Ol' times. Ol' times

We went up to Tagaytay this weekend. My father asked for it --- maybe it's his way of "waking up and smelling the roses". I've ever been to Tagaytay for the longest time, last being with my college friends for some bonding time post-graduation. This from a girl who's used to be up there every weekend with the whole clan for some picnic. And guess what we did there this time?

No, we didn't eat in leslies, had a drink in Starbucks, or entered in any one of those very commercial establishments that lined up the main road. This is especially hard when we all know Tagaytay is now oh-so-manila-with-a-view-of-a-volcano. All my father wanted was an old-school picnic. So, we found our old little nook in the midst of urbanization, the only one I think that still rents out old tables that creek whenever you make the slightest move. Beb and Mark set up the gas stove (yes, we bring an LPG tank when we picnic. This is our version of 'roughing it'.) and while mama cooked sinigang (O di ba picnic? May mainit na sinigang? Sarap!) and inihaw, we took the time to introduce to Ouie what Tagaytay had to offer besides the 'bolkayno'.
This time, we awakened her senses to the wonders of hard core playgrounding. She was so used to air conditioned plastic houses setup in malls that charge by the hour. Those where swings and slides have cushy pillows and carpeting to soften her and other all the kids' fall.They play with little kitchens for the miniature martha stewart's and little cars you can actually ride in. The kids today, they're so spoiled! Our day, we played at noon on monkey bars and slides made of steel and galvanized iron that burns your hand and butts so much so that the possibility of procreating the next generation became impossible.

You land on construction-grade sand, the plain old lupa that turns to mud heaven when it rains, or just the good ol' cemento. Then after us going at it with all the other kids for some time, you go home smelling not-so-baby-like, looking as if they had us sent us mini-troops in the 90's version of the Iraq war.

But Ouie enjoyed it. And we enjoyed the picnic. And Papa was happy. Just like old times. I didn't know I'd actually say this, but, sometimes, I just love normalcy.

This is it.

How can two small, shining, shimmering (splendid?) round things mean so much?



Puzzles me, really. But I don't think I'm inclined to know why.

Note: Two words. Not.Mine.

Drowning in Dry Land

Parokya ni Edgar's lead vocalist, Chito Miranda was last night's guest at Deal or No Deal. When Kris Aquino asked if he and girlfriend Kaye Abad had a theme song, he replied : "Meron, 'Sad to Belong'. "

The water I was drinking went down the wrong pipe. Seriously.
Di ko lang alam kung sa tawa o sa... never mind. (",)

Pananabik

Kahit anong sarap ng cinnamon swirl ng Starbucks, lechon kawali na may Mang Tomas o yung orig na white rabbit (yung may edible na papel), mauumay ka rin pag araw araw mo tong kakainin.

Minsan mas maganda pang binibigyan mo ng pagkakataon ang sarili mong masabik.

... (O di ba? Mababaw na ubod ng lalim? Keri nyo?)

Back in the Mix

Why do I feel a little off when life's starting to feel "normal" again?

Saying "I'll pass, iinom nyo na lang ako." have been my constant reply to friends when invited to the usual night outs, obviously due to pressing reasons. But saturday night has been a welcomed change in my home-work routine. This time, it was for Techie's post bday celeb.

It was with the girls, as always. Techie, maebz, trinz, deb, yeng, with dale, me with beb. It was at our usual hole-in-the-wall, Unplugged, with our favorite band, Acoustic Jive, playing. It was their usual playlist, Sting covers, plus the favorites, Erasure, Bonnie Rait, etc.etc.

Of course, there were always a few surprises. Dale sang John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland", much to the girls' delight. This, after VP's performance, is starting to be a very entertaining initation for the boylets of the group. As Lola Mae puts it "Naku, sumasama ka dyan? Eh nagpapaimpluensya sa mga kaibigan yan". Lolo Romy also did a number on U2's With or Without You in Bossa, so well in fact that I wonder why didn't anybody thought of it before. Malupet to say the least.

It was a great "usual" night for us. And I'm happy I've gone out. So why am I feeling a tad off? Maybe because all these seems fleeting when you now know life can suddenly happen. Maybe the fear will really never go away. But just to end with a happy note, to my super friends, I'm just crushed to know I was missed. Thanks for showing me some love. It's so... normal.

Love ko to

Because Sith happens!

Remember this?

