End of Summer

At the back of my head, I was pretty much in denial of the fact that it was indeed the end of summer, and that the rain has graced us with its presence. Why would it be such a big deal to me? Perhaps it was cause the past couple of summers (except for last year when I flew off to New Zealand and missed out on summer), I’d find myself lying on 3 or 4 different beaches…relaxing…not worrying about a thing. I miss it. And I’m going to keep missing it.

Last Friday, I took part in the Headshot Clinic with digital photographer Niccolo Cosme. After receiving an email from them stating that I had been screened and hand-picked by the committee, I had made my way to Club Government where the photoshoot was to take place. There, 50 registrants and 50 VIPs anxiously waited their turn to have these wonderful portrait shots taken. I was lucky enough to have two friends there, Ganter and Rap, who also worked as part of the committee. I waited for my turn with Barosh and Ver, Ganter and Rap’s friend, and I also bumped into Gaby Dela Merced, who took me to the VIP section of the bar where she introduced me to more than a handful of people (that I honestly cannot remember their names). There at the VIP section, I swear, 95% of the guys there were gay. There was more room to breathe up in the VIP section as there were less people up there. It took 4 hours of waiting for me to get my headshot taken in which after, I ended up catching up with Gaby, and sitting outside with Ganter before deciding to head off to Sta. Mesa to the MadHouse Headquarters.

The next day, Ice ended up booking us a hotel apartment near Robinson’s Pioneer. We ate, swam in the pool, played in the sauna, played in between until 5am and slept in and missed out on free buffet breakfast. Pictures can be found here.

Like my last entry, I now have to concentrate on more important things. Until now I haven’t sent my confirmation letter to my school, which I will tomorrow. My sister is having a look at this apartment tomorrow that I’m hoping to move into when I get back to New Zealand, and I still have to get my visa. And I think we’re going to Bicol two weeks from now.

I have to snap out of this holiday-mode.

the importance of priorities

i’ve been raving on about going to anawangin…maybe i should stop. i wake up everyday thinking that it’s already 5pm because the weather has been a little drizzly. it’s a sign that perhaps, summer is over, and perhaps i really should stop wishing to get to anawangin, perhaps the place won’t be as tourist-infested as i think it would be if ever i decide to come back home.

it’s time for me to think about more important things. i have priorities.

let me enumerate them.

• send my confirmation of enrolment back to whitecliffe
• send in my application for a student visa to the new zealand embassy
• start cleaning up my room and separating things that i’m taking with me and things i’m leaving behind
• updating my photography portfolio
• clean my cameras
• buy stuff needed to take to new zealand
• look for a place to live in auckland

so those are the things that i need to get done asap.
but it’s so hard, i’m still on holiday-mode. i’m still on bali high.

mum left last night. her leaving was not as bad as the other times that she’d left to go back to PNG. maybe it’s because i’m used to her leaving and i know that in perhaps a couple or a few months time, i’ll see her again. that’s always the case. there was a time that i was just so used to be the one leaving that i had always thought that it was hard to be the one to leave. and it wasn’t until i experienced being the one to pick up family and relatives from the airport and then later dropping them off and saying goodbye to them that i realized that it is harder to be the one to be left behind.

and now i’m doing it next month. i wanna stay for my niece’s 1st birthday party, which is on the 8th of july. perhaps if i quickly find a place to live in, then perhaps i could stay for that and leave just after that. perhaps. time to go to the gym.

chucks

it was definitely time for me to get a new pair of chucks. i had to give my red chucks a rest…though i knew i could never just totally abandon them.

i bought a new pair, which more or less only costs Php1,300. it was the type that would probably cost around 6k if i bought it here. it’s a double tongued, hi-top pair. brown on the outside, and pattered on the inside. it has two shoe laces, white on the inside and brown on the outside. i’d take a picture of it now to show it off to the world, but i feel too lazy.

it’s now time for me to look for my red chucks and properly store ‘em away for safe keeping. on friday, i know there will be a photoshoot session with my new chucks as the model…here i am again, obsessing over chuck taylors.

and hooray! my laptop has now booted after a week of it restarted over and over again. i thought i had to take it to the service center. but thankfully, after searching through numerous forums and what-nots, i’ve finally found a solution and my laptop is now working. macs are so hard to please.

