I survived Pinatubo unscathed...

I wonder who'd believe me if I really meant that line... unfortunately for me, i have a number of blisters, bruises, sore legs, shoulders etc to contradict the claim. it was a good thing that it wasn't like the taal trek a year ago where it was scorching hot nor like the mt. isarog trek where it rained. I don't have any idea how i would have survived if the weather wasn't just right like yesterday-just cloudy. as it is, it already feels such an accomplishment for me despite the fact that i slipped, fell and stumbled a couple of times. not to mention losing my footing, being outpaced by a 10-year old kid, losing the "trail" and did i mention getting blisters and bruises? hehehehe actually i was unmindful of the stones/sand/dirt from the streams that got stuck in my sandals. i didn't realize one of my blisters actually bled a little until i reaced the 4x4 jeep. rather i didn't realize i had blisters until i washed off my feet while waiting for the other trekkers. i guess the weariness and desire to reach the end was stronger. =) the trip organizer (who was cute btw LOL) seeing the expression on our faces just had to comment that "i don't think you'll be doing this again..." not for some time i guess(i'm open for repeats but for now i need to rest). But all in all i enjoyed it really and the caldera is worth the trek. right now though, the trek is the memorable part of this whole trip. Imagine trekking 3 hours to get to the caldera then staying/resting for 1.5 hours and then trekking back again. On our trek back, gi and i managed to clock in at around 2.5 hours! hurray for us! =) boy, my legs really hurt though. it's hard to keep pace with gi. times like these magnify the disadvantages of being shorter and having shorter legs.

P.S. I would like to thank my walking stick. I don't know how i would have survived without it! =) hehehehe

*pics courtesy of jen. (i don't have a decent portrait shot-with me as the subject huhuhuhu)

interesting... still i think so far most of my photos suck...

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

HFPC - The Photographer

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

nowhere fast... [bottom feeder]

"... Then there are times when I
Can't seem to understand it at all
And yes it seems as though I'm going nowhere
really f*cking fast, nowhere fast

Will I ever get to where I'm going If I do will I know when I'm there If the wind blew me in the right direction. Yeah Would I even care I would."

To say that I had a bad week last week is an understatement... it was a week filled with disappointments, frustrations, hurt and pain (even betrayal). to keep this post short, i just hope that the weeks to come will be better...

i should really be sleeping but right now I just have to vent and rant... i'm trying to keep my composure, be patient and fight all these negative stuff and my own personal demons... but really it's hard... Lord, please help me, inspire me, motivate me... keep me grounded and focused... i hope i don't burn out...

i'm really really struggling to remain or try to be positive about my state despite all that's been going on... I know I have to put my trust and faith in the Lord but it's easy to lose sight...

somehow i can relate to this song...

and i'm sort of missing someone right now (again...)... hmmm...

The Analyst
Delta Goodrem

Prepare yourself to meet
The girl who cannot sleep
Dividing every question till the questions are complete
Every twisted tongue she studies everyone
She won't leave any stone unturned the night is oh so young

Oh oh she's traveling back in time
Questioning every line that someone said
Oh oh she's trying to understand

Free her mind she's always the analyst
Silent space the culprit the catalyst
Trying to make sense of her life
Digging around in the dirt she's a slave to the work
She's always the analyst

Can you be sure we haven't met see the eyes they don't forget
They wander through the passage-ways that tease a restless mind
Can't afford to slip the picture's gotta fit
Her world's a photograph that gets dissected bit by bit

Oh oh she's traveling back in time
Questioning every line that someone said
Oh oh she's trying to understand

Free her mind she's always the analyst
Silent space the culprit the catalyst
Trying to make sense of her life
Digging around in the dirt she's a slave to the work
She's always the analyst

Re-living the mistake she's made not a moment for the curious girl

Free her mind she's always the analyst
Silent space the culprit the catalyst
Trying to make sense of this life
Digging around breaking it down
Neurotic thoughts
Burning the ground
Every sight every sound
She's always the analyst

raving &hearts on stuff and then a few rants

so yeah, i finally gave in and voted using this website as my guide: http://sukisyo.vox.com/... i couldn't resist anymore... as much as i've been a passive arashi fan silently watching, reading, ogling (not to mention downloading) at anything arashi-related, given the situation where JE was a few votes behind, i couldn't just sit and watch right? after all, it was just a few clicks away... just a small effort on my part given the many happy times/moments arashi has given me especially in moments of stress... again, those boys are my happy pills. I always end up smiling and feeling a bit light whenever i recall their antics, etc. you can't help but crack up really... =) all the best arashi!♥♥♥ >>> i never thought i'd be this obsessed or feel this strong about celebrities!!!!

