bacolod

i spent the weekend with my bestfriends, marie tara rose lozano-molina, reynier julian tormon rando and cristeta jimenea-dayot, in the city of smiles. it was so nice to be reconnected with three souls drenched with the passion for food, fun and laughter.

the photo above was taken on our way down from the zip line at mambukal hot spring resort.

astraea

my little sister is at NAIA, waiting for her flight to Hongkong. i feel very very sad right now, as i sit all alone in our room. since i came back home, we have spent sleepless nights just catching up with each other's lives. right here in this room, we giggled, laughed, whispered, threw pillows at each other, shared secrets and discovered some well-kept secrets (bwahahaha). for a week, we filled this room with fun and laughter.

yvonne and i haven't seen each other for four years. i didn't realize how much i miss her until i saw her enter netopia cyber cafè in sm sucat the day after i arrived in manila. my little sister is not so little anymore. she's very pretty and i envy the attention that she gets from the guys when we stroll in the mall. hmp! (hehehe) i was even surprised by how outspoken she has become. she would ask me questions that left me dumbfounded. she has become very religious and just seeing her dress up and go to church on wednesdays, sundays and fridays makes me sick. she has been my critic, my dinner date and my swimming companion. i really enjoyed her company. we never ran out of things to talk about.

they say, growing apart is a part of growing up. i understand that she has to go and experience more of life. i also know that she will love the adventure that awaits her. and i wish her all the best.

waaaahhhh!!! i miss her so much already and i don't want to sleep alone.

take me back to Stryn

i can't sleep. my system is still channelled on the other side of the world. it's only 16:19 in Norway and it's already 23:19 here in Manila. i have been restless the whole day. and in times like these, i miss the forest in Stryn. when i feel hyperactive, crazy or sad, i'll just have to hop on my shoes and run wild in the forest. after i've shed all the
unnecessary energy and my body was refilled with oxygen, i felt so much better.

now, it's a different story. my friend's apartment is at the 7th floor of a 10-floor building. there's a mall on the other side of our building and on the other corner, another building is being constructed. there is no place that i can run or walk. (oh, i feel like crying now)

after dinner, i felt bloated. i needed to take a walk and i told mabeth that i'm going to do so. i walked through the hallway. back and forth. after a couple of turns, i walked to the exit area. stairs! great! i jogged up to the 9th floor and down to the 2nd floor. i did it until i can't catch my breath. i decided to walk back to the apartment but when i
recovered my breathing, i wanted to jog more. so i went back to the stairs, straight to the reception area at the ground floor, and asked the guard if it's still okay to go to the pool area. when he said yes, i rejoiced! i felt the need to be with my element. i walked around the pool area, inhaled the outdoor air and felt my being. just when i
was circling in to my first round, another guard came to me and asked me which unit i am in the building and gave me a wondering and disapproving look. i know, they are not used of seeing tenants walking around the vicinity of the building at 9:30 in the evening. but i needed to take a walk. and i needed to be alone. ugh! when another guard came into the scene, i finished my third round and went back to the apartment. the guards were nice, alright. i just didn't feel that i needed security while walking around the pool.

i miss Stryn. i miss the forest. i miss being carefree. i miss everything in Norway.