Nearly mid-year report

Hellooooo!

I  haven't been blogging because well, I've been busy? Yeah I have been.

Let's see, before 2013 ended, we had 2 family reunions. Photos are in facebook.

2014 kicked-off with me having a 166-book reading list. Yeah, I'm down to 98 now, but some of those books I just skimmed, or outright deleted because I wasn't going to waste my time on them. And before you say what a huge reader I am, those are trashy novels and teen or young adult novels. hihhihi

Went to Baler. Went to Borubudur, where I tried to get enlightened.

Successfully planned and threw a surprise party for Mom, without my siblings and I killing each other.

Got diagnosed with KP (itchy chicken skin on my arms and legs) according to derma, due to the heat. Yet another skin condition I have to manage. :(

Started French classes at U.P. Yihaa.

Considering taking up Japanese. Because Naruto and other anime.

Full on planning with K for our France and Italy trip.

Work is pretty much the same, meaning I love it. Although people are starting to ask me what I plan to do next. I actually have no idea. I still think 2016 is far in the future for me to make concrete career plans.

I will try (hahaha) to start sorting my photos to post. Maybe next week or next month or next year!

In the meantime, seize the day!

DIY: Letting go (An outdoor activity)

Imagine one of those fluffy grass seeds that were so common those lazy summers of our childhood in Manila. Or maybe an individual dandelion puff.

Picture one in the center of your palm. Don't close your fist. Hold your palm flat or slightly curved. Cradle that seed.

Close your eyes. Remember all the things that you want to let go. Or focus on only one. A person. Of course, it's always a  person. Think of all the things about him that make you hold on to him. Let them flash in your mind one-by-one. Laugh if you feel like it. Cry if you need to. Make sure that you include every detail.

Now, try to push all these thoughts and memories into the seed cupped in your palm. You still have that seed don't you? If you've crushed it or forgotten about it, go back to the first paragraph.

Infuse that seed with everything that you want to let go. The weight of the years and the intensity of your feelings might make you think that the seed can't hold it all in, but it will. Trust me.

When you are sure that you have cleaned out your mind very well, and have not kept a secret stash of memories somewhere else, say your goodbyes. Say it because you need closure. Say all you need to say, all that you have kept inside for so long. The words need to go as well. The seed has more than enough room.

When all this is done, you are ready.

Hold your hand completely flat and blow on the seed. Watch it fly away, rising into the air.

Turn away before it descends. You don't need to know where it goes or where it lands.

You have let it go and it is no longer yours.

You have let him go and he is no longer yours

Feel the depth of emptiness. Don't worry about it. You will soon fill it up with other memories.

Pico de Loro

My dad's group of friends (seriously, all senior citizen-retirees) decided to go to Pico de Loro. My Dad can't move around easily, so my Mom had to accompany him. And since my Mom can't manage my Dad, the luggage and what-not by herself, my brother and I got free, all-expenses paid "vacations" in exchange for assisting and being gofers and errand boy and girl for the parents.

In between all that, I managed some pictures. ;)

The entrance at the Pico Hotel Sands where we all stayed. Or Pico Sands Hotel. Or Hotel Pico Sands. Or some arrangement thereof.

The back lawn of the hotel

At the clubhouse

View of the beach from the St. Therese chapel

The  infinity pool fronting the beach

A panoramic shot of the man-made lake (click for full size) behind the hotel

The beach was okay by my standards -- no rocks, no seaweeds. But there were fish swimming with you. And once when I was just floating, I saw an eagle soaring in the sky!

Kainan sa Dalampasigan

On the way to Pico de Loro, we had lunch at Kainan sa Dalampasigan (somewhere in Batangas). It's a beautiful and airy restaurant with a lot of plants.

