Up in the sky

This world has so many sights, sounds, taste, feelings to offer both natural and man-made that not even a lifetime would be enough to experience them all. Of course, there is that matter of resources needed to do so. One can only dream of being able to travel the world and bask in whatever beauty there is. Opportunities for travel whether hard-earned or awarded/assigned are gifts themselves. However, it can get pretty lonely when doing so alone.

A gaze out the window changes things. One cannot help but feel a sense of awe, amazement, peace and contentment. It's a beautiful world out there. It's the same sky but looks and feels different everytime - one I will not get tired of looking at. Won't you?

Snap for a Tune: Someone Like You

Someone Like You
Adele


I heard that you're settled down
That you found a girl
And you're married now

I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you

Old friend, Why are you so shy?
Ain't like you to hold back
Or hide from the light

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me I beg
I remember you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead."
Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead,
Yeah.

You know how the time flies
Only yesterday it was the time of our lives
We were born and raised
In a summer haze
Bound by the surprise
Of our glory days

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me I beg
I remember you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead"

Nothing compares
No worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes
And memories made.
Who would have known
How bittersweet
This would taste?

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me I beg
I remember you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead"

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me I beg
I remember you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead"

Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead




Side Story: A year or two ago, I would have probably cried my heart out listening to this song. I can remember the tears streaming down my face whilst driving in Florida over the haze through a drawbridge with Chasing Pavements in the background. Then there was that California drive with Kathleen to/from Point Reyes with Almost Lover in the background amidst all the trees. Yes, I am that EMOTIONAL. Not right now. Not anymore since quite sometime now. No more tears.

Nonetheless, I can't help but be amazed and love this song for the level of emotion it is able to convey and evoke. The beauty of raw emotion translated into a simple song. "If you sound like that, all you need is a piano". I am no critic, but I gotta say, thank you adele for giving us such songs that somehow break through the songs using similar formula we hear nowadays.

Vested Interest

There are times when it seriously sucks even though you're at the receiving end or more of a beneficiary. The thing is you start to wonder if not for that vested interest what then?
Right now, I start to think about whether or not other than my college friends I have other real friends? I guess it's one of those days where I feel alone and alienated from everyone else instead of appreciating what's here and now. Feeling alone doesn't mean you're actually alone, sometimes it's just simply because you've turned your back on the world.
Maybe I have. Maybe I am.

Fill the gap

A friend was asking if there's anything we wanted to get as she's coming home. Of course, where she's at, a couple of things are really cheaper. I've been googling and searching amazon but nothing interests me so far.
I'd be hypocritical to say I don't want anything. It's possible that I just can't afford or... The things I want to fill a gnawing gap in my life, money just can't buy them...
I need to get a life but how?

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. 

Take two

Will this year be a year of second chances, take two's and yet new experiences? Then again, does that include THAT area? If it does, then technically pretty much nothing will happen... I'd pin my hope on Him and chance though because... You'll never know... You just never know...

HK Revisited: Staying in Kowloon Island

When my mom coaxed me into treating her with a trip abroad, I gave in for several reasons:
1. I finally get to travel abroad again without the hassles of false hopes and failed plans.
2. Countless failed attempts in looking for a group who wanted to travel (with me).
3. I get to choose the destination and I wanted to go somewhere cold.

Thus, even though my mom has been to HK twice and Macau once, since I was the one paying and I had the excuse of never being in Macau, the destination was set.

When I first set foot in HK, we ended up staying in Hong Kong Island at The Wesley Hotel. I don't have much memory of it except that it was decent enough and didn't serve breakfast but was on the small side. In addition, the walk from the hotel to the closer MTR station: admiralty was pretty taxing eventually the longer you stay (assuming you are mostly out during the day exploring HK). So this time around, I decided that we should be staying at Kowloon Island preferably at Tsim Sha Tsui.

all things considered especially the economics of price, location aka proximity to MTR and shops as well as the airport bus, Hotel Benito became the hotel of choice although I had to stretch my budget a little. If I probably booked it say maybe 2-3 months in advance the rate could have been lower. Options included: Imperial Hotel, Salisbury YMCA, Shamrock Hotel, etc. I came close to booking a hostel room at Golden Crown guest house but that was scrimping too much (especially as a treat for a mother) just so I would have more shopping money. Scrutinizing details and reading reviews delayed the booking as well but I guess you could say it was a good decision. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of their rooms but I didn't look under the bed to see if it was well dusted. It's got space enough for two people I must say. I guess what we liked about it compared to The Wesley was: location! Even my mom had to comment on it. It was almost close to everything.
1. It's just a few walks to the TST station.
2. There are familiar food stalls/fast foods (MCDO, KFC, Burger King, Yoshinoya, etc.) nearby for those who end up eating unplanned meals at off-the-usual hours.
3. The airport bus stop at Nathan Road is close by (A21).

