never make fun of other people's passions

Yesterday at the office, we had our 3rd weekly kris kringle. As usual I had my camera with me to capture all the moments. One of my officemates made a remark about me always bringing my camera and taking pictures whenever there is an office activity. Said I'm like the other camera-wielding officemate that most people don't wanna hang out with because she's got bad attitude. I just made a joking remark as reply to that first officemate. Deep inside, I pity her for making fun of my passion for taking pictures.

I love taking pictures. They may not be great shots, but i treasure the memories that come with it. I take pictures of nature, of happy days, of special occasions, of vacations, of trips, more trips, or of people having fun--anything at all that evoked within me an indescribable feeling. The pictures I take make me feel lucky and grateful to be alive and to witness those things around me. And that gives me a sense of fulfillment, something that nobody can take away from me.

guilty as charged

yes. call me a camwhore. i'm not going to deny it.

too busy to post updates

yeah, yeah. a lot has happened lately and it's just that i was too busy to compose my posts. so this is just some sort of filler for those wanting to know what has happened in my so-called "introvert" world. but does anyone ever really read my blog at all? just wondering....

as if i don't know...

You Should Be a Musician

You have a rare combinations of talents: an ear for music, nimble fingers, and the willpower to practice.You could master almost any instrument you choose to play (if you haven't already!)

What Sort of Artist Should You Be?

another overdue post

As the saying goes: "Life is short. Always grab the opportunity when it comes your way."


Okay.


Put together a shitty week, stressed out girlfriends, an invitation, and a heart's desire. Behold.....

Baguio City Weekend Getaway on a Shoestring Budget

Tsiki & Eva

ang mga dalagang gala

your shot, my shot (at Bell Church)

Confession:

I haven't been to Baguio City before. Ever. So when i started working in my present job and the cashflow has been coming in quite steadily, i promised myself i would go there someday.

Perhaps the stars were properly aligned when, one day, Eva asked me to come with her to Baguio (also called the City of Pines) for the weekend. She said i don't have to worry about lodging, just the busfare and my other incidental expenses. So i gave in. Besides, i really wanted to get away, for many many reasons. I needed an escape.

We left Manila on Friday night. Arrived at the transient house by 4:00 am, Saturday. Slept through the cold and then headed to the city proper by 10:00 am.

The Itinerary:

Saturday

• Mines View Park
• The Mansion (the president's "summer palace")
• Wright Park
• a stroll around SM Baguio (a mall. nice architecture.)
• Session Road with its famous ukay-ukay shops

Sunday

• Bell Church - where we had our fortunes told
• Burnham Park
• Baguio Cathedral (Church of Our Lady of Atonement) - for spiritual nourishment
• Session Road (can't have enough of those ukays!)

Of course, a weekend getaway is not the same without some pictures. And a lot of camwhoring.

what better way to beat the cold: Gran Matador brandy (with pineapple as chaser). Serve with grilled blue marlin, oysters and mussels. Yum!

seen at SM Baguio (sounds familiar?)

one of the many dragons that line up the passage to Bell Church

Me and Eva got to roam around, bought some stuff for pasalubong and some quality ukays for ourselves. How much damage, if you may ask? Php 1,500. All of it.

Thank you very much to Dr. Ed and Monica for accomodating us and bearing with my singing voice during the videoke night and Shanchai's birthday celebration. Sa uulitin po!

====

Mom in Hongkong, when she got the pictures, e-mailed me: "why do you keep wearing that yellow jacket on your trips? i sent you a lot of jackets and coats for you to use. not just that yellow jacket."

Tsiki said: "it's my lucky jacket. it's the only jacket that fits me well. besides my companion won't be having a hard time looking for me if i get lost in the crowd."

If I could only see her, she would have laughed at my reply and said "chi-sin!."

the curse

...of the papercut!

There's never a training/workshop where i end up scratchless. Geesh!
Had another papercut yesterday at the Orientation of Sourcebooks held at Robinsdale Hotel. Sorry, no picture here, so as not to gross out.