on other news, i so can't wait for breaking dawn!!!!♥♥♥ to think that i don't know if i'll even get a hold of a copy this weekend because since i'm a late bloomer i wasn't able to reserve on time... (the addictions i have are quite childish, seems as if i'm growing old backwards). anyway, the anticipation is so getting on my nerves... just a few more days... i still have my fingers crossed that in one way or another i'll be able to secure a copy this weekend or next week... =)

why are there a lot of temptations... i wonder what i'll be able to get myself... shooting for a DS, cellphone, zoom lens (still haven't decided what) and a tamron 17-55 f2.8 perhaps? oh man, this is really hopeless... good luck to me!

addictions...

as if my most recent addiction isn't enough to keep me busy and sometimes cause me to lose sleep just so i can indulge some more... i just got a new addiction! i'm joining the twilight bandwagon! and i am so hooked. so much that i've been losing sleep over the past days while reading the first book and to think that I was actually working overtime during those times as well(oty...) I also found ways to get my hands on the mid two books in the series. I was actually planning on getting all three as somebody just lent us twilight... but they except for eclipse was already sold out (it seems on all pb branches). Good thing I live in Cainta, and just as I suspected they still have new moon available! hurray! twilight can wait! =)

so now i'm so torn on my addictions:
F1 - please let kimi be world champion!!! =)
mysoju/crunchyroll - watching Yamada Taro Monogatari again. haven't watched any new dramas lately because i've been too preoccuppied with arashi vids to care! hehehehe =)
arashi - jun, sho, nino, ohno, aiba. I didn't think I would like these boys at all but now I am so addicted. They are so hilarious and kakkoii! Somebody teach me nihonggo please!!! If not for financial constraints/priorities I'd really want to watch them in Shanghai or Taipei... oh well... I hope HYDF will be shown anywhere anytime soon!!!! =) They are my happy pills especially in times of stress. I just have to listen to their gay pop/jpop tunes and my mood will improve. Just recalling their hilarious shows is enough to make me smile (like an idiot sometimes, I would have to say).
twilight - arashi addiction is cheaper although not exactly on the HD but the backup drive can wait! i hope rest of the saga won't disappoint... i know, me joining this bandwagon is way belated but it's never too late right?
multiply - i'm starting to doubt this coz the high-res pics are no longer available... =( only low-res pics available for grabbing? that's too bad...
CSI - the first to go primarily due to my sched... i miss it terribly...

i know if you think about it, it's actually sort of pathetic. well you can look at it in two ways, it's good that i don't have any other preoccupations because as it is my hands are pretty full. on the other hand, i made myself useful or busy because of the absence of that other preoccupation. I'm not complaining though. why sulk right?! =)

speaking of two ways, i just got to watch dark knight yesterday and heck it was dark, heavy and good at least for me. I was particularly amazed at Heath's acting. His Joker was disturbing, intimidating, and effective. Maybe I'm not really a well-informed batman moviegoer but to me it seemed that Heath's joker drove the point when he was able to exhibit multiple facets of personalities capable of outsmarting or should i say tricking other people. Anyway, the pending results got me hanging so much that I couldn't really relax and left me on the end of my seat such that there's no other way to describe it but to say that it got me a bit stressed out. At one point I wanted it to end really. Anyway, I am not sure how the comic enthusiasts will react to this movie but overall I think the movie was good. What I'm a film critic now? Not! Just got carried away with the fuss over Heath and his acting. >>>something's so familiar here.

time to work on that way overdue KBA. boo me! i sure hope I finish the first draft though...

P.S. any news on the eheads reunion concert? I really really hope it's not for free and for smokers only... but i hope it's not that expensive though...

i was initially going to write something about working from home (and how sometimes I wish this is still possible) but the negative feedback (mimic) and the possible negative feedback that may circulate among the managers due to my "passive" participation during the training is bothering me so much... oh well... hopefully, those things won't stick and will not have any effect (esp with regards to performance ratings?hahaha)...

