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Free Starbucks planner FTW!
Months before 2012 ended, I thought of collecting stickers for that fancy ever-famous coffee shop planner. I was really never a Starbucks fan even now. I'm not really sure what got to me, maybe just for a change. Or maybe because I already have four stickers out of the 17 collectibles, and I have a whole lot of weekends to go to spare in a coffee shop.
But nearing the end of the year, I didn't really see myself spending the rest of my weekends being so starbucks-y and seemingly rich so i give up on the idea. Besides I already have notebooks for the year that I would love to use as a journal.
But on the first workday of the year, a friend/colleague who frequent the coffee shop and already has the coffee shop planner, gave me her card which is only short of three stickers. And since I was never really the kind to turn down free stuff Haha. Tada! Yey to a free starbucks planner for 2013 :)
On writing again and again and again
I think my number 1 problem on my love-hate hobby that is writing, is I don't really write. At least not as often as I want to. But this week, I did a first big step and actually write. :)
It was for a small competition I found in the internet. I'm not even optimistic it will win to be honest. Thinking about it now, I don't really like what I wrote but since I'm not going to be hard on myself this year (or at least I won't start this year doing just that), I'm just happy that I actually did sit down and write. It was a first big step for me right now.
and Mmmbops
You have so many relationships in this lifeOnly one or two will last
All in all, I have 12 big and small goals for the year. I have saved the last slot in case I think of something along the way. And I think the last one would prove to be the hardest.
On my part, it's a little shameful to admit that I feel I only made good relationships until college. Sure enough, I have best friends I've known for more than a decade, high school friends I would love to keep coming back to, and college/orgmates I could have the best laughs with. But honestly nothing came after 2009. All of my relationships fall flat to those that came before.
It's lonely to think about it sometimes but a new good friend in this new life is maybe just the one thing I need to be happy. I don't know. I sometimes feel that I'm setting the bar too high, and that in a lifetime, I should be glad to have five good friends I can keep for years.
Basta. That's my 13th goal for 2013. Plant a seed.
Because one thing had always remained a personal cliché every yearend: a New Year blog!
In 2012, I –
1. Climbed Mt. Pulag, and Mt. Pico de Loro. And decided later on not to do mountain climbing in the near future. Hehe;
2. Celebrated three years with J. And I can say more stable and happier, with lesser tantrum-fights;
3. Invested on important things like life insurance and nice things like a good tablet, plus setup an equities portfolio towards a (hands fencing my line of sight) vision;
4. Became a registered voter, together with the whole Macadangdang-Pazcoguin clan;
5. Spent an overdue 3-day vacation in Palawan with best friends of 11 years. Probably one of the happiest days of the year.
At the start of the year 2012, I was overly optimistic. I felt time and the best resources are in my hands and that I can do anything if I just will them to happen. But nearing the last month of the year, I feel somewhat disappointed. I felt that I haven’t really crossed out a lot of things that I wanted and planned to do. And with less than a month to go, I can only feel helpless on my situation.
Come final days of 2012, I got to cross out a very important thing I could have done a year ago. Although one year too late, crossing it out gave me a sense of relief. Alas, something tangibly good finally came out of the year. And several days before that, I heard a news that might, might actually get me a few steps closer to one of my short-term goals.
And thus the root of something I wanted to teach myself this 2013: to not be too hard on myself. True enough, I take time to smell the flowers and enjoy regular moments with the people I love to be with. But I want to not be too hard on myself on an entirely different level: that after I’ve done all the things that I could have done on my part, I must learn to let it go, and not sulk in one corner until I got what I wanted.
Because there are plans we make for ourselves, and there are plans that the universe make for us. And sometimes, like it or not, these plans don’t really coincide. I think the best thing to do for ourselves when that happens, although hard, is to let go.
In 2012, I learned a lot of my capabilities, strengths and talents. I received recognition on things I only thought I'm good at. In turn, I got scared at one point and succumbed to old habits, which is familiar and homey. To put it, I didn't took the risk. Of course, nothing compares with the thrill of experiencing new things and I knew once I made the decision that I would regret it then and there. But I am a "security" girl ever since I can remember... So I didn't took the leap of faith, instead I first built a net.
I think that’s the most important thing I learned last year. And that made me feel confident that I will at least have a good year this 2013. At best, this year is no way but up.
(So I will not forget all year round) Take risks.
In one of the songs I grew up as a kid, there’s a line that goes, “You’ll never miss the water until it’s gone”.
I want to be in the moment that I'm in. Not the moment five minutes prior, not the moment five minutes after. Especially for those once in a lifetime opportunities, I want to live and feel the now at the exact moment it is happening. Take it, breathe it.
Now for a tall ordered year...
Here’s to words I'm yet to write, songs I'll cry out on videoke nights, jollibee moments with friends, dull weeknights for seasonal exams, fifty-two coffee frappes, new people I'm yet to meet, wonderful places to travel and a whole lot of 2013 magic.
