let's go to the beach: Calaguas

Believe it or not, it's the end of May and I have not once been to the beach nor to the pool! what would have been an Ilocos roadtrip this weekend vanished partly due to my sickness... talk about timing. In any case, I guess I'll just think about these wonderful places I've been to in the past couple of years.

June 2010: Calaguas.

The Bicol region scores high in terms of breathtaking beaches and tourist destinations. One point of destination would be Calaguas. I kid not that I had to gasp and marvel at the beauty of the beach when we first set our eyes on it. It was really beautiful. Check them out:

Walking around the following day, we found this "hidden beach". Didn't I say the place was just beautiful?

Since this is a semi-virgin island, there are no resorts in the area and one has to camp to stay the night there. While we were there, we had the privilege of camping with part owners of the island. Even when camping, they were able to mark the demarcation between us and them in terms of the social status. We started to feel like the native Filipinos, lower class beings to serve as slaves when the Spaniards occupied the country. I guess for others, camping meant the following: dressing room tent, bed cushions, mattresses, generators, electric fans, electric mosquito swats or something, wine using actual wine glasses by a bonfire, etc. Maybe that's what they call camping in style... Apparently, they were supposedly the owners of waling-waling beach resort in Boracay. Possibly the development of a resort in Calaguas is not far behind.

We joined Melvic's group which at that time consisted mostly of our barkada and two smaller ones. http://melvicbrinas.multiply.com

pictorial on the rocks

Snap for a Tune: Where Are You Going

Texas, 10.25.2009

Where Are You Going

Dave Matthews Band

Where are you going, with your long face pulling down?

Don't hide away, like an ocean
But you can't see, but you can... smell
And the sound of waves crashing down

I am no superman
I have no reasons for you
I am no hero; oh that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are, is where I belong
I do know where you go is where I wannna be

Where are you going? where do you go?
Are you looking for answers to questions under the stars?
If along the way you are growing weary, you can rest with me
Until a brighter day and you're OK

I am no superman
and I have no answers for you
I am no hero, oh that's for sure
But I do know one thing is
Where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I wanna be

Where are you going? Where do you go?

Where do you go? Where are you going?
Where do you go?

I am no superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero; oh that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go is where I want to be

Where are you going? Where do you go?

Rough MSDS as of May 19, 2011

If one would look at an MSDS-like description of myself right now, one would find the following:
Emotional state: complacent but easily provoked
Boiling Point: low and can boil even at ambient temperatures
Emotional Stability: extremely unstable and unpredictable
Freezing Point: Restless and therefore will not freeze (although being frozen might do good at the moment)
Conditions to Avoid: confrontations, hopelessness, bad vibes
General Description: a volatile, combustible substance ready to ignite and explode.
Storage: Do not leave alone with emo music and long silences such as road trips with no conversations unless very sleepy.
Spills/Leaks: water level at tear ducts are at critical level. Likelihood of crying is high and running out of tears is low.
Extinguishing media: family, friends, pictures, trips, Fluffy, alternatives

Honestly, I am having second thoughts. Did I not analyze enough and am I entirely to blame for what I am going through right now? and so yes, I crashed and burned maybe due to my work ethics... but then again, all I can think of is... It's time... to help myself. I hope I do the right thing and employ the same thought and emotional process as I did before so I will end up with the right decision. And of course, please Father bless whatever the decision and support me as You always do.

Where do you go?

let's go to the beach: Cagbalate

For some reason, I am not too keen on basking on the sun, playing in the sand and wading in the water this year. It's already mid-May and I don't think I've been to the beach yet or even to a resort with just a pool. Call me pathetic or anti-social fine by me. too skin-white conscious I don't think so. (thank God for rash guards!) flab-conscious maybe yes. Nevertheless, whether or not I get to go this year either's fine by me. This country's got a lot of picturesque, wonderful and breathtaking nooks, crannies and beaches. Maybe in due time I'd get to experience the wonder of the must-sees but so far this is one of those that has taken my breath away.

Cagbalate 2010. An island about an hour away from Mauban, Quezon.
What was supposed to be Cagbalete 2009 became Cagbalete 2010 due to the bad weather we had to content with. Not exactly a virgin beach but it gives you the feel of just the right mix of seclusion, serentiy and simple 'resort life'. There are resorts in the area but camping is an option as well (yes, a shower and toilet's available!). We camped out in Pansacola if I'm not mistaken as they were already fully booked.

Mauban port

this is not how you eat habhab

our "campsite"

sand ripples

long stretch of sand..

redefining low tide...

the water recedes way too far for a swim...

that far from the island and people are still standing.

don't know how to swim? not a problem!

If I can I want to go back here and just laze around... no night life here just "chillax" life...

online hiatus

Now it can be said:
abstaining from eating meat was one thing I grew up with but fail to follow from time to time, so this year i sort of decided to follow a good friend's example to 'detoxify' and abstain from all these online vices. I guess you could say I'm too much of an internet/social networking addict. I've got to many online accounts and although not all of them are active it seems it goes to show how dependent I've become to these things.

First stop was deactivating Facebook. Needless to say, this was the hardest of them all and I can totally understand those non-believers. Providing them a reason for this unusual act was equally hard. I tried not to and I preferred not to but the idea I guess just didn't sit too well with others. So unless they came up to their own conclusions I sort of gave them one. Maybe it was partly out of whim or some selfish desire to be out of the radar and to feel missed but I'd like to think that for the most part it was really because I was getting tired of all the negative things about it. It was too much prone to misuse and abuse and a cause for me to lurk, stalk and gossip. Really, it was not that healthy anymore. a good deal of my time I'd be spending just to peruse through the news feed, updates, pictures of contacts etc. It was a good timing to practice self-restraint at that time of the year. Although I initially planned on getting it back up come Easter, it seems it's better to live without it a lot longer... Thus, I am extending it indefinitely. I DO MISS IT THOUGH and it is really tempting to reactivate it just to browse again and that stuff.

I deleted my friendster and i think myspace next. Refraining from posting here was also another one on the list though tumblr, instagram and twitter became my refuge. I love pictures too much whether of people, things or places or anything I had to have something to view and post things to.

I think I'm back on blogger though I kind of feel too tired for this thing now.