2008 to-do list

I don't believe in resolutions. Just a to-do list to accomplish during the year, mostly things that I weren't able to accomplish that I'd really want to scratch off my list in 2008:

1. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE!
2. Go to the gym. (Doctor's orders to manage hypertension and shoo away diabetes)
3. NEVER EVER SEE A HOSPITAL ROOM OR EMERGENCY ROOM AGAIN (at least not within the year).
4. Stay healthy, eat healthy, live healthy. (Seriously!)
5. Learn how to manage finances (or lack thereof).
6. Bake more and cook more.
7. Bring Ala to the dog groomers at Tiendesitas so I can bring her out more (Tiendesitas, Bonifacio High Street, Greenbelt, Eastwood, and all the dog-friendly places).
8. Reduce Ala's weight. She's three years old and her vet said she needs to lose 3 pounds so she can finally have pups.
9. Write more. Shoot more.
10. Make a scrapbook with lots of photos in it!
11. Travel the Philippines more (Bohol, Baguio-- uh huh I miss it, Davao -- hello, Van! and Cebu)
12. Study hard (because I'm about to bury my head in books again next year and because I did so-so in my undergraduate life for the lack of enthusiasm for math, I will try to prove myself that I'm better this time).

Speaking of cooking, I cooked dinner today. Two dishes and there were only two of us who ate (our housekeeper and me). There was too much food but it was fun to eat, nevertheless. I'm not a fan of my cooking but when the dish is good, you forget that you hate to eat without company and everything tastes good. Maybe it's because I cooked ginisang amplaya and pork steak and both are my favorites. Heeh.

Tra-la-la. I'm going to spend more time in the kitchen once I get the oven cleaned and once I've shopped for baking stuff for my cupcakes and cookies. Oh, Mama's brownies too. That's pretty ambitious but I'd like to think that I'm the one who's going to get my mother's good cooking skills.

I want a pola!

I want a Polaroid One600 Ultra. My latest camera craving in a looooooong while because I've been busy with a lot of stuff lately.

And just when I'm ready to order for one, the sellers are out of stock.

Yey ayos! In stock na ulit! WHEEEEEEEEE! I CAN'T WAIT!

BAD CHEETAH. =/

R.I.P. Benazir Bhutto

Why do good people have to die? Oh yeah, it's because they sacrifice themselves despite the costs of fighting for what they believe in and for fighting for their people. She came back from a self-imposed exile even if she knew that her life was at risk. It's disheartening to see a good leader go to waste. Then again, maybe it isn't such a waste afterall. Maybe something good will come out of this. There must be, otherwise everything she worked or fought for would be put to waste right?

Months after a failed assasination attempt, those who wanted her killed finally succeeded yesterday when a shooter/suicide bomber blew himself up after shooting Bhutto as she was leaving a rally.

R.I.P. Benazir Bhutto.

Christmas with the Orphans

So my Christmas didn't turn out so blue afterall! Thanks to my high school friends who were orphans for Christmas as well. When I say "orphans", it's a joke of course. I mean, I half mean it because their parents are also out of the country.

We didn't plan the whole thing-- spending Christmas together. It started on December 23 when Cara texted me early in the morning to tell me that I was godmother to Omar's daughter, Julia Maragaret. I was so shocked that I had to get ready quickly so that I could hitch a ride with Darwin and Cara. I was tired from the three-day shopping spree that Alej and I did. Christmas traffic was so horrible that we had to start early in the morning to avoid traffic jam. So anyway, my other high school friends went to the baptism and after the lunch at Giligan's we all went to Starbucks at Bonifacio High Street to hang out. That's when we talked about how to spend Christmas and since the boys had no place to go for Christmas eve, Cara and I decided to "adopt " them. I said they could stay at my place before Christmas eve so that's what we did! From The Fort we drove to Trinoma because Winston and the Omega brothers had to go home and pick up their things for the overnight (which turned out to be four days HAHA!).

It was fun having them around. The next day we went to Christmas mass together and occupied one pew! For Noche Buena they all went to Cara's place and right after they came back home to hang out and have a few drinks. I had Noche Buena with my family at my grandmother's place.

What a fun Christmas! They stayed for two days more just hanging around. They love Ala so much that when they left they said goodbye to Ala first and not to me. HMP! Haha!

Anyway, this Christmas definitely proved that we'd always have each other when all else fails and they are my second family. I love my friends!

Onto some more pictures...


Julia Margaret's Baptism






Christmas Eve






Last night with the orphans (Dinner at Hugo's)





More photos HERE!