We had binalot which was rice (lots of it), chicken and pork adobo, and inihaw na hipon (roasted shrimps?), all wrapped in banana leaf. Hence, binalot = wrapped. We also had roasted tomatoes, bulalo, and since there were a lot of us, we got free leche flan for dessert. Yay! I wasn't able to finish all my rice, so my brother and I swapped. Some of my rice for his roasted shrimps.

Pictures! (no food pictures though)

The sign at streetside:

 The welcoming doorway:

Ceiling and floor:

The fountain. Oh, there's me too.

English-speaking si Wampo

My mom, overhearing my cousin talk to Wampo (brother's puppy) in Filipino, said to Ian:

"Ian, sabihin mo kay Julius, english-speaking si Wampo."

My brother, without even pausing to think, replied:

"Mabuti na yon madami syang matutunan na language habang puppy pa sya."

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My brother's puppy is going to be multi-lingual. Hihihi.

The beauty of saying "NO"

In hindsight.


It was raining that night. That night, like many others before it, when we had dinner with friends and talked about life in general, complained about work, and bemoaned our love lives. You were on  your way to recovery after a bad breakup. I was in between dates. You offered to drive me home, since my car was coded and I opted to commute instead of waking up early.

"C'mon, I'd drive you home." Such a simple statement from you to me. Said countless times in various contexts. In Filipino (the way you said it) evoked care and concern and all the chivalry of courting -- "All done? Hatid na kita sa bahay."

It evoked intimacy. The kind that we've danced around but never acknowledged during all the time we spent together. We knew what this was leading to. It wasn't a simple drive home. That drive home would be the turning point in our relationship. From friends to more. It would  have been like settling into the relationship simply by default.

Yet, something in me didn't want that. All the time I'd known you, you were in this relationship. We had moments that never became more simply because I refused to make you that guy who cheated on his girlfriend. And I wasn't that girl anymore. You never made overt moves. I never encouraged you. But we knew that something was there between us. And I didn't want that then.

There you were without a girlfriend and there's that something between us. And you offered to drive me home. And I didn't want that then.

"No, thank you."

It was a simple statement between us. It was me saying "No" to all you were offering. Saying "No" to all the possibilities that could be us. Saying "No" to you.

Have I ever regretted that? No. (There's that beautiful word again)

I've idly wondered what it could have been like with you. But it's not some "go-back-in-the-past-and-change-it" moment. It was the right decision for both of us.

Because if I had said yes, you wouldn't have met the love of your life now. :)

But that's another story.
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 By the way, I'm expecting an engagement announcement from you guys soon. Happy anniversary!

Baguio Country Club

Overcast two-day stay at the Baguio Country Club. It was for work but it wasn't so stressful and I got some much deserved (lagi naman) R&R.

Little nook over our seminar venue

View from our bedroom window. It's so peaceful, isn't it?

Facade at dusk

Pictures were taken with my camphone so there aren't as high-def as I would like, but you get the idea.

Acuatico

So the family went to Acuatico for the weekend. Place was great and the staff were great. The food was a bit so-so but then again, I'm on a diet. Hehehe.

At that time, the place was fully booked, but you wouldn't feel it. the cottages were grouped around the infinity pool and it was quite private.

Even fully booked, the pool was never more than a third full, it was that big! I realized I don't have pictures of the beach, but it was good too. Sand wasn't really powdery, but it wasn't rocky either. And it didn't have seaweeds. :)

Loungers were generously placed around the pool and on the beach.

I could definitely come back here!

Caramoan

For the Holy Week long weekend, G invited me to join her church group for a 3,000 peso-challenge vacation in Caramoan. Kuya Mark arranged everything for us and I just had to appear at the designated meeting place. Nice, right!

For those geographically challenged like me, here's the wiki link on Caramoan.

We left on wednesday night and arrived at about lunchtime on Thursday, after a butt-numbing van ride through the night. (There were 14 of us and no hope of getting bus tickets with the Holy Week crush.) Then a 2-hour boat ride (also butt-numbing since you had to sit on a very narrow bench with little leg room). Then a trike ride until we reached Paniman where we rented a house (Kuya Ramil! He's famous). Kuya Ramil's wife also prepared our food for us including packed lunch for island hopping.

