i mishu, konsensya ko

i easily got used to having my konsensya around for a week. she went back to cebu the other day to start her new life. and i miss her terribly. i had that stinging feeling in the center of my chest when i saw her off the jeepney yesterday, after our late lunch. 

i miss coming home from work when she'd wake up and kiss me goodnight, then waking up the next morning with her nagging that i sleep too much. i will miss her facial expression every time she drinks the coffee that i make for her. she'd complain that it's too bitter for her taste, but she'd drink it anyway.

during the big night of the dinagyang festival, all of our housemates went out for a drink. but we were not in the mood to hang out with a lot of people that we decided to stay home and watch a movie instead. "a little bit of heaven" that's what it was called. i was being entertained by the characters in the movie when i heard her sniffing at the other end of the sofa. oh, gosh! i forgot how easily she cries on movies. but when she started packing her things, i had my turn of sniffing and crying, too.

we talked about life that night. her fear of dying. her fear of the after life. her fear of the new life that she's heading on to. i just had to hold her hand and assure her that she has a family and friends to support her whatever happens. in fact, i admire her courage to face the unknown. no matter how much i want to protect her, she has to face her own challenges. she has to experience everything life has to offer.

growing apart is a part of growing up

see you next dinagyang, mader jona tambunting! 

my world is gray

the weather has been so kind to me these past days. i think it has been going on for two weeks now. the sky is always covered with nimbostratus clouds. it gives me a feeling of sluggishness and a nice excuse to daydream while riding on the jeepney to work and certain extent of happiness that comes from beyond those gray clouds.

some people whom i know find it gloomy and it affects their moods. but for me, i feel joyous every time i get out of the house and look at the sky. i would give a loud "yes! it's cloudy again!" cheer inside my head. and i would go on smiling for the rest of the day. it's not just the clouds. i count the cool breeze in, too, for making my days extra wonderful!

i cherish today and the past days. i will cleave to the coming days that will be enveloped with lovely dark clouds and gentle wind. 

kasadyahan and dinagyang festival

Create your own photo album

pre-dinagyang

we thought we could try our luck posing with the tall and gorgeous mannequin inside the lobby of the amigo hotel. a fortunate night for us 'coz manong guard let us walk along the red carpet from the entrance to that wooden figure of a dinagyang warrior.

kids dressed up in their sto.nino costumes as they joined the parade on friday, january 25, 2013.

devotees carried their sto. nino figures for blessing. the number of sto. nino replicas was quite surprising (for me, at least).

last stop: food fest! we had our tummies full with barbecue. rhea-san won in smart's "give me what i want" game. and i got inked by andy-san. i love it!

mickey, minnie and bunny

dinagyang is the season when everyone has an excuse for being crazy, weird or nerdy. our group-group-an barged manong tindero along mapa street and haggled for the best price for these fashion eyeglasses. we went up to the office wearing them. oh, what happiness it brought to our mortal souls!

smart: jump in

we were just in time for the smart challenge as we got into berl's cousin's kiosk beside the amigo hotel. the challenge was for ten people to fit in this volkswagen beetle...

a group of ten students from west visayas state university actually made it happen! 

what a fun way to start the food fest! 

Aetas in Kalibo

This scrapbook design personalized with Smilebox

dagoy is officially in town

friday, january 18, was the grand opening salvo of dinagyang festival. i had a peep of the tribes' performances in between classes.

these bandiritas serve as colorful clouds along the city streets.

the last tribe to perform

the crowd started dispersing as soon as the last tribe was finished with their performance.

work after pleasure :)

pulis! pulis! i think they've done a good job in crowd control.


i'm looking forward for the big dinagyang weekend. but we'll drive to kalibo to have a taste of their ati-atihan first! yes!

je suis un misérable

i'm wishing to see Les Misérables today. but my work schedule just won't permit it. so i opened youtube as soon as my class was done and watched all the trailers, interviews and all the available visual stuff that my eyes can feast on about the movie. i can't help but cry watching the video clips, the things that the stars shared about their experiences doing the movie, the vision of the director and everyone behind the scene. i just felt emotional.

i've been waiting for this musical since last year, and i just feel miserable that it's finally in the theaters but i don't have time to see it!!! how can something be so close yet so far?

i must see Les Misérables! i must! i must!

it's Hugh!