4. Silvercord mall (which is one of the locations of H&M), Harbour View, outlet shops such as Esprit, Giordano, Bossini etc are just a few minutes walk.
5. the ferry station is again a few minutes walk (day trip to Macau shouldn't be a bother).
6. As a plus, we got to sample some of the pastries from this bakery right across the hotel:

7. There is a ForEx stall across the street that buys US Dollars at a higher rate than most we saw. It seems it is still better to bring with you US Dollars if have some or if you can buy them from someone and not from a bank. That way, you would still get better value for your money. You can then exchange a few of them at the airport then the rest at downtown areas. Airport rates are usually lower. Of course, be wary of possible scammers. I had my doubts in this particular stall but we didn't run into any issues during our stay there.

8. Surprisingly Arashi had an ad plastered in the TST station (or was it somewhere else?) which I didn't expect. Oh yeah! Big Plus! hahaha

Iphone is love and so are pictures

 ever since I bought Itouch as a replacement for my Ipod Video I was sold on the touch screen of Apple. Of course, there were the apps as well that you can probably say were a lot and getting, accessing them was I guess you could say dumb-friendly. For the geeks out there, they probably prefer Winmo or android over Apple but at that time I already started regretting choosing Omnia over the iphone. But then again, Iphone's features were nothing compared really to Omnia's. However, I was not able to maximize it and the touch screen was somewhat on the resistive side as what my brother referred it to be. And so the itouch was amazing, I had an omnia, I wanted to get an iphone but didn't sound practical and was too redundant so I had to bear with it until I felt my phone was too old. Then a blessing in disguise, my itouch went swimming and I was forced to buy an iphone. Yeah forced haha. Then I had to wait another few months for the official release of the iphone 4 through Globe then I find out I have a bad record due to a business account under my name etc. etc. Good thing Singapore (and Hong Kong) offers officially unlocked iphones so I got mine from there instead through friends and by December I've been inseparable with my iphone. many apps later, I'm still enjoying it particularly the camera and add-on apps for it. If only, there'd be a decent app for blogger I wouldn't probably contemplate of ditching this and moving to tumblr. Or I might probably open one still to cater to my addiction for pictures (not that I'm good at it). The album below sounds like a good tumblr banner or something as well... thinking thinking :D

Oh Snap!

These apps are my favorites (probably must-haves or I got tricked into buying them but I like them anyway.):
1. Lomolomo
2. hipstamatic
3. instagram
4. photoshop express
5. montager
6. facebook, twitter, yahoo messenger
7. Plants vs Zombies
8. Bejeweled
9. Fruit Ninja
10. Stanza
11. Merriam and Webster
12. PhotoShare
13. Spot the difference
14. restaurant story, bakery story

and a whole lot of others but these are good enough for me as of the moment. Possibly tumblr soon.

Online tribute to a Mentor

I just sent out a short note to my previous manager to thank her for her positive impact probably her legacy to me.
In the 5 years that I've been a corporate rat, I've interacted directly with 4 direct supervisors. 3 of those in just a span of 13 months. But time is irrelevant when leaving a lasting positive impact. Sometimes, all it takes is probably one well-handled situation that tells you and shows you the management skill of a person without any pretense. It neither has to be in your favor but the fact that she can convince you, win you over, turn you around without resorting to politician tactics makes you admire the person all the more. A genuine person able to feel but uses her intellect well: well-balanced and well-grounded. A human-being probably who is well aware of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and a whole gamut of others. It is a skill honed and developed allowing her to respond to a whole gamut of situations. Possibly, I was not under her care long enough to see her faults and flaws magnified, exaggerated by others. To me however, what matters is that I left her supervision with an arm full of learnings that continue to inspire me.
I'll say it again, Doms, though I wish you could have mentored me for longer
I'm glad our paths crossed. Thank You!
Sent from my iPhone

Paranoia, Worry and Vanity

If paranoia, worry and vanity could kill, I'd probably be dead by now. Most likely more because of the former two than the latter.

But a little self-indulgence for vanity's sake... Thank you for the compliments. I need it so I can suck the positive vibe they bring bone dry and boost that dwindling reserve of optimism, patience, confidence and faith. I am flattered really. Keep them coming! :)

Sent from my iPhone