really want to be practical, it's moving back home that's the best option. but to give up the current freedom i have? i don't think i can deal with that. 8 years of living out of my parent's house means hell if i decide to move back in.

i've crossed out the second option. moving to a diff place is gonna be more costly. and i'll miss 13S. a lot.

so i guess that leaves me with stay. which is really what i want to do. and why i went back to work anyway. but then, i'm gonna need a source of income. for the next 12-18 months. but something that doesn't require real work that eats up all my time. maybe a part-time job that pays well. or at least enough for me to get by. the original plan is to do around 2 hrs of tutorial every day. should be enough for my needs. and will give me more than enough time to do what i have to do. and less stress that will make doing stuff easier. but then. i'll let you in on a little secret. i mean, sure, i love to teach. but do i really have what it takes to teach? i mean to teach as an income generating and as something that i wouldn't quit for the next year or so? another little secret: im not as confident as i seem to be. i know my english is better than some people. but do i have it in me to teach it? am i good enough? are my credentials good enough?

off to jobstreet. maybe i'll find something good. :)

back from jobstreet. did not find anything feasible.

i'll provide more details once i've made the final, final decisions.

karma

they say karma's a bitch. and u say i'm a bitch. well, i guess you're right. 'cause i'm gonna be your karma, baby. :)

let's call them A and B

You ask for my opinion. About B whom everyone thinks you should be with.. And A who you want to be with. And i tell you i'm just here to listen. I'm in no position to give you advice on this matter. And you know i tend to argue for both sides. See, with B everything will be so easy. Everyone will support you on this decision. But then, as you said, no one knows about A. And you think of what-ifs and what-could've-beens. But i just don't have the heart to tell you.. I can't bear to say it to your face.. A might just be in for the ride.

I know you tend to be all-confused. And you tend to overthink the situation.. And i wish you can just go with the flow. But i know you too much.. A hopeless romantic with a devil-may-care attitude. And i know how you get intrigued with uncertainty, with things that you can never really be sure about. But for once, just for once, can you try to not think about this? I  would hate to see you cry. And all for the same reason. It's becoming a vicious cycle and this A and B bullshit looks like one of those lame repeats.

I hope you read this and understand. But part of me wishes you don't. See, my mind is a crazy load of shit. And I'm as fucked up as you are. Maybe because i understand. I've felt your pain. I've seen you when you cry. You may be able to fool everyone else. But i always see right through you. I should. I've been sticking up for you all your life.