I hope you had a fun Christmas as well. =)

Can't Stop Christmas

My father and I email each other regularly. In one of our emails, I mentioned how I don't feel that it's Christmas yet. It's the same over there in Brazil, he said. The common denominator of our sad Christmas feeling is that we're not together as a family for Christmas. They're over there SO FAR FAR FAR AWAY and well, Christmas isn't really "merry" without your loved ones around.

It's a sad Christmas for us but then I remembered Martin Nievera's song, "Can't Stop Christmas", which happens to be my most favorite Christmas song ever because of how realistic the message the lyrics send out. We can't stop Christmas no matter how crappy our situation is. No matter how far away our loved ones are, no matter how many misfortunes have hit us, no matter how sad our dispositions are...WE JUST CAN'T STOP CHRISTMAS.

Like I said before, Christmas isn't entirely about PEOPLE. It's about the birth of Jesus anyway. And wherever we are right now, I think we should be able to make the most out of what we have. In my family's case, we should be thankful that we're together and even if my parents are far away we should be thankful that we're together as a family and that we have a whole lot of love that can be felt even from a million miles away.

It's cheesey but maybe we can have them in our hearts this Christmas and there's the beauty of the internet to share pictures with, chat, or call for long conversations...CHRISTMAS SHOULD BE IN OUR HEART and that's how we're going to spend it. THERE SHOULD BE NO ROOM FOR MELANCHOLY. JUST PURE JOY AND GRATITUDE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE GIFT OF HAVING EACH OTHER AS A FAMILY.

Enjoy the song!


This is my most favorite Christmas song ever.

Note: Papa, this is the song I emailed you about. :)

Can' t Stop the rain from falling
Each time the sky decides to cry
Can't stop the sun form shining
til the day turns into light

All over the world
They try to steal our joy
But our spirit can't be broken
Every man and woman, girl or boy

Refrain:
Can't stop the joy
Can't stop the reason
Christmas lives inside of us
from season to season

Can't stop the pain
of all the hatred in the world
There'll be no hate; no war
In god we'll trust
And peace on earth
Cause you can't stop Christmas....

There's a feeling we share
Didn't know it
it always was there
For united we will stand
Brother to brother hand in hand

With one song, one dream, one prayer
Let your voice be heard
For his blessings surrounds us
All across the world

Refrain:
Can't stop the joy
Can't stop the reason
Christmas lives inside of us
from season to season

Can't stop the pain
of all the hatred in the world
There'll be no hate; no war
In god we'll trust
And peace on earth
Cause you can't stop Christmas....

Bridge:
Reach out for those in need
For the magic of Christmas
Is to give and to believe!

Browsing at Flickr photos made me miss taking photos by film. I have nine rolls of film waiting to be processed and scanned. These rolls are from my first track day at the SIR (Subic International Racetrack), first few test rolls of my Holga 135BC, test rolls of the Fisheye, and others than I can no longer remember. See? That's how long it has been! The accumulation of used up film is proof that I haven't been lomo-ing actively lately. I've missed a couple of events too. But there are more in the future, of course.

So anyway, I'm going to resurrect my shutterbug-ness. WAIT FOR IT! =)

Oh man, I just remembered that my Flickr PRO account is going to expire on the 21st!!! UGHHH. Boohoo for unlimited uploads. =/ Goodbye my Flickr albums. I'll miss you. Until I'm no longer a cheapskate, I'll resurrect you in the future.

Christmas Blues

I caught the Christmas blues lately. I don't even know if there is such a thing but if there's a "birthday blues" then there must be Christmas blues. Maybe it's because I miss my parents and we're not going to be together again for the holidays. And there are lot of other things inside my head. Many have pointed out that I think too much, stress too much, and worry over things that don't need to be worried over. But this is me. I'm too emotional sometimes and it just sucks. I wish I were born with a button that I could push when I want my brain to shut down for a while to give me a little down time before it gets running again.

It's just eight days more then it's Christmas day already. I still haven't gone Christmas shopping. Boohoo. But I'm looking forward to the Christmas dinner I'm planning with my high school (Abu Dhabi) friends. I miss them. How odd, I just saw them less than two weeks ago. Ah well. I'm also sad that I missed the Christmas dinner with my college friends. I haven't been going to the dinner get-togethers lately with them that's why I'm really looking forward to hanging out with my UP friends.

Maybe Christmas is the time to be nostalgic. If it happens to normal people, then you probably know that I'm going to be extra nostalgic and emotional because I am a basket case like that. Last night I was watching World's Most Amazing Videos on AXN and you know what? I cried. I cried over a boat exploding and no one even died or got hurt seriously. Advertisements make my lips quiver and movies with sappy storylines make me teary-eyed like that sequel to Dr. Dolittle. I remember one time I got teary-eyed while talking to Mitchie about the documentary on Discovery Channel about the Olympics! Sheesh.

