Lantern Parade 2012

I met up with some college friends that I haven't seen in years last Friday, December 14th, to watch the annual Christmas Lantern Parade in UP Diliman.

It was catch-up time, so we really didn't take lots of pictures of the lanterns/floats being paraded. It's just a nice feeling to chat with friends in person, we've all been busy with our own lives. We reminisced, laughed, talked and had a great time.

Here's a few snaps I took using just an ipod touch.

Flying fish!

I'm not sure what this is, just looks pretty.

A Nightmare before Christmas Rudolph

Alien abduction of a creature

Fantasy flying ship

Would you like to be kissed by this guy?

It just occurred to me that technology in photography has come a long way indeed. Almost everyone is lugging around photographic equipment, even kids have the expensive ones. Parades are great for photo moments, it's just that I got a bit dizzy seeing camera flashes from all directions.

I love going to the annual parade. I try each year to find time to watch it. As a spectator for several years, I realized that I really am getting old, but it's a warm, fuzzy feeling. Yes, I do see the world changing right before my eyes in my mundane existence, but gatherings like this one amplify those changes. Making me sit back not only to marvel at the beauty of change, but to also mourn losses.

It's almost Christmas. Have a happy holiday!

Reminiscing

We had lots of fun times in our own house that we, unfortunately, had to leave. My loved one told me, if the house had a heart, it felt that the house loved us.

Please don't call my glasses hipster glasses, I never knew that my geeky glasses would suddenly be a fashion item for some. I've been wearing glasses since I was a kid.

Some mobile stuff

Lately, I've been using mobile stuff to take photos. I still have a film stash, but I have trouble preparing my film cameras before I walk out the door.

Here's some photos taken during a morning run at our provincial capital.

empty ferris wheel

leaning statue of Rizal

Balaw-Balaw

Balaw-Balaw is a restaurant/art museum in Angono, Rizal. I lived for almost two years in Angono, and this resto is one of my favorite places in town (the other one is Nemiranda's Art Camp). I took lots of photos of this resto, on different occasions, but I'm not in the mood to upload all of them here. If you want to see this great art resto, you have to come in person.

Yummy Filipino dishes in generous servings + great artworks = HEAVEN (for me, at least.)

This photo is one of my favorite shots of my favorite artwork in Balaw-Balaw. The sculpture is very realistic. When I first saw it, it made me break a tear, I can't explain the feeling, but I had a melange of emotions upon gazing on this wonderful piece: calmness coupled with heartbreak and longing and other emotions that I can't put into words. I know my photography isn't great, but I hope you get the gist that this is a great work of art.

I could almost see her breathing.

Cosplay shots

These are old shots, I think last year, taken at different places and events. I used to lug around several film cameras, (these days I don't go out much) snapping pix of anything interesting using whatever I have available. From what I could remember, these were taken using my old Yashica SLR.

The first three pix were taken at a cosplay event at MOA. We got bored inside the cosplay area as it is dim and nothing much is happening. So we took a breath of fresh air and noticed more interesting stuff near the entrance.

Three maidens. I dare say, they all look great.

Anbu on a mission. 

A group of cosplayers trying to cross the street. My, what big swords you have.

Well, that's it for now.

Vivitar Point-and-Shoot Test Shots

We bought the Vivitar P&S film camera for only 500 pesos buy-one-take-one from the local online deal store: cashcashpinoy, our local Groupon. If you are Pinoy, chances are, you've already heard or used that site.

It comes with a false panorama slide that you have to insert inside the cam's body. What it does is it gives the image a black border at the top and the bottom, fooling the eye into thinking that it's seeing a panoramic shot.

These were taken in Angono and Antipolo City, both in Rizal Province, Philippines.

First five photos are from Angono. This town offers idyllic spots, perfect for those who are tired of the city life. We just walked around and took photos of interesting subjects.

Here's a restaurant area, where you could choose your preferred "kubo" (nipa hut) to dine in. I don't know the name of the resto, it's closed when we went there, but their specialty are duck dishes, specifically, roasted ducks.