After some freshening up, we went straight for the short trip island hopping. Then the long-trip island hopping on Good Friday where after swimming and rolling in sand, we also played capture-the-tail(?) and patintero. Just before sunset, we went to the cave where Survivor holds some of its council meetings. We were not prepared because though some  of us had portable lights, we left them at the house. Sayang. hahaha.

Then, for dinner we had  Kuya Rico's surprise(?) birthday celebration -- with pansit, cake, and ice cream. We also played pinoy henyo, I lost because I couldn't guess "Bam Aquino". Nyak.

We left on Saturday and got back at around 12 midnight.

My left side was totally sunburned (because of the boat rides while island hopping) but I made lots of new friends!

I was a bit lazy and too preoccupied to take pictures. Here are some of them.

And hey, we exceeded the 3000 pesos budget by (drum roll please) 180 pesos. Hahahah! Great fun. I hope they invite me next time. :)

Oh hello there.

I haven't been posting lately because, well, because I've been busy and I haven't had any drama lately. Whew what a relief!

So what have I been up to?

Well, I'm now up to date with Naruto manga and anime. Yay!

I'm reading more -- trashy and non-trashy novels. :) I've had my head up in the clouds or immersed in a novel lately.

I have a secret undertaking which, for now, must remain secret.

I've come to terms with the longest heartbreak I've been nursing and decided that I can still be friends with him...because he has no idea he's broken my heart. Of course, this is still subject to evaluation.

To take my mind off things, I've enrolled in a MOOC. hahaha. Massive online open course. I love it though it eats a lot of my time.

Generally, I've been peaceful like I've never been peaceful before.

I'm hoping to get the writing juices flowing but I really have no idea of a story or even a small bit of dialogue that's begging to be written.

Oh, I got a haircut. Yeah I got a haircut.

Work's still good.

And sometimes, sometimes I think I can go on like this forever.

If this isn't peace and serenity, I don't know what is.

Happy New Year!

In line with my goal to CREATE more, I decided to take pictures of fireworks! Yeah!

I don't usually go out on New Year's Eve because I'm asthmatic, plus, I'm afraid of stray bullets. But I decided to do so this year just so I can take pictures. I stayed out on the second floor balcony. The view wasn't really that clear as it was cloudy that night. And the fireworks were a bit far away. Good thing, my camera had pretty decent zoom.

I thought it would be easy to take pictures but it was actually frustrating! I had to zoom in, and get the timing right. Which was really hard!!! I used the fireworks preset on my camera and it was a bit slow in processing the pictures. Anyway, here are some of my attempts (I had LOTS!!!):

Difficulty getting them into the frame and timing's off:

I really couldn't get the explosions at the right time

Here's some success. This one's a bit nearer but blocked by some trees and power lines. Didn't have to fiddle with the zoom:

Happy New Year! I had some lucky shots and I uploaded them on Starry-Eyed Photos :)

Have you decided who you'll be for 2013?

Taking this weekend to prepare for the New Year!:) And a new life.

Yihaa!

On being thankful

Starting with a friend's wedding on the first weekend of December, I have been attending Mass regularly (at the time of this writing, a total of 3 times!).

I'm not a particularly religious person, though I did study in a Catholic school. Attending Mass nowadays is not because I've reached or am reaching for a certain kind of enlightenment. It's actually something I promised God back when I was studying for the bar. okay, okay, I wasn't exactly praying those times (I left that to my Mom), I was engaging in hardball negotiations. Hehehe.

I did say that if I failed, I was going to kill myself :(  And if I passed the bar, I was going to go to Mass for one whole year.

I took the bar back in 2007 and the results were out in 2008. God has been very good to me and my family during the intervening years between then and now, and I'm also thankful for that.

Almost five years later, I'm only now starting to hold my end of the bargain.