My last papercut was a couple of months ago at the Health Sector Introductory Course in Tagaytay. After the 4-day training, i ended up with band-aids on almost all of my fingers. That was the worst. Ever.

Has my skin become that sensitive? Wehehe! *sigh*

'til next training!

because we have some time to spare....

and yup, i'm a sucker for quizzes, too!

i thought my element is fire. turns out it's earth. :)

Your Element Is Earth

You excel at planning and strategizing.You could be a champ at chess or Survivor. Well grounded, you are able to be realistic and rationalize.On the inside, you have a hard core. It's tough to phase you. You are super productive, and you are able to think anything through.Focused and super charged, your instincts are a good guide for your next step.

What's" Your Element?

hmm, i'm equal with David Blaine ;)

and i've always fantasized about being an undercover agent. hehehe ;)

Your Aura is Orange

You're a bit of a loner, but you're never lonely. You know how to entertain yourself.Whether you're trying an extreme sport or a new weird food, you always live on the edge. The purpose of your life: testing limits - both physical and mental... and then telling people about it. Famous oranges include: Timothy Leary, David Blaine, Tony Hawk, Carey Hart Careers for you to try: Snowboarder, Circus Performer, Undercover Agent

What Color Is Your Aura?

i knew it! i have always loved summer. who doesn't?

You Belong in Summer

Energetic, creative, and very curious about the world...You're not going to let anything hold you back, especially a cold day.Whether you're chilling out at the beach or partying all night, you live for the warm weather.

What Season Are You?

Lunch out tropa pics

Last Friday, the Lunch-Out Tropa tried the "pizza-all-you-can-eat" at Greenwich for P99/person. Just add P30 for bottomless Coke.

So much hype about the promo. Turned out they served only hawaiian and pepperoni. AND the service was soooooo slow.

strike a pose, Manny (coz that's all he could do while waiting to be served)

what's taking the pizza so long?

that's how slow the service was. Tsari fell asleep waiting for the pizza :)

PAST PICTURES

For some reason, i can't seem to place these pics in my previous post. Here are previous pics of the Lunch-Out Tropa last month with Jerry the cyberdude.

this bunch sure was hungry ;)

that's Jerry with a smile

BACKLOGS, BACK BLOGS

The not-so recent things that happened between the last post and this post :)

EUREKA!

The search is over for me, thanks to Jerry the cyberdude. I have found Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D major. I heard this piece a couple of years ago while watching a televised public appearance of England’s Royal Family (I think it was Princess Di’s funeral).

Since then, I have been searching for it, hunting record bars to buy a CD of it. I even thought it was part of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. So when I chanced upon a sale in one of the record bars I frequented, I headed straight to the Classical Section to look for the piece. Alas, they don’t have a sampler so I had to buy all 4 CDs (Strauss, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky) to listen to them at home.

To my dismay, the sound I was looking for wasn’t there. Buti na lang sale.

Fast forward to year 2006. I was passing by the virtual library in the office when I heard the music I have been searching for. I went inside, and the rest, as they say, is history.

LUNCH OUT BUDDIES

Yet another boring menu from the canteen. Xerox ang pagkain, as what one colleague says. Same food almost everyday. So one day I decided to break away and tried hanging with 2 of my officemates whom I haven’t spent much lunchtime with. Turns out the duo usually takes lunch out, going around the vicinity to eat in different karinderias and turo-turo for variety. I decided to give it a try.

But that day, the duo and me tagged along with Jerry to go to the mall for lunch. Okay, maybe I’ll have a taste of those karinderia food next time.

HEALTHY BUDDIES

Since my promotion last year, I haven’t had much time and energy for exercise. I had been confined to being an 8-hour (sometimes 10-hour) desk-bum. Eventually, I had been experiencing a lot of pains and been calling in sick almost every other month. Manny, my officemate, commute and beer buddy has also the same situation. So when our birth month came (both born on August) we took advantage of the employees’ free annual medical checkup and had ourselves checked.