Cheers to a sparkling new year to us all. :)
In 2012, I –
1. Climbed Mt. Pulag, and Mt. Pico de Loro. And decided later on not to do mountain climbing in the near future. Hehe;
2. Celebrated three years with J. And I can say more stable and happier, with lesser tantrum-fights;
3. Invested on important things like life insurance and nice things like a good tablet, plus setup an equities portfolio towards a (hands fencing my line of sight) vision;
4. Became a registered voter, together with the whole Macadangdang-Pazcoguin clan;
5. Spent an overdue 3-day vacation in Palawan with best friends of 11 years. Probably one of the happiest days of the year.
At the start of the year 2012, I was overly optimistic. I felt time and the best resources are in my hands and that I can do anything if I just will them to happen. But nearing the last month of the year, I feel somewhat disappointed. I felt that I haven’t really crossed out a lot of things that I wanted and planned to do. And with less than a month to go, I can only feel helpless on my situation.
Come final days of 2012, I got to cross out a very important thing I could have done a year ago. Although one year too late, crossing it out gave me a sense of relief. Alas, something tangibly good finally came out of the year. And several days before that, I heard a news that might, might actually get me a few steps closer to one of my short-term goals.
And thus the root of something I wanted to teach myself this 2013: to not be too hard on myself. True enough, I take time to smell the flowers and enjoy regular moments with the people I love to be with. But I want to not be too hard on myself on an entirely different level: that after I’ve done all the things that I could have done on my part, I must learn to let it go, and not sulk in one corner until I got what I wanted.
Because there are plans we make for ourselves, and there are plans that the universe make for us. And sometimes, like it or not, these plans don’t really coincide. I think the best thing to do for ourselves when that happens, although hard, is to let go.
In 2012, I learned a lot of my capabilities, strengths and talents. I received recognition on things I only thought I'm good at. In turn, I got scared at one point and succumbed to old habits, which is familiar and homey. To put it, I didn't took the risk. Of course, nothing compares with the thrill of experiencing new things and I knew once I made the decision that I would regret it then and there. But I am a "security" girl ever since I can remember... So I didn't took the leap of faith, instead I first built a net.
I think that’s the most important thing I learned last year. And that made me feel confident that I will at least have a good year this 2013. At best, this year is no way but up.
(So I will not forget all year round) Take risks.
In one of the songs I grew up as a kid, there’s a line that goes, “You’ll never miss the water until it’s gone”.
I want to be in the moment that I'm in. Not the moment five minutes prior, not the moment five minutes after. Especially for those once in a lifetime opportunities, I want to live and feel the now at the exact moment it is happening. Take it, breathe it.
Now for a tall ordered year...
Here’s to words I'm yet to write, songs I'll cry out on videoke nights, jollibee moments with friends, dull weeknights for seasonal exams, fifty-two coffee frappes, new people I'm yet to meet, wonderful places to travel and a whole lot of 2013 magic.
Cheers to a sparkling new year to us all. :)
I'm not quite proud that it took me this long to write again.
You see, I've gone to the moon. And as one might have guessed, there's really no internet connection there, and furthermore, I haven't got anything to write with me. So, hence the non-writing.
But I got back, and hopefully need not go back to the moon once again, at least not for a long time. No, I mean, seriously, hopefully no.
I guess an offering of updates would be better than a frustrating real explanation:
1. Internet's not a safe place anymore. Most recently, the country's legislators passed the Anti-Cyber Bullying Act, which apparently had not been exempted with cyber-bullying at all. Plus the #Amalayer story is fascinating. It's amazing how a lot of people spend their time bashing others they don't even know personally. As I said, it's not a safe place out there anymore... Better not say shit in public. But if I have to say shit, better say it like 'shit!' - as if I stepped on a cockroach heel-naked after hopping through the room for hours just to avoid it.
2. I took the MFE exam last November. The official results will come out early January, I hope it's favorable, so I can start 2013 right.
3. I'm not sure if I still got the mood to write, but I really badly want to, and I don't know how to start getting it. Only I feel that the first step to getting it is for me to just write. So.. here's to just writing. Writing without pretensions. Without thinking of page views, or grammar, or me blogging. Here's to just writing because once it had been a real love. I forgot: do we do things because we love them, or because we're good at them? What do we realize first: that we love something because we're good at it, or we're good at something because we were first in love with it?
4. I don't really patronize coffee shop planners. Especially the most famous of them all. But right now I already have 7 stickers out of I think 17, and I feel I'm going to collect anyway because I already have 7 of them. And I know it's a lousy reason considering I already have a planner/journal ready for next year.. But heck, I'm not very sure what I'm actually doing right now.
I'll end this right here because this isn't exactly how I wanted things to be right now.
I just really like it to be back, and I swear I'm not going to the moon again. I mean, not for long.
We were a hundred feet above everything.
I remember the sound of the wind most of all. It resounds solidly;
I couldn’t hear a thing except for the wind flapping strongly at the
parachute, and my own heartbeat. Up there, it’s like we have our own
paradise.