Sorry, I'm late.

2013 Resolutions

I was having a hard time coming up with what I really wanted to focus on for 2013. Until I received an email from a friend who shall not be named! It was a forwarded email of (of all things!) a novena to St. Joseph....for a good spouse! Hahaha!

Well, aaaanyywaayyy, I know she meant well, and after some research (because I'm OC like that) I found out that the St. Joseph novena also works for career, and real estate concerns. Hmmmm....

Well, I'm quite happy with my job. I could always use more real estate (hehehe). Uhm, a good spouse? I'm sure that will be nice in the future, but it requires commitment, right??? Geez, even the novena requires some level of commitment and effort. :)

But, I digress. I made up my mind about my resolutions! I've narrowed it down to one!

CREATE!

it could be anything...artistic projects, opportunities, happiness, discord (jk)....

or

procreate. Yeah, that'll do.:)

Agra

After New Delhi, we took the train to Agra. The train ride wasn't as bad as the car rentals would have us believe. (Of course, they wanted us to hire their car and their guide for our Agra leg).

We rode on the first class air-conditioned train. It was roomy with nice comfortable seats. And breakfast.:) We also saw a bit of a the countryside, though I admit, I mostly slept. We'd also arranged for the hotel car to pick us up (there was a rather scary scuffle among the Indian drivers while we were looking for our car, and a cheerful Japanese tourist taking pictures all the while) but we finally arrived at our hotel. Our rooms were already available so we got in to freshen up a bit and then started our tour.

Pictures up next.

New Delhi - Hotel Bright

In New Delhi, we stayed Hotel Bright at M-85, Connaught Place | opp. Super Bazar, New Delhi 110001, India (Minto Road).

It was not love at first sight. But don’t let first impressions fool you. When I first saw the hotel from the outside I was disappointed. Getting to its entrance was also a turn off, through a road construction, a narrow staircase, then a mezzanine with abandoned furniture. But when we pushed the door to the hotel, we were transported to a peaceful place.

Our room had everything we needed – it was clean with comfortable beds, free wifi, cable tv, plenty of hot water in the shower, ayurvedic soaps and lotions, choice of breakfast. The hotel is also a few meters from Pizza Hut (for those who crave for familiar food), Haldirams's (great for Indian food and sweets) and diagonally across the hotel is a bazaar where we got khurdas and pashminas at very good (cheap, as in cheap) prices.

But the best part is the excellent service. The staff catered to our every whim like breakfast at 4 AM so that we could leave the hotel at 5 AM to get on the 6 AM train to Agra and getting our old room back when we got back from Jaipur. They even let us leave some of our luggage with them free of charge for the period we went to Agra and Jaipur.

They got us good car hires with English speaking and knowledgeable drivers. They even got us the menu from a nearby restaurant so we didn’t have to go out and just order from our room when we’re too exhausted from all the sightseeing. 

There’s only one more thing I could ask for - I hope they would change their soft fluffy towels to more absorbent ones.

Angry Birds

Here are cute Angry Birds decorations made by my sister. It's made from rolled paper.

Here are the piggies with the eggs:

And the Angry Birds with their slingshot

The paper rolling thing is called paper quilling, if you're interested to make it.

New Delhi - Red Fort (Part 3)

The private quarters and bath house for the royal family are located apart from the rest of the buildings. These buildings are all beautifully decorated.

Red Fort Palaces

Look at how intricately detailed and decorated the palaces are:

Decorated columns and scalloped arches

Decorated windows, walls and ceilings

The other side

Screened window with arch

Archway

Intricately carved archway

 Close up of the underside of the arch

Carved underside of arch

 A different building

Another building

Notice the symmetry of the columns 

Corner view

it's so light and airy

Close-up details of the buildings

Ceiling, arch and underside of scalloped arch, tops of the walls

Arch, flowers, borders

Flower tile

Carving on edges

Done with the Red Fort!