After finding out that our uric acid is high, we agreed to undergo a fitness regimen for good. Though I have been eating healthy foods and checking on my diet, Doc said it should be complemented with physical activity. In addition to exercise, the doctor also advised us to adopt the low purine diet and avoid (if possible or if will is strong enough) alcohol, as we are going to re-check after 2 months to evaluate if we should go on medication.

So I made a comeback to my morning aerobics-taebo-dance sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at the DOH Gymnasium. The first day of my comeback left me sore. I have to say I got rusty and had difficulty with the moves. Well, there’s always the first time.

The following week, another officemate suggested we try out the mini-gym in the compound. Manny and I welcomed the suggestion. Manny will lift some weights while I’ll try the treadmill.

Because we need to be healthy :)

Trigger-happy (with the camera)

= family members =

= strike a pose, lolo =

= i like how the colors contrast in this picture =

= nature's bounty on display =

= they're playing the local version of "twister"=

some more pics

here are some of the pictures i took using a cheap digital camera ;)

the colorful presentation of one of the tribes during the Binirayan Festival : April 2006 : Antique, Philippines

game boys (boys playing with Gameboy)

getting drunk with.... RC cola?!

more to come on my future posts!

hanep!

i got these from my e-mail...

i hope you enjoy it as much as i did

Domesticated

last Friday was payday. it was unusually warm, too, considering that it's the rainy season, it still felt like summer. after a long day's work and not having a major thing to spend on at the moment, i decided to go straight home for a well-deserved rest (catch up on my zzz's). but since it's payday, it's also traffic day. some days can really test my patience.

so there i was in the jeepney, with tousled hair and a plastic bag of atis in hand, i endured the friday-payday-traffic combo and almost flew all the way home as soon as i stepped out of the vehicle thinking: "oh my! this must be how a working mom feels like." the kind that rushes home after work with some pasalubong in a plastic bag.

somehow, i feel proud of myself whenever i come home with grocery bags and seeing how excited my dad is to check out what i brought home. additional ganda points when there's something for him that he actually liked even if he didn't ask for it.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sunday wash day. i just had to do the week's worth of laundry because my sister wasn't home since Saturday and the pile of clothes was getting high. usually we have a wash-your-own-clothes arrangement. but since my sis was out working on a project and my brother was also busy with school work, i just had to be the good elder sister and did their laundry together with mine. oh well! i finished just in time to cook for dinner. then i left the dishes to dad.

while taking a shower i was thinking about how tired i felt and how the chores seem so endless.

- - - - - - - - - -

i remembered having a chat with mom and complaining about not having a chance lately to go out on weekends because i'm either working on a Saturday or stuck in the house doing chores...or just not having enough money for a gimmick because i filled in to pay the bills.

i could be stuck in financial plateau sometimes and it can be very frustrating. i'm not getting any younger and there are things that i haven't tried or experienced yet. i can't have a "live for the moment" kind of life partying or taking up other stuff because it would require spending money. i had to save mine for a rainy day.

then again, i feel sorry for complaining and whining to mom because i realized she'd been working so hard for us. must've hurt her to hear me complain about "not having a life."

because life is what i have.

at the end of the day, i thank god because i am here...

...with a brother to look out for. must be a tough job but i was placed here to guide him through while mom is away working abroad.

...with a sister to bond with and share stories with.

...with a father to help with things around the house and to worry with whenever one of my siblings fail to come home on ETA.

i have a family that mostly deserves spending my bonus on.after all is said and done, my family has been and will always be there for me through thick and thin.
i mentioned in one of my previous posts that i wanted to hone my skills in homemaking. now would be my best time training for it. here would be the best place--my home with my family.

One good day coming up!

i have nothing to rant about.

my day started earlier than usual. i had breakfast at
home--something i don't usually do, then off to work i went. my journey to the
office was uneventful. i didn't even let the manong jeepney driver's
ultramegagroovy-drum-background-extended-medleys bother me, although usually i'd
get irritated by that.

i punched in before 8am, retouched a little, and snatched a few minutes for this post.

today just feels so different: the way
i'm taking my time and not stressing over things even if there is a lineup of
things to do. i don't want to let any irritation get in my nerves today.

i have nothing to rant about.

not today.

how i feel...

sometimes, the words of other people are enough to express what we really mean....