Hugh Jackman

winner of Best Actor 

in a motion picture - comedy or musical 

for "Les Misérables"

at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards

Congratulations, Hugh!

we love coraline jones

coraline

from a book by Neil Gaiman

kikay painted her nails blue 

just like coraline's 

chasing the sunset at the iloilo esplanade

a wonderful afternoon spent with the 

wonderful people in my 

wonderful life

balay jaro on a sunday

this is our first time this 2013 to be at big brother's house on a sunday. i half expected to be woken up by my best friend early in the morning. i'm happy that she held on to that thought until late in the morning. so i was able to have a long, undisturbed sleep until 10. 

the housemates had a fun breakfast, talked about going to kalibo for ati-atihan and listed songs that mama miriam wants to sing along the next time we go to mo2.

now, we're just waiting for asap to be done so we can drive to dumangas for lunch at joy-joy's. i'm so excited to have seafood for lunch. 

above all, don't lose hope

my favorite scene from the movie,

this scene made me cry

The Life of Pi

Directed by Ang Lee

A novel by Yann Martel

i am still in awe of the movie that i still feel like crying so i  just need to write down my thoughts, or else, i won't be able to go to sleep.

i haven't read the novel by Yann Martel but Ang Lee's adaptation of the book was magnificent. indeed, it is hope that makes everything in life more bearable.

what struck me in the movie was the positivity of Pi's outlook in life. even though he's been through a blow of storm that caused him to lose his family, stuck with richard parker and experienced  the most disheartening days in the middle of the pacific ocean, he was still able to see the beauty around him. he was able to build a relationship with an impossible bengal tiger. he never stopped for a bit to pity himself. instead, he kept himself busy minding himself and richard parker. he had so much love in his heart and his passion for life and to live and respect for every being was overwhelming.

i felt so much happiness seeing the glowing jellyfish lit up the scary nights of Pi in the middle of the ocean, the school of flying fish that answered the hunger of richard parker, the lightning that Pi saw as something beautiful, the dolphins that swarmed close to their boat, the scene in the middle of the night showing Pi on his self-made raft and richard parker on the boat sandwiched between the starry sky and the calm ocean and the rainbow beyond the cloudy sky. those scenes made me cry because it showed just how beautiful this life is.

Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spiritualityand practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. (wikipedia.org)

happy birthday to you

happy birthday, mel gibson

the actor whom i admired the most in my high school days

happy birthday to the most bubbly aunt ever,

tita Mona. i miss your malulutong na halakhak!

and happy birthday to the one and only 

warrenbeast

back to work

i can't really say that "i'm so glad to be back to work!". i want the holidays to never end. i want to go swimming at the beach every morning. i want to play, go shopping and roam around the town with my niece. i want my siesta every afternoon. i want to watch movies all day long. 

but then again, this is life! the adult life. i'm just glad that i have something to go back to. 

for the first day of work this year, i will wear my favorite black dress. i'm missing those pearls, though...

now, i'm happy to dress up for work! 

home for the holidays

i finally had the courage to go to miami after 9 months of consciously avoiding the urge to be home. it felt wonderful to be with my family, who understood me well and kept their silence even though i felt their questioning stares every now and then. i'm just totally happy to be home.

first stop: my element. kikay woke me up at 6 am and she had to shake me to death until i get out of bed at 7:30. ahhh! when i'm in the water, i don't care about anything else.

kikay and her rag doll. we're so up to the wavy water!!!

tummy ache, toothache...unwell poses while waiting for our bedtime on the 29th.

chasing the moon. what a nice thing to do when you can't sleep :)

or just watch the amazing spiderman...

hungry after an hour and a half in the church.

a couple of hours before 2013. we we're supposed to take a nap. but kikay was so excited so we just made use of the time. 

patiently waiting....

still waiting...

finally! 12 midnight came and we were able to light our pasirit and blow our torotot!!! happy new year!

manong made "pakalas" using empty tin cans while roaming outside the street. according to the folklores, "pakalas" drives the bad luck away. so every new year, almost everyone does this. when we were kids, my cousins and i used to tag along in our uncles tricycle. it was so much fun...and deafening!

eating time again. kikay's giving her cupcake a serious look. while her mom is so obsessed with the alcohol. poor sister's nursing a chicken pox on the first day of 2013!

and so, everyone went to bed at 2 am after all the fireworks and firecrackers have quieted. i woke up at 9:30 and had a cup of coffee while i joined kikay as she watched "coraline". 

what's so nice about being home is that i still feel like a kid sometimes. it's nice to be dependent to my mom. hahaha! i love waking up late in the morning without worrying what to eat for breakfast. 

and i love going to the beach anytime that i feel like it! 

here's me and kikay saying goodbye to our playground before i head back to the city. we didn't leave the place until it was dark. 

wonderful holiday memories that i will treasure forever! i have a good start for the year 2013! may i continue to attract only the positive vibes. ^ ^

happy new year! may everyone have happiness and love all throughout the year!