Since Angono is considered as the country's art capital, there are lots of places where art is their business. This one is the entrance to a factory of world-class sculptures. Again, my memory fails me in remembering the name of this place. You could easily spot it though, as it is near a prominent landmark in the town, the Iglesia station.

We walked further and spotted this huge carabao carving at a waiting shed. Each barangay in Angono have epic sculptures, but we weren't able to take pictures of all of it using this camera.

Finally, we went home to Pao's parents' home in Antipolo and strolled in the park within the subdivision. We spotted this old water tower, which looks like a UFO for me.

That's it for now. :)

Macho Temple, and a series of happy misfortunes

Our La Union trip tops all serendipities we have experienced. (A happy post :))

We went to La Union for a fun run. We registered online and sent the payment through the bank. We were so excited. A week before the trip, we went online for hotel reservtions. All the hotels within San Fernando City were fully booked for the event, so we ended up booking for a hotel resort in the adjacent town of San Juan. It's going to be a fun sporty weekend for us, we thought.

It was a long trip, delayed by slow-moving traffic on different points. The six-hour trip became a 7.5-hour trip. While on the bus, we got a bit concerned that our hotel seems far from the starting area of the fun run, which starts the next day at 4 a.m. We thought, let's just cope with our circumstances.

We were tired, legs achy, hungry (because we didn't bring food and the food from the stopovers didn't appeal to us: pricey but doesn't satiate hunger), bummed that we got there at 4:30 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. check-in time, worried for the next day; when we checked-in at the lobby of the hotel, got a bit disappointed when we were told that the balcony room we reserved is not a beachfront room.

But fate works in ways we could never predict.

Despite not being a beachfront room it still has a wonderful view of the beach! We got the view of the beach used by the Billabong Surf School. Nice waves, with lots of surfers. The far-off modern lighthouses can also be seen, this we found out at night.

After freshening up, we went downstairs to the hotel restaurant, and was awed at the great view that it has. The resto is near the beach, we ate our food with the view of the calming waves and a magnificent sunset. We just went upstairs to our room when the moon was fully visible.

We slept early (7 p.m.), because we need to be on the fun run meeting place by 4 a.m. The next day, we woke up at 2 a.m., hungry and excited, we went out and tried to wait for public transport (jeep or trike or bus) at 2:30, but uhm, we only got to hail a jeep at past 3.

We ate a fast meal in McDo, then hailed a trike to take us to the starting point. When we arrived, there were lots of people. The people there are nice and friendly, but the registration is chaotic. Despite being registered online more than a month ahead, there was no separate list for those who have done so, and we had difficulty getting our race kits. We also were not allowed to upgrade our race category despite being advised days ago that it's ok. After an hour, we got our race kits and the feeling of being so out of place dawned on us. Yes, they are nice and friendly, but still, it felt that we are intruders in their event. Everyone seems to know where to go and what to do, but we just felt stupid and sad. (I mean no negativity towards the organizers, they are really good, nice and welcoming people, we just don't know how to cope in a foreign place.)

So we decided to take a walk in the dark and not join the fun run. We were so sad, holding our singlets and race numbers, we walked where our feet took us around the still sleeping city until we found a convenience store, where we bought some provisions. We then rented a trike to take us back to our hotel.

I have a habit of taking note of signs and landmarks while on any kind of transport, especially in a place I'm not familiar with. While the trike was speeding on the highway, I saw a sign that says Macho Temple. Funny, that sign is.

Back at the hotel, we ate breakfast at our favorite spot in the hotel's resto. The view and the food made us feel good. We found it funny that we planned a trip to La Union for a fun run that we didn't participate in.

After our meal, we took a long walk on the beach. I then understood the reasoning behind the cliche that most women long for, taking long walks on the beach with the guy they love. It really is a nice feeling. Well, it's my first time to walk on the beach with a guy I love. My beach outings were usually family and barkada events, not this. It's like we're on our first date. Four and a half years of being together and having fun conversations, but this long walk on the beach is different, a different kind of fun.