**For someone**

in our effort to find the love of our life, we exert all of our strength in making our relationships work.. and upon doing this we become oblivious to other things that matter.. sometimes neglecting our priorities in life, our responsibilities –with other people as well as to ourselves.. in a relationship that we put so much work we fail to recognize the inequality even though we clearly know that most of the effort comes only from one side –our own.. then in that case, we are holding on to someone whose not suppose to be ours.. telling ourselves “we are happy and our future will be perfect”.. we are insistent and foolish for we hold on to a fairy tale.. we cannot coach them to stay however convincing we may be.. for this someone is meant to leave us and fulfill their calling –away from us.. there are numerous reasons why this person is not meant for you.. he/she might be looking for a different thing –something you don’t possess or cannot offer, he/she might be attached or already committed, or perhaps you are already in the point in your life when you want to be serious and settle down while he/she wants to play some more and experience what it likes to look around.. i know, this will be unbearable.. but we must let them go or else we will be stuck with someone who is unhappy with us and someday might blame us for caging them.. and when this happens, the misery that they will feel towards us will drain the life out of the relationship and we will be left broken and helpless.. and there is no one to blame but ourselves.. the hardest part in this situation is recognizing when to let go and when to turn your back on this person who became a part of your life.. but bear in mind, in the long run we will be doing ourselves a favor for letting go early, instead of holding on until such point when we have given out all of our love and energy and accomplished nothing, and much worst received nothing in return.. this is where characters are polished, for it takes courage to recognize if that someone is not for you.. and you must have great virtue to let go of that someone whom you enjoyed loving.. but believe me, when i say this, and this is true.. after going through this ordeal you will emerge a better person and loose all the selfishness in you.. and in the future, when you see this love that you let go, happy and content, i’m sure you will be relieved for you have done the right thing.. however unclear it may be to you now.. this is how the universe unfolds.. and remember these people are merely episodes in our lives.. look on the greater side and be happy that of all the people in this planet he/she stopped on your doorstep.. the visit might be brief.. but the memories will stay even if you find another person who will finally make you happy.. and no one can take that away..

--borrowed from Sham

Confession Part II (now this ain't no dream)

“…just when I thought I said all I can say…I guess I got
to give part two of my confession…”

The lines from Usher’s song has got very little to do with what I’m about to dish out. Wala lang! Kunyari profound ang post ko ngayon.

I was with three of my guy pals laughing, joking and bitching about work and stuff. Guy 1 driving. Guy 2 at the backseat. Oops! Guy 3 just got out of the car. Anyway, so there were three of us left and the conversation shifted to the more serious side of work…

Guy 1: Is it true that you and DJ are not in good terms?

Me: Well, sort of. But we are on speaking terms already. We haven’t talked about the incident yet but I guess we’re ok now.

Here is my story regarding that incident

**Update:

Right now, I’m trying to win back DJ’s trust. Right now, it doesn’t matter whose fault it was…no more explanation or reasoning why the hell I had that backlog in the first place. I just want to make things right. I’m not a bad worker. If in the course of time, I had become bad, it could just be a reflection of what’s in the organization. Work can be a bitch sometimes. And some colleagues can be real bitches.

Oh, Guy 2 has just got out of the car.

Guy 1: Have you heard about what happened between J and me?

Me: Yeah. But I don’t know the real story.

I can’t really post what Guy 1 told me--pretty serious stuff about work and bitchy officemates. He even told me about the same people who were backstabbing me because they got mad at me for speaking my mind out, and how Guy 1 cringe at the sight whenever those people approach me as if they were angels—all nice and smiley.

“Plastic! Napaka-plastic!” he said.