I looked at him, and he smiled. And then he held my hand.
Sometime, I was thinking how I’ll have a perfect
picture for my facebook profile. Above the Boracay island, alone together,
holding hands. Once we got back to our boat, I hastily examined the taken
pictures. But I found they weren’t really as I imagined. Most are too far
away to even recognize us.
But I saw one. It wasn’t as I imagined it perfect. We were
dipped in water, and not hanging high above. But I think, love is just like that.
Love as I see it, is not about the perfect moment. But
seeing the imperfect moment perfectly; changing, accepting these imperfections because
the love for that person is greater than its flaws. It’s like the
imperfect picture of parasailing/water-dipping, it’s not perfect but in my
eyes, it is.
“This is my entry to “Love as I see it.” A project of www.islandrose.net flowers Philippines.
In this modern age of liberalism, sometimes I'd like to ponder how we can still preserve those things we hold dear. Take for example, men on their manliness. I know men are facing more challenges than they ever are, what with the constant changes in our society. But I think, true men shouldn't find the ever-growing liberal views a hindrance to their manliness.
I think being manly has a lot to do with one's values, and not even on physical appearance. If a guy takes to heart to protect those he loves, especially his family, I would consider him manly.
Do like the Facebook fan page of Kojie.san Men’s Club.
I think being manly has a lot to do with one's values, and not even on physical appearance. If a guy takes to heart to protect those he loves, especially his family, I would consider him manly.
Do like the Facebook fan page of Kojie.san Men’s Club.
At first I wanted to watch all the Cinemalaya entries this year, but having read the entries' synopsis, I found that not all have sparked interest in me. So I succumbed to watching just three from this year's list; I would have watched more, but busy schedule and picky budget prevented me so.
So here's the quite limited three Cinemalaya 2012 films I got to watch:
So here's the quite limited three Cinemalaya 2012 films I got to watch:
 |
| THE ANIMALS: Set in an affluent, upper middle class village in the suburbs, “The Animals” chronicles a day in the life of Jake, Trina, and Alex, who go through the musings that every kid in high school has to deal with. All Jake wants to do is have a good time, Alex just wants to fit in, and Trina simply wants more. A very vivid picture is painted of life in high school after the final bell rings, as well as a different side of the Philippines, and what is happening to its privileged children. |
The fact that the filmmaker had recently graduated from film school showed impatience on driving the point home. Everything's there that we expect in a youth-oriented film for the rich kids: drugs, sex, alcohol and betrayal. With plusses on different pictures of the current society. With that, the film's message is accurate although a little overbearing. For me, the film showed a lot of elements that it failed to summarize the message wholly to give it more impact.
I particularly liked Dawn Balagot's portrayal as Trina, she looks natural and charming.
The final scene was nice, it lingered.
Probably i would have traded this film in order to watch Mylene Dizon's Aparisyon if my schedule permitted.
 |
| INTOY SYOKOY: Intoy has had the hots for Doray since they were kids in Kalye Marino, Cavite City, formerly the American Naval Base in Sangley Point. Both marginalized as the long-lasting effect of American abandonment of the said base, Intoy has become Kalye Marino’s best “tahong” caretaker-with-no-angst-about-poverty, while Doray a cheap prostitute-with-no-guilt, tending to her siblings’ needs. Intoy strives to have his own cages of “tahong” so he can have Doray, not for just a night of quickie sex, but forever. |
I was really sorry I missed the first thirty minutes.
I found the love story of a tahong driver (JM de Guzman) and a cheap prostitute (LJ Reyes) portrayed very sweet and endearing. It was innocent, and lovely and the two lead actors really played it well.
I didn't liked the last scene, and the decisions that came with it. But Lem Lorca, the director did the last scene beautifully that the love was seen more as innocent and true than it is stupid. (But I still don't buy the ending, though it was portrayed really well.)
Just so I will see the film's entirety, I won't hesitate to watch it again if I have the chance.
 |
| ANG NAWAWALA: Gibson Bonifacio stopped speaking when he was a child. Now twenty years old, he returns home to Manila from his studies abroad, his first visit in three years. He finds his family trying to keep it together, his mother still hurting from a tragic loss in the past. Against the backdrop of the vibrant local music scene, his childhood best friend tries to reconnect with him, while he unexpectedly finds a chance at a first, real romantic relationship. Amidst the holidays, Gibson reconsiders and redefines his relationships with his family, his friends, and with himself. |
It's a coming-of-age story for a boy who decided not to talk since he saw the tragic death of his twin. The movie was good in a lot of ways, with really awesome music. There are a lot of scenes that could just effectively be captured in music videos. It's as if you could lie in the clouds and feel like flying. That's what the music of Ang Nawawala offers. And opens doors to a music genre that is least appreciated nowadays.
But I think it's overly long. I wished they had cut a lot of scenes, not all parts were needed and sometimes it's just repetitive.
Images and synopsis from cinemalaya.org
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