*hope for the best!
**i really hope the e-heads concert is not for free or you get tickets by signing up on a website (and you have to smoke!)...

rain, rain, go away...

come again some other day... please especially not this weekend... =) hopefully it'll be fun and sunny! please??????????

my arashi madness hasn't the least bit abated and my desire to go to one of their AAA concerts has increased to the point that I really wanna go. but then i mentioned it to my mom and got some scolding... so right now i'm thinking if i won't be able to get tickets then it's not for me... but if i will be able to get tickets then i need to convince my mom and SAVE/EARN MOOLAH to justify this madness! =)

but then, i want to buy lens and a new phone as well... and hit the xxx,xxx limit by the end of this year... and i need to contribute for this year's trip abroad (coz i promised)... how in the world am i going to do all these? obviously something's gotta give... but what? i've already declined the HK invite of my officemates since I was just there about 7 months ago... and I want the samsung OMNIA too (feels good that i sort of can associate with ohmiya!!! woohoo!)... POOR ME! yes, rants galore! oh well, hopefully i'll be crossing out a couple of things by the end of this year. it's all about priorities and discipline and self-restraint... so I can indulge on the things that matter more...

really i hope it won't rain this weekend... Tuesday's fine. =P

ARASHI CONCERT TICKETS, HELP PLS?!

waaah we so want to watch!!!!

http://mcrbinza.multiply.com/journal/item/21

can't get enough of arashi!

this is my worst addiction so far... since i started "loving" the group, i've been doing nothing but raiding sites for videos, information, tidbits, listening to their songs, learning a few japanese words here and there whenever i had the time!!!! THIS IS BAD!!!!! but for me, they're like happy pills especially now that work's been pretty hectic or going to be more hectic (if there's such a thing).

i'm just bothered though if ohno and nino are really dating each other! LOL!!! NOOOOO!!! just when i thought nino is also cute! nyahaha originally it was just jun, well when i first started watching hyd, i didn't even like anyone of them. I thought the taiwanese version featured better looking leads/F4. Then, I enjoyed HYD more than Meteor Garden (i realized that MG was a bit dragging) and came to like domyouji. And then, cha introduced me to Yamada Taro Monogatari. Didn't have much of a choice so I thought, well Sho looks kinda ok. This lead me to check out the band and what seems to be the fuss. So i checked wikipedia and youtube. Their time concert video(s) got me amazed and then i was hooked... the moving stage and jun's yabai yabai yabai really got me...

and now, i can't wait for HYD final. Also, I wish i could buy a collection of all their vids with english subs as I still need to study/learn japanese... I KNOW!!!THIS IS BAD!!!! jologs na kung jologs!!!! LOL! :P

guessing game...

LSS. I find these lines quite apt or at least I can relate to this (at least in my daydreams?!)

"It's like I waited my whole life
For this one night
Its gonna be me, you, and the dance floor
Cause we only got one night
Double your pleasure
Double your fun
And dance forever ever ever
Forever ever ever (x6)
Forever on the dance floor"

guess why or rather who! =)

materialism...

i wish i'd be able to buy this by the end of the year:

1. 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
http://www.canonlensreview.com/standardzoomlensreviews/CanonEF24_105mmf4LISUSMLensReview.php

or this

2. 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
http://www.canonlensreview.com/standardzoomlensreviews/CanonEF24_70mmf2.8LUSMLensReview.php

otherwise i might have to settle for this

3. 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM

http://www.canonlensreview.com/standardzoomlensreviews/CanonEF28_135mmf3.5_5.6ISUSMLensReview.php

but i really want the first one...

wish me luck! I need to more than save! wonder how i'll be able to do it... to think i bought a laptop about a month ago although it's on an installment plan...

i guess this is means goodbye DS and cellphone... so long as i can still call or text with my 6230i that'll do! hahahaha such a pity... well at least i feel safer when I commute coz i don't have to worry about a lost phone or whatever...

again another caramoan snapshot: =)

i just miss someone right now... =( wonder if he misses me too...
sure hope so...

pure bliss...

i fell in love with this:




and this

then again, who wouldn't?

paradise with friends - priceless! =)

*photos courtesy of atan