I miss those moments with G1 coz we haven’t been talking like that lately. I kinda like him when he’s not the usual joker and when we exchange philosophical what-nots. I have a certain admiration for him, for the traits that most people don’t see in him. He makes me think. Hard. He makes me laugh. Harder.

I wish I could talk with him a little longer but we’ve reached my drop-off. Oh well, you can’t have all the nice things in the world.

“Konting timpi lang,” I said. After a quick thanks, I got out of the car and headed home.

Welcome back!

had a chat with a long lost friend the other night. grabe! i could think of so many words to describe how i felt talking with my friend that time. i was excited. kasi ba naman, it's been ten years since since we last talked. there's a lot of catching up to do!

i was happy because finally, we were on speaking terms again. for the most part i was giggly (my usual reaction for lack of words to say or just to mask that dyahi feeling) coz hello! just imagine ten years of silence and then meeting up again. where to start? what to ask?

we sort of fell out ten years ago. we were young and clueless. not well equipped to face the situation that presented itself to us. now we're older (and more mature i hope!) we sort of tried to pick up where we left off.

well, we can't pick up all the pieces we've left behind, that's for sure. we've grown, moved on and have different lives. a lot of things have changed. or have they?

that night, we were back to our usual selves--talking and laughing and recalling the fondest memories of our friendship up to the time before we lost contact. funny how i couldn't remember the particular situation or that thing i wrote, or the things he said just before we lost touch. selective amnesia?

that night, we resolved our issues. that night, halfway across the globe, twelve hours apart, with giggles, plenty of jokes and laughter, i had my friend back.

"...this is my confession..."

"i've come to realize that destiny can hurt a person as much as it can bless. and i find myself
wondering why of all the people in the world i'd fall for someone that can never be mine"

i haven't seen him for quite a while--a week or two perhaps. we've been too busy with our lives that we don't even have time to stop and say "hi". so when i saw him the other day, boy! was i so glad! but i tried hard to suppress it. for fear that he might see through me. i am that transparent with him.

so there he was and, well, there was i in the same room with other people. but it felt as though we were the only ones there. he looked at me and i tried to fathom what lies underneath that gaze. i missed that kind of look. i missed you. i missed you so much i could kiss you now.

he was still looking at me as he stood up and let it linger for a while before he walked out of the room. i looked around. everyone was busy doing their own thing. but something in my head says "go follow him." so i went. only to find out he was outside. waiting. for me?

he held my hand and suddenly we were in some street but surprisingly, no one else was there. he let go of my hand but he pulled me closer to him. it happened so fast and all i could remember was the softness of his lips, the hunger, and yet there was tenderness in his kisses as he was caressing my face. oh how i wish it would not end! i have waited long enough for this. we kissed for what felt like forever until he paused to look at me.

and then i woke up.

green minded

i always joke about myself having a green mind instead of a green thumb....

(pictures i took while at Fontana Leisure Parks on a rainy day. tell me what you think!)

Ebony

My sister’s cat. She’s half Persian and half Egyptian mau. A very pampered cat, she never eats leftover food. We tried feeding her the same food that we eat but she only takes a sniff and walks away. Ebony prefers cat food—the dry kind being sold at the supermarket.

My sister loves her so much she even lets her sleep on our bed. And worse, Ebony particularly sleeps on my side of the bed! Good thing my sister gives her a bath everyday.

I used to hate that cat. Maybe because I’m jealous that my sister pays more attention to Ebony. But time has its way and now she’s considered a part of the family. My dad sometimes takes her out for a walk. My brother usually makes fun of her the way a brother does to a sibling. And me, well, I just stroke her fur every once in a while specially if she allows it. One time I made a mistake of stroking her when she was not in the mood. I got a nasty scratch on my hand and she almost bit me. Luckily I was quick enough to move away.

It’s the time of the month for Ebony. All she could do is make noisy catcalls because we don’t let her out of the house. She hasn’t been spayed yet and we don’t want little Ebonies around the house in the near future. For now she just has to be content with us stroking her fur—she likes to be touched when she’s in heat.

hello Davao!