so tomorrow is yet another day.

i wanna go back to bali.

bali high

i have less than 10 mins to write this…as i only really wanted to go online for an hour.

sitting here in this old and stuffy internet shop just a few feet from the hotel. i would’ve bought an internet/wifi card from the reception for 2 hours, but i needed to get some ‘alone’ time from my brother and mum, no offense.

tomorrow night, we leave bali. in the last 3 days, i’ve grown attached to this place…i now dream of buying a house or land in this place, preferably, kuta beach…of course WHEN and IF i get rich, and where i can always fly to bali just for a quick getaway. i love this place. i was meant to learn how to surf tomorrow…but i guess my brother and mum talked me out of it. effortlessly. instead, i’m getting my free shoulder massage at 10am, and spending the rest of the day looking for a dress to wear to my friend’s wedding on wednesday.

since i’ve left the philippines to go on this one week holiday, my grandfather’s been through 2 surgeries, my niece has been confined in a hospital…and my macbook’s gone dead on me.

but as selfish as this sounds…all that isn’t breaking this feeling i have right now of this place. i am indeed on bali high.

nag nag

tomorrow night, mum, marvin (my little brother) and i head off to jakarta, indonesia. i’m not excited…in fact, i’m not even packed. i should be excited. i’m only going there to attend my high school friend’s wedding. what more can you ask for?

billy (my high school friend) has been a really good buddy of mine, even if i haven’t seen him in four years, since i went to melbourne for a vacation. and finally, he’s getting hooked to siska, whom i met four years ago as well. before the wedding date, we’re actually going to bali for 3 days. staying at kuta which is apparently famous for its sunsets. i’m excited to see billy, but i’m not excited to go to indonesia. maybe when i start packing, i’ll feel it.

mum booked us into a hotel in kuta that is very close to the very nice nightlife in bali…shopping malls, great for tourists. apparently there’s a lot to do in kuta. it’ll be a very short break from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets in manila.

then when i get back, it’s gonna be all about getting dad’s company’s website up and running and actually giving my two cents to madhouse. i’m disappointed in myself for not giving it enough thought…and effort. what’s playing on my laptop at the moment is “scrubs” which i happen to watch when i have free time. but that’s the thing, i shouldn’t waste my time watching scrubs…i should be doing something, anything.

when i get back…i have to continue looking for an apartment to live in in auckland. tomorrow, i’m going to send my confirmation letter to the school…and tomorrow, i have to pick up bianca’s tripod to use in thailand. and i have to pack tonight. and i have to see my grandfather at the hospital before i leave. so many things to do, so little time. instead of sleeping and extra 5 hours, i could’ve gotten out of the house to pick up the tripod, packed and visited my grandfather. but no, i took one look at my niece whom i put to sleep, and suddenly felt sleepy.

i remember waking up at 8pm…drenched in sweat and thinking, shit, it’s too late. oh well.

have a fun trip aubs.

updates

my grandfather (mum’s dad), or lolo was admitted into hospital the day before yesterday. he used to have prostate cancer, in which the cancer was successfully removed…he just had to keep his prostate in shape. and it wasn’t until a few weeks (or maybe months) ago that he started feeling weird. he didn’t feel like eating…and he was being stubborn. now he’s in hospital cause they need to stick a tube in him for dialysis. his kidneys have given out as well. everyone should be glad that mum’s here…she paid for lolo’s hospital room…and is making sure that nothing goes wrong from here.

if it wasn’t for my uncle’s stupidity…perhaps he wouldn’t be this week. long story.

pyro olympics was held last night at the esplanade at the back of mall of asia. it was a good thing that i spent the whole day at the mall being an official at a jiu jitsu tournament held there. i was able to watch the fireworks, and packed with my camera, i was able to take shots.

shots of the night in my next entry.

dismay

this will be my third attempt to get to anawangin, zambales. an attempt that i know won’t pull through. i won’t be feeling the semi-white sand beaches between my toes, and i won’t be sleeping soundly under the stars this friday night. no, none of these things that i was hoping won’t be happening. i should’ve gone to anawangin with jodo nearly a month ago. when he asked me if i wanted to tag along with him and his brother and his brother’s friends. i didn’t mind it. i was actually happy to just set off and go. the second time…we ended up planning on going to batangas instead. that was fun. now this third time, i’ve got my two friends bianca and karen who are willing to go…we just need a 4th and 5th person, and if possible a ride to get us there. i didn’t realize how hard it was to actually pull people together to go. 5 people and that would’ve been enough. i’ve read about other’s people’s trips to anawangin and it’s driving me nuts. i just wanna go. and i’ll be gone for god knows how many years…and i’m afraid that by the time i do come back and do get to anawangin that the place would just be another tourist-infested spot.

take me to anawangin.