So after months of cam lusting/cam dreaming (yup, as in the cam follows me in my dreams) and I swear delayed gratification never really suited me, I finally took the plunge... in Hidalgo! With beb in tow, I went to my favorite camera store to buy me my precious new baby. At first, I thought, I wanted a Canon 350D --- more bells and whistles, and a popular buy for budding enthusiasts looking for their first dSLR. But after reading tons of reviews (and i mean tons) I decided to go with Nikon's entry level, the D40 --- great shots out of the box, madaling makisama, excellent kit lens, and super wonderful and totally helpful community of Nikonian users , which is priceless for newbies like me. And right from the first click, I'm totally sold, not to mention immediately fell in love with it. And since I'm now suki, Henry gave his rock bottom price for it and an additional discount. San ka pa?

Sith na ako!

Much more, when before beb threatened to break up with me if I went through with such a pocket burning hobby, he went 180 and totally supported me. Eh teka, para namang natakot ako dun noh? Sino kaya mas matatakutin? And speaking of burning holes in my pocket, yup, that's the 5 million dollar home my new baby now sleeps in. My bank account is totally getting a beating this year. Pipikit na lang ako pag pipindot ako sa ATM, para hindi ko maramdaman ang sakit. Hehehe.

Doesn't scream "Camera bag, steal me!". Very purrty in red!
Maa-addict ata ako sa Crumplers ah!

With shots like these, i think the cam is totally worth the buy.

Call me crazy, but I'm in love (again)

Long time coming.

Ok, so I didn't see that one coming.
Damn it, I got blindsided. And the nerve left me hanging.
I didn't know we were playing a game.
Aba, varsity kaya ako dito. May letter jacket kaya ako.

But damn it, damn it, damn it. Naisahan ata ako dun ah.
Eto mahirap sa overthinking, it backfires.
Damn it! Argh!

Room 504

One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world texted me last night. It was a very heartwarming message that sent me all mushy inside. Sometimes, not to come off as a tad bit self absorbed, but I get very little appreciation in life. There's my tragic story. That's why I get so taken by a few words strung together telling me how I affected somebody else's life. Mababaw, I know. Pero sa akin, you will really never know how much it means to me. Touched. Super.

Everybody else's in the whole world celebrates this day of love. But who says love and friendship are mutually exclusive (and I'm not really that big on valentine's)? So my friends, Happy Valentine's! May you sing your heart songs and find your heart's content.

*This goes out especially for K.
You know i love you to bits girl!
If only we could vaccinate ourselves
from the pains of this world,
we'd inject each other in a sec.
But we live in an imperfect world,
full of imperfect people.
Good thing,
we have our imperfect crazy selves
to cover each other's back.
Got your back girl!
Till our next soft porn night. Wehehe.

Balloon fest virgins.

Beb and I went to the balloon fest with Andy and Yariboy, two first timers this year. As if the testosterone in the air wasn't enough to make me feel quite outnumbered with the presence of so many boys (we also met up with Pete and Osh there), the dreaded car talk went on for hours, i just got lost. Oh, and there were the jokes.

Yari: Excited na ako.
Osh: First time mo?
Yari: Oo.
Osh: Glad to pop your balloon fest cherry.

Hahaha. Haaay boys. Buti na lang may balloons.
Pics are here.

leader of the pack 02.11.07

The man with the plan(s)

He talked about the pad he's finally getting in Serendra, and the family he's going to raise there, his ideas on the home office in Roxas District and the business he's starting up in Manila.

I talked about the nagging cam lust and going into the dark side.

That idea. Dead to me.

All grace.

I owe my every inch of courage and grace to you, none of which even remotely comes close to what you have shown this past few weeks. You will always be a blessing.

I love you, Mama. Happy birthday!

Quote of the day.

After assisting in our sunday feeding program at church, my family went to President in Ongpin to feed our starving selves. My cousin, Dra. Beth (incidentaly also my ninang. She was 12, I think.) eldest among the clan, was also there. Dra. had her younger brother marry before her, so when she came upon the news that Kulet was getting married on May, yes, very well ahead of me, she went into this panalo quip:

Dra: Leng, mauuna si Es-em sa iyo magpakasal? Pumayag ka?
Dapat hindi ka nagpauna. Tingnan mo ko, naunahan. Ayaw ko na tuloy.

Hahaha. Pero, come to think of it, parang ayaw ko na rin. Hehehe.