Last week, I went to Davao (together with 8 co-workers) to attend a workshop on “Effective Written Communication Skills”. It was such good timing that our arrival was the start of the Kadayawan Festival that will run for a week. I was thrilled. I was looking forward to see colorful presentations, parades, and all that festive feeling!

But then maybe I have expected too much.

I did not see any parade or colorful presentations (i.e. street dancing) because they were done during the day just when we were cooped inside the training venue trying to learn new stuff in written communication.

Again, I have expected too much from the training.
Most of the things taught us, I already know. I hate to say it was such a waste of government funds.

So I just tried to offset my disappointment by taking pictures and experiencing what other things Davao has to offer…

seen inside the Royal Mandaya Hotel

during the training/workshop....

Durian ice cream at 43 Php per scoop

of course i also did some shopping: batik bags and shawls for my aunts, durian candies for cousins, fresh durian for my dad, pomelo for my sister, souvenir t-shirts for myself.

fresh durian was sold for 65Php per kilo. i got mine for 115Php at almost 2 kilos... so much for the fruit that smells like hell but tastes heavenly! pomelos can be bought for 15Php per kilo. too bad i couldn't afford to buy stuff for ALL my loved ones. then again, i hope they'd understand that being an ordinary government employee doesn't make one rich. hehehe.

note to self / lessons learned/things discovered:

1. remind self not to expect too much

2. some people just don't readily welcome new learnings (in the case of some participants in the workshop)

3. always have extra space in luggage for the pasalubong (because i don't wanna carry extra bags for them) or simply pack light.

Yummy! durian ice cream anyone?

one memorable trip....

the tropang trippers @ Kabayan Beach Resort

San Juan, Batangas, Philippines

Q & A.....

The other day at the office while having lunch, we were having the usual "chikahan" and sharing of anecdotes, blah blah blahs.... that lead to the topic of marriage. My officemates suddenly popped the questions that i have been trying to evade for the longest time....

• Question: Kelan ka ba mag-aasawa? (when will you get married?)
• Answer: (silence for about 3 seconds while shaking my head) Uhmm, someday! hehehe
  

• Question: Bakit? ano pa ba'ng hinihintay mo? By this time naman siguro na-enjoy mo na ang singlehood mo. Eh mukha namang sigurado na kayo ng boyfriend mo. (Why? what are you waiting for? By this time you probably have enjoyed being single. By the looks of it, you and your boyfriend are meant for each other)
• Answer: Hinihintay ko lang maka-graduate yung kapatid ko.... (I'm still waiting for my sister to graduate from college...)
  

• Question: Ah, yun naman pala eh. We'll be hearing wedding bells in the near future then! I'm sure you and your boyfriend are talking about it already.
• Answer: Yeah, we've been talking about it (my answers are like floating in the air! geesh!)
  (honestly i'm not really sure about getting married)

Ok, so maybe I'll get married five years from now.... or maybe never. Who knows?

Here are some of the reasons for my uncertainty:

1. I am still enjoying my present civil status.
2. I still relish the thought of being able to come and go wherever and whenever I want without worrying about kids or whether I have done the chores or cooked dinner for the family.
3. I still have to help provide for my family (brother and sister still in school)
4. I haven't felt that certain feeling that would make me say "I'm getting married" with much delight and twinkle in my eyes.
5. I still have to nurture my parental instinct and improve my domestic skills. Let's face it, even if today's women are on equal footing with men with regards to career, I still feel that I should know a lot of things when it comes to being a homemaker, because I want to make it a point that when I finally get married, I won't be working anymore and I'll have more time to concentrate on raising my children.

Some people are cut out for marriage. I'm not saying that I am not. I do want to get married someday. But not so soon.

this is a test....

been feeling harassed lately. been working my ass off for the past couple of days. i desperately need a break!
tried to spare some minutes to post this what-not and just chill..... and to look at this photo i took on the way to Tagaytay last June.
simply breathtaking..... aaahhh.....
my five minutes are up!
gotta go!