I was probably dropped on the head when I was a baby or my mother watched too many drama movies. I don't know, is there an explanation why a person is too emotional?

On a lighter note, I had a good night's sleep yesterday. Nyum nyum. I think it pays to be tired after a long day because the following days you'll crash onto the pillow and be knocked out in minutes. I was too tired yesterday to even lift a finger. But I'm fine now. Refreshed and ready to face the week. A lot more nostalgic, yes but still happy, nevertheless.

I don't know why but I feel like blurting this out...TO MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, AND EVERYBODY ELSE... I LOVE YOU ALL. =)

I don't remember when I started hating instant/cup noodles but it probably was after finally believing what those cups of MSG can do to your health. But just a couple of minutes ago I was at the kitchen and when I opened the cupboard, I saw cups of instant noodles. So now an ongoing battle is raging inside my head-- to eat or not to eat Lucky Me Instant La Paz Batchoy. UGGGGHHHHH.

Onto happier and shinier things, I'm better now compared to my grumpy self the past few days. It's the lack of sleep. I've been having trouble sleeping lately. It started when I had an upset tummy so my biological clock got used to waking up at the wee hours of the morning only to wake up a couple of hours after.

I watched the last episode of The O.C. last week and I only liked the show after I saw the ending. How weird! I have short attention span for long running shows because I can't wait week after week for an episode. I usually buy DVDS so I can watch as many episodes I want.

I'm sleepy and it's still early. =/ Adios!

meant to be

Yey! A new layout! I'm too lazy to make my own that's why I think it is by Fate that I chose this an found out that the quote above there is one of my favorites by Sylvia Plath. =)

Awesome.

Anyway, I can't sleep and I'm hungry at this hour. I'd like to cook but there's no one to eat with. How lonely. =(

i'm going to let my light shine

One of the things that I love-hate (I can't decide) the most about myself is that I have too many interests. I want to do everything in such a short time so I end up indecisive. I think I scare my parents too much because of my flip-flopping from one decision to the next but I think this time I know what I want and I'm willing to work hard to get it.

Nelson Mandela could not have said it any better (read post below). I want to shoot my fist up into the air and shout, "WAY TO GO!" and hug him like a teddy bear for reading my mind. What a brilliant thing to say (referring to the writing below)! Going back to what I was saying, it's not that I'm indecisive all the time. I just want to do a lot of things because a lot of things interest me. I am very passionate about my interests, therefore, I am passionate about a lot of things too. So you see, it gets very confusing especially if it's a future you have to make decisions for. Especially if it's MY future.

It scares me too, of course. I think about what people would think about mistakes if I do make more along the way. Of course, there will be more mistakes but the thing is, if maturity taught me one thing, it's NOT TO CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT OTHERS especially because this is my life. If you do something good, people will talk. If you do something bad, people will still talk. So why bother trying to impress them? So one of my (many) philosophies in life is to not care about what others will think as long as I'm not hurting anyone.

I'm glad because this epiphany that I encountered is making me look things clearly now. I'm also happy because there's another big thing to be excited about and we all know that these little "excitements" are what life is about-- it makes us look forward to tomorrow, it gives us hope, it gives us inspiration to take on whatever bad thing that's going to come our way.

And I'm not going to be scared to shine. I'm not going to be scared to be a go-getter, to outshine other people's expectations of me, and to take leaps of faith. I am a Leo and "the Lion" is never afraid. People are afraid of the Lion-- of its stength and its bravery. There's so much to live up for being a Lion and all but it gives me inspiration as well because I am strong. Probably more stronger than I ever thought I was.

* * *

Here are photos from Tito Lynn's birthday dinner at Cafe Juanita, Kapitolyo, Pasig last Saturday:







Yeah. Good food, good company, yummy dessert! =)

From the Great Nelson Mandela

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves:
“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us: it’s in everyone.

And as we let our light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela
Former President, South Africa

I've been sick since yesterday. My bones hurt and my head too. It's funny and strange because yesterday Alej wasn't feeling peachy either. He said he wasn't feeling well and his back ached. We haven't seen each other for days so it's strange that both weren't feeling well. In the evening we both started feeling better so he figured we'd go to the get-together at Starbucks Silvercity but we went to the mall to have dinner first and pick up my sister who went there from work to do grocery shopping. But Alej's back started to ache again so we just went to my house. When we got home, a couple of hours later before bedtime when Alej left, I felt sick again. My body started to hurt (IT'S THE BONES) and I couldn't sleep properly because I was feeling very cold. I wore a sweater, socks, and pajamas to bed but that still didn't warm me up.

When I woke up I was still feeling week with a headache so I took paracetamol again and dozed off.

I'm feeling better now. I hope I'm not going to get sick again. I took vitamins already and what's with me being sick all the time? I hate it! =(