When the sun got too high, we went back to our room. Checked our phones for messages and updates from family and friends, uploaded some pix, etc., the usual stuff. We then talked about the funny sign we saw, Macho Temple. I told him, I think it's a gym, thinking that some people think of their bodies as temples, it would be a cool gym name. He said, it sounds like a bar or beerhouse where men go. So we decided to ask google about it. After which, we laughed at our ignorance.

Macho Temple is a Taoist temple.

So on our third day in La Union, we have a new unplanned itinerary.

The temple's location sits on a high elevation that gives a great view of the sea and San Fernando City.

After touring the temple, we went for a walk around the city and we enjoyed it. Next year, we'll explore La Union some more.

The Beach

Babalik ako.

Home

It is a bit ironic that my previous post is a year old, and was written at around the same date as today. New home. This week, I said goodbye to my old new home, and now I'm writing about my new new home.

In the past month, there is a series of unfortunate events that led us to the decision to sell that house and just rent a home. The sad thing is that, it's not because of financial reasons, but it's because of our next-door neighbors who did evil things to us, and still are trying to hound us even if we already left. I could detail their evil deeds here, but I choose not to do it (well, not now, thinking about it makes me cry.)

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Mahirap palang magkaroon ng sariling mundo, yung tipong pinili mong magkasariling mundo. Halimbawa, hindi ka pala-labas, ayaw mo sa party, marami kang sariling hobby. Mahilig kang magbasa, magmuni-muni, gumuhit paminsan-minsan. Kaunti pero tunay ang iyong mga kaibigan. Hindi ka naman patay na bata, pero hindi lang magaling makihalubilo. Yung tipong kaunti lang talaga ang nakakaintindi at nakakatanggap ng mga trip mo na hindi naman masasama at ilegal, pero hindi lang popular gawin ng mas nakakaraming tao.

Wala ka namang tinatapakan, gusto mo lang ng katahimikan at kalayaang gawin ang iyong mga dapat gawin at gustong gawin, pero dahil iba ka sa kanila, sasaktan ka.

_____________________

We are in love. We have hopes and dreams. We have agendas that lead to fun and happiness. We do stuff that are a bit weird for some, normal for some, but definitely not illegal, but yeah, ok, we're a weird couple because we have our own world doing stuff we want to do. The best thing is, we found a house to live in, and pretend we're Goldberry and Tom Bombadil in a cottage in the middle of the forest. The view is breathtaking, birds were chirping, trees surround us. Then some people came and spoiled it for us.

________________

Gusto mo na lang na huwag sila pansinin. Kaya itinigil mong gawin ang mga bagay na gusto mong gawin, para lang maglaho, huwag mapansin.

Ang hindi mo alam, kapag may ginagawa ka na hindi mo gusto, merong bahagi ng iyong kaluluwa na unti-unting nalalason.

___________

This is a brain-vomit post. I just type, type, type....

_________

Home nga pala title ng post ko.

_______

We endured a month of bullying and other bad stuff from evil neighbors. They really didn't like us the moment we moved in that house, we know that they don't like us, and we thought, "so what, we have our own world within our home." Tahimik lang naman tayo, huwag na lang nating pansinin. The past month is the escalation of the bad things they've been doing consistently, that we chose to ignore before. I became a wreck, I was harassed and was crying most of the time. It was so bad, we had to escalate it to the authorities. (At this moment, there's still some hearings and stuff like that.)

I must stop reliving the details, I don't want to cry anymore.

________________

We left our home. Unang sabi ng ibang tao sa amin, sayang ang pera, tiisin niyo muna, di ba inireklamo niyo na at ihahabla, tapos ngayon ibebenta niyo ng palugi, dami niyo pang pinaayos diyan, etc. etc.

Dahil dito, napaalala sa akin ang isa sa mga rason na mahal namin ang isa't isa. "Ang pera ay madaling kitain. Walang presyo ang katahimikan." Pareho naming naisip iyon.

