My Usual November 1st

A lot has happened over the long weekend and I'm glad I set aside time for myself, some quality time with friends and of course, the usual Undas tradition of our family. We went to the cemetery along with I think, everyone else. After all, what is it to do on November 1st?

So we stayed at the cemetery most parts of the day. Lighted candles and said our prayers, played some cards with the kids, ate (a lot!) and ate some more. One cool thing about going home in Indang, Cavite is that almost everyone I know can whip up mouthwatering native delicacies like suman, biko (these are basically forms of rice cakes & I regret that I didn't even take a picture) and cassava cakes any time of the day. So this explains the ate (a lot!) description of how my day went. I brought a new book with me this time, it's called The Hunger Games- the first of a trilogy. It was mainly reading a few chapters before I grab a plate and started savoring our baon again and again. I gave the books to my sister Louise as a Christmas present and she's spent almost a year trying to convince me to read them but I kept on procrastinating. Now that I'm back on track, thanks to Eat Pray Love & Fat Cat, I happily and willingly obliged. :) Louise told me that the book will be translated into the big screen, to be released on March 23, 2012. I am very much looking forward to this already.

I reckon by returning to my old habit of reading books one after another, updating this blog comes along with it. And yes, I will try my best to sneak in here every once in a while and hopefully I come up with something worth reading (and writing) each time.

Ciao for now!

Grab a book and finish it.

So today I decided to do something I haven't done in a while. Instead of driving around to run errands I chose to take the bus and the MRT to my destination. It was kind of fun, considering that I was spared of the famous and always annoying EDSA traffic. To accompany me on my journey I took this book called Fat Cat with me, something I got hold of thanks to my sister Louise. A book which she also borrowed from her classmate. She was supposed to return it yesterday but I practically begged her not to. It's a long weekend and a good read is exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a short-term relationship for I was able to finish it in less than 24 hours. I have to give myself props for 1.) being able to read while on the bus- Coming from someone who feels a sudden gush of motion sickness by reading a two-liner text message while on the road, this really is something. 2.) being able to finish a book on my usual time frame. (Eat Pray Love was good but it took me months). I remember I wanted to get to my destination quick but I was also half wishing for a little delay (thanks to the usual Imus-Bacoor traffic) just so I can crack open Fat Cat and read some more. It really is a good read. Somehow, I was reminded of the days when I was following the lives of Jessica & Elizabeth Wakefield of Sweet Valley Junior High (I hope this doesn't give you a clue how long ago this was) but Fat Cat is loads, loads better. It is fast-paced, hilarious and close to reality. Most importantly, this young adult novel has a heart. It shows a girl's transformation from a fat nobody to a hot somebody. It's not all about the looks, though. It's about setting a goal for yourself and working real hard to get it. It's about the value of real friends and the gifts of forgiveness. :)

Happy Birthday Daddy

Feeling a bit down lately, I decided to succumb to my bed's invitation to wrap me around its faithful embrace. I was about to write about the things bugging me but decided not to since it will obviously do nothing to help me feel better. Bad vibes away!

So I like to dedicated this post to my dad who's celebrating his birthday today. To this man who never fails to give us more than what we need. The only downside is he has probably spent more time being away than being at the shelter of his own home. And you know I can never thank you enough for that, daddy. But whenever I think about it I say a little prayer, thanking God for the fact that I can never thank you enough. Because with it comes my endless mission to give back to you and to love you as long as forever.

I love you.

How I fell in love with Bali

No. I haven't been there yet. I just finished reading Eat Pray Love. And obviously, my favorite part is Indonesia. I think it's the first book outside the J.K. Rowling-Stephenie Meyer-Dan Brown trio that I've actually finished. Not that I'm not into reading books, I've always been a bookworm! It's just that I fell in love with the works of those three that I find it hard to put them down once I started reading them. Everything else after that were books I read just for the sake of reading. I buy the books because I heard they're good, read the first few chapters, I take a break and put them down then force myself to progress by reading the next chapters if and only if I have nothing else to do or if I'm having trouble putting myself to sleep.

