Proj 78 of 365 - wave of childhood nostalgia

08.09.09

i can’t help but wistfully look at the playground as i passed by.

the slide, swing, tunnels, monkey bars are all part of growing up. like a rite of passage, every child goes through a phase where a playground is heaven.

when mama was still working abroad, it was papa, our aunties or our yaya who’d take us out two blocks to the park near the church. there, my sister and i would play til dusk. sometimes at mid-afternoon when the steel was warm, it was literally a pain in the behind to use the slide, but that we endured all for the sake of pure, childish fun. sliding down took just a fraction of the time spent climbing the stairs, not to mention the feeling of your knees shaking while climbing up the stairs. but it was part of the challenge and of the fun.

sitting down a swing is but of sheer pleasure! the feeling of almost flying - suspended in mid-air with the wind blowing against your face. the feeling was a pure delight.

when it’s not the park, it would be a trip to the mall where we’d get to play in the arcade.

i can’t say as a child i have been deprived. my childhood had a fair share of playgrounds - at school, at the mall, at the park, everywhere!

and yet, it still feels like i missed on a whole lot of fun.

i miss being a child.

i wish i should’ve played more, gone out more, sweated more, and maybe, had loads of fun more.

Proj 77 of 365 - toting the tote

08.09.09

i’ve been toting this handbag lately.

one, because i’ve been too busy (but mostly lazy) to change bags to fit my mood and outfits.

two, because of it’s neutral color, i can get away with almost anything without clashing or anything.

three, because of the convenient side pocket where i can insert anything without unzipping the whole thing. (and anything it has been - i just found wads of paper, a lot of coins, receipts and bills tucked in there)

four, heavy shoulder bags tend to give me shoulder and/or back pain which doesn’t happen when i’m carrying a hand bag.

and lastly,
five, because i love carrying handbags.

handbags are easy to carry around when you’re shopping, out for a stroll, out doing errands or doing anything. handbags, if carried right, bring out a certain style - one of flair but at the same time, of comfort.

carry one as you wish - you can bring it using a hand, or both, or you can tuck it in you arm.

it can be casual, fashionable, or simple.

Proj 76 of 365 - colorful stained lights

07.19.09

one cannot help but admire at this colorful spectacle at one of the restos in The Gallery, Mabolo, Cebu.

Proj 75 of 356 - an afternoon off

07.19.09

one lazy sunday afternoon. it had been drizzling that day.

after a cup of warm brownie to satiate our sweet tooths, it was time to take out the paraphernalia.

malongs and sarongs. a board game. camera and friends. some chichiria to nibble.
the recipe for a perfect picnic.

then after just a few rounds, it started to pour again.

oh well, i sure had fun while it lasted.

Proj 74 of 365 - sooo hot

07.15.09

korea-novelas. korean style and fashion. korean schools.

From sassy girl to boys over flowers to wonder girls’ “nobody but you”, it is a fact that korea has indeed brought an influence over us.

over the past few years, with the advent of korean restaurants and infusion of korean food in the market, Pinoys have come to realize that korea has many things to offer to the palate than just kimchi.

i jumped to the same conclusion when i bumped into this brand of noodles in the supermarket a few years back. out of curiousity, i bought one pack to try out.

korean noodles, like most of their food are generally spicy, which is a welcomed change to the chicken and beef flavored we’ve been so used to.

if ever you’re up to something spicy and want to try something out, i suggest you get your cart pushing at the supermarket, grab a pack of korean noodles (i like the one with the red and black colored front. unfortunately, i can’t read any of the text on it so that‘s the best i can do. of course, you can tell it‘s noodles with the picture on the front :>)

but i warn you, as the color of the soup suggests, this is not for the weak of heart.

Proj 73 of 365 - at long last

07.14.09 going mouse-less is like being crippled for me. though many easily work on their laptops using the touchpad, that’s something i really have soo much difficulty doing.

mouse-less, i find a simple navigation like moving the arror from top to bottom a challenge. at the office, i always carry my mouse to make things easier for me. it’s a surprise i lasted mouse-less for three weeks on my laptop which i have yet to buy a mouse for.

it was almost unbearable to play RPG games albeit a pointing device, especially that the touchpad can become super sensitive at the slightest touch - making me wonder why my view has shifted/zoomed in when i didn’t do anything.

then my suffering ended. i finally got a cute USB mouse to come to my aid.

Proj 72 of 365 - the boy who lived

07.13.09
i know him inside and out. his tiny secrets to his tremendous achievements. his friends and family - i can recite their names one by one without batting an eyelash. i know what irks him, who he feels an utter disdain for, and who and what he fancies.

and he’s not even real. he lives in a magical world which i and so many others have entered.

it felt like i was with him when he effortlessly took the sorcerer’s stone from the mirror, and i was definitely cheering him on while he joined the tri-wizard tournament and fought dementors with his stag patronus. in all his adventures, misadventures, misdemeanors and even through detention, i was a silent witness. i felt his pain when his godfather died. i knew how he felt when he was in love with someone off-limits - his bestfriend’s sister. i admired his courage and bravery for standing up against you-know-who and setting out to look for the horcruxes and in the process, discovered the hallows.

his story worth of seven years of hogwarts kept me up at the wee hours, sometimes made me skip meals and temporarily made me a home-buddy until i get to the last page.

as a collector of the books, i’m happy to see that after more than a year of the last release, the paperback edition is finally available. weee! time to go to harry potter’s land to revisit the tale (i never get tired of reading again and again) of the boy who lived.

Proj 71 of 365 - so blair-ish

07.11.09

a weekend at the mall.

among a lot of things, i was looking for a sweater. the knitted type you can get away with while wearing anything inside - sleeveless, tube top, dress, or even a plain top. something comfy that i could easily slip out of from work to night outs. something that can go perfectly well with almost anything in my closet. i set out with the task on hand, and scurried from boutique to boutique until i saw the closest thing to what i have envisioned.

then, on the same store, i saw a maong dress. it fit perfectly. it looked fab and fashionable. i could imagine blair waldorf, whose fashion sense and style i look up to, strutting around in one - maybe with pumps, a glam belt, accessories and of course, a headband - her signature look won’t be complete without one.

with the sweater on hand, and the dress on the other, i was battling with my conscience. when you can’t decide, you ought to have both, right?

then i remembered i should only buy an item this visit. the temptation of sneaking one more item lured me, i must admit. before i break my word, after a tug-of-war with myself, i put it back in the rack where it belonged - free for other blair-wannabes to pick up and purchase.

it was only when i got home that i regretted leaving the dress on the shelf. oh well, there’s always tomorrow to undo today’s regrets. ;>

Proj 70 of 365 - a shoe story

07.08.09

i was feeling really uneasy, unable to wink myself to sleep. it was around midnight and here i was perturbed, very uncomfortable like i always am when i wanted to do something.

it has to be done, here and now.

i opened my closet, took out all my shoes from their boxes and arranged them in a huge circle on the floor. one by one, until each and every box was emptied and their contents laid on the bottom.

i then took a picture of all my shoes arranged in a neat, perfect circle. but that picture, i realized in the end, wouldn’t be shared else i will be teased on my attempt on being imeldific. or shamed because, i don’t have that many shoes compared to her. i mean, no one else could possibly surpass her vast collection.

then i took a snapshot of every pair. i was always wanting to organize the