Kaya naghanap kami ng bagong tirahan, pero renta na muna. At ang nakakatawa pa ay pinipigilan kaming umalis ng mga hayup naming kapitbahay. Akala yata nila may habambuhay silang aapi-apihin. Napahiya pa sila sa ibang miyembro ng komunidad na nalaman ang tunay nilang kulay. 

Naramdaman kong kapag may gumawa sa iyo ng kasamaan, hindi naman dahil malas ka, masama lang talaga silang tao. Nung araw na napagdesisyunan naming umalis, nakahanap kagad kami ng bahay na lilipatan.

_________________

Moral of the story:

Kung alam mong loner/weird ka, bigyan kita ng tips sa pagpili ng bahay na iyong ipupundar.

1. Mahalaga ang magandang view, pero huwag mabighani kagad sa tanawin mula sa bintana, pansinin kung may katabi kang bahay. May firewall ba ito? Gaano sila kalayo sa pader mo? Suhestiyon ko ay mas mabuti kung wala kang katabing bahay sa apat na direksyon ng bahay mo.
2. Obserbahan kung ang mga magiging kapitbahay mo ay iyong mga tipong may "mob mentality," karaniwan sa mga ito ay mga chismosa/o na mahilig magkumpulan. Maganda siguro kung mga isang buwan mong araw-arawin ang pagbisita sa prospect mo na bahay para maobserbahan mo kung ano ang kultura ng mga kapitbahay na nakapaligid sa iyo bago mo pirmahan ang kontrata na binibili mo na ang bahay.
3.  Alamin kung paano binabayaran ang association dues (kung nasa loob ng subdibisyon), sila ba ay pumupunta para singilin ka o may kailangan kang puntahan na bahay/opisina para bayaran. Mas maganda kung pwedeng bayaran online o pwedeng padalahan ng cheke sa koreo, tandaan, mas kaunting interaksyon sa ibang tao, mas maraming panahon para sa sarili at sa mga taong mahalaga sa iyo.
4. Dapat huwag kumuha ng bahay na naka-submeter sa asosasyon ang tubig. Basta, dapat may sarili kang account at metro ng tubig.
5. Alamin kung ano ang telecom na maayos ang signal at linya sa lugar, mahalagang may signal ka, telepono at internet. Kapag lahat ng telecom ay paltos ang gana sa lugar, huwag bilihin ang bahay.
6. Pero kung loner at weird ka talaga na gusto na living with nature, i.e. nasa mapunong lugar, mas maganda kung ang bilhing bahay ay hindi sa loob ng subdivision, nasa lugar na walang asosasyon para for sure walang manggugulo sa iyo para sa kung anu-anong events, dues, meeting, etc. etc.

New home

Matagal akong nawala sa pagba-blog, maraming kaganapan. Unang-una nasa kabundukan na ko nakatira, mahina ang signal at hindi kinakaya ng internet namin. Ubos na rin ang aking mga pondo dahil maraming kumpuni sa bahay na aming binili. Luma man ito at hindi isang mansion, masaya pa rin ako. Wala pa nga rin kaming kuryente, halos isang buwan na, nakikisaksak lang sa isang mabait na kapitbahay, maaasahan kasi ang natatanging provider ng kuryente dito sa kalakhang Luzon, kilala niyo na kung anong kumpanya 'yun.

Heto ang isang bahagi ng view na nakikita namin sa bakuran. Napapaligiran kami ng mga puno, naririnig ang mga huni ng mga ibon at kung ano pa mang creatures. Pangarap kong tirahan, salamat sa Diyos pa rin dahil sa wakas hindi na kami nagrerenta (naghuhulog na lang ng maliit na halaga sa PAG-IBIG).

Hindi malinaw ang resolution, 2 megapixels lang kasi ito, pero sa malayo tanaw ang mga nagtataasang gusali ng kabihasnan.

Miss ko na ang aking mga paboritong blog, pag naayos na ang lahat, lalo na at pag nagkakuryente, super backread ako ng mga posts. Maligayang araw sa inyo!

PEACE