That was me while reading Eat Pray Love. Italy & India were a drag. I liked the book. I also picked up valuable lessons I can apply to my life from day to day. For me that's one quality of a good book. But I guess I didn't have enough strength to escape the realms of Hogwarts or the Cullens or even the Holy Grail. When I finally flipped to page 285 everything changed. I was amazed by how Liz Gilbert described Bali that I fell in love with it. Only six pages into Book Three and I already see my self walking the streets of Bali, Indonesia, enjoying the view of tropical treetops and rice paddies, visiting one Hindu temple after another, and taking countless pictures of tropical flowers. I already have everything in mind, it's like painting a beautiful drawing in a canvass and every important detail is already in it, the only thing missing on the picture is the main character which is of course, myself.

It's a dream I am already set of turning into reality. Will I travel alone? Oh yes, I plan to! Will I have the courage to travel alone when the time finally comes? I don't know! But that's the fun part, right? You keep some things a mystery.

I told you I will catch up.

It's been a year since my last real post. Not counting my promise featured on the last post, that is. A lot of things have changed. For one, I am now working as a Sales Engineer in this company in Metro Manila. We deal with various industries from Semiconductor Electronics to blah blah blah. I could go on and on and on but it'll be no fun. The cool thing about my job though is I get to travel frequently and talk to various kinds of people. To some it may appear typical just like any other jobs out there but its the part where I learn a lot of new things and try things I haven't tried before. Most of my free time were still spent on traveling. Basically, I am just enjoying the 'fruits of thy labor' going places.

Last year's highlight was when I flew to Phuket, Thailand for the Phenom-World Sales Meeting. T

his was my first trip out of the country. Though the trip was mainly for work, I sure did enjoy it a lot. Lots of firsts for me, gained a couple of acquaintances. Some I'm still in touch until now both about business and personal.

We stayed at the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket. I instantly fell in love with the place!

My favorite place at the Dusit Thani.

This is the view from my hotel room window.

I've also been to lots of beautiful places for the past months. Take a look!

It was August last year when I visited Zambales together with a couple of friends. We went to Anawangin Cove. Seconds after our boat sailed off I knew that I'd always want to go back this place. I was simply blown away!

Great friends are always travel must-haves! They never fail to convert a simple weekend getaway to something special & ultra-amazing!

Balite Falls in Amadeo, Cavite has already been my favorite spot when I want to go on a road trip during Saturdays. The cold water washes away all the stress & anxiety accumulated during the week days.

Gotta go to bed now. I have to be up early for the Sunday Mass. Until next time! :)

Because I Miss You.

I am back! Over the past few days I realize I missed writing. There was never a moment though that I didn't wish I had the time to actually sit down and write about what has happened to me over the past year. But now I promise to make time! This is my little escape from my busy world after-all. And look there are some changes on my template too!

There's definitely more to come! This is a promise I promise to keep. ha ha! :)

Love and Hot Air Balloons are in the Air.

For some reason, my 2009 journal entry for February 14 is "I now officially dislike V-day. :(" I can barely remember why, but since it is evident that that day belongs to the not too good memories of the not so distant past, I refuse to ponder on it any longer. In fact, my February 14 this year is way too much fun that it makes up for last year's and some other days of its kind.

This year's Valentine's day celebration was a Sunday of everything that flies! I gladly spent the day with friends at Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga for the 15th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

We took an hour and a half bus ride from the Cubao Terminal to Dau, Mabalacat then another 15 minute ride to Clark Freeport Zone. We arrived there at lunch time, so naturally we missed the first flight of the hot air balloons scheduled at 5:30 to 7:oo in the morning. (There were over 22 hot air balloons from all over the world.)

After lunch, we busied ourselves watching the Skydiving and Kite Flying Exhibitions followed by the Light Airplane Flyby while we patiently waited for the Valentine's day Flowers and Candy Drop scheduled at 3 pm. Now this part is a bit disappointing because I didn't see any flowers but I did see three candies fell from the air. (Yes, I counted. It's either there were only three or I just wasn't in a good spot during the Candy Drop.)

To make up for the Valentine's Day Flowers and Candy Drop, amazing Aircraft Formation Flights and Paragliding Exhibition soon followed.

The highlight of the 15th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta for it's final day was the Valentine's Fireworks to cap off the event. The Valentine's Night Glow was another wonderful sight too. This time, the hot air balloons went up to lit the night sky and to add a romantic glow into the night.

This is one Valentine's day I'd always remember. And eventhough I could hardly feel my legs by the time I got home, I'd take the trade any day. :]