Porto Gualberto

please visit:
Porto G and the toro series
My Shots @ Porto G
Jerome’s Shots @ Porto G
Port G Etc

Fun in the Sun

Caught on a beach house overlooking a spectacular view of the beach, the mesmerizing clouds and the gusting winds that brought the coolness that we, or rather I, have been looking for ever since summer started…I found myself standing on the beach house deck…with all smiles. Knowing that I’m there with some of the best people that I have ever met in my whole life.

Packed with my Oakley back pack, a borrowed skim board, a DSLR, an underwater GoPro that I had bought just two days before, and a tripod, I was picked up by Klein, a friend of mine, and the reason for this outing (because he was leaving for Dubai on May 7) and we headed off to UST to pick up two other friends, Jerome and Perry. I was sleepy and I wanted to sleep on the journey to Batangas, but I supposed I was just really looking forward to the trip. We finally got to the resort after getting lost…and I must say, it wasn’t what we expected, but I believe it was more than what I bargained for. Look back at my first paragraph…that says it all.

The beach, unfortunately, was very rocky and it was hard to walk on the sand because corals were everywhere. But nevertheless, it didn’t stop us from taking a dip in the sea, even if the waves were getting stronger and stronger. Again, endless pictures were taken. (Photos, coming up soon)

That night, endless playing of games on Perry’s Nintendo DS (thanks to Mama’s Cooking and Wario Wares), guitar playing, it started out as bonding without any alcohol…oh and also thanks to Klein’s Shisha. Late into the night, two more friends came, and a bottle of Gin was bought. Shots were passed around with the little Gin we had, singing, laughing and jokes…Klein going red, I was getting red too…and finally when it was all over, we decided to sleep as to get up early to go swimming. Having just one bottle of Gin was enough for me to sleep soundly, with the waves blasting in my ears. I remember closing my eyes and feeling that I was in Papua New Guinea again, it was bliss.

I woke up to the same sound again…so it wasn’t a dream. I loved it. More swimming, kayaking, bonding, taking of pictures…we had mind-bender games (Thanks Perry!), ate…more pictures…then we had to leave. Sarah and I played treasurers and gathered everyone’s money. Pictures can be found here and here.

But the overnight experience didn’t end there. We drove up to Tagaytay, despite the P100 parking fee, we ate (well I ate too much)…bonded some more, took more pictures…enjoyed the coldness. But then it was time to go. Thanks to the dinner brought to us by Cafe Breton, parking ended up being free. Driving out of the place…Klein’s Light Ace overheated. But despite that, it was an adventure.

We got to Manila…drove to Klein’s house, had to change cars…then went to Starbucks. *ARKI TALK* (I couldn’t relate to it).

More pictures to come when I finally get around to uploading it.

Hello WordPress

Well, this is a start, a new beginning. This is just another one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions that I’ve made to create another blog…outside Multiply, Livejournal, Facebook and God knows where else I’ve already written my thoughts. Sometimes I think I’m too open about my life and my thoughts.

So I wanna give this a go. We’ll see how long this blog will last.

A Multiply friend of mine, Marky, actually gave me a link to his blog. And I found it really interesting because he wasn’t just rambling on about anything and everything (the way I usually do)…it was about his Nomadic Experiences. I don’t want to be the one to copy his idea. But then I thought, perhaps if I had a reason to create a new blog, he others would be kept for all other thoughts running through my mind…but this one will be from this date leading up to when I’m in New Zealand. Cause time is running short…and I have lesser days coming up, leading up to when I actually leave this place again and take on a life that’s full of independence.

So yeah, Hello WordPress.

From this days and 2 months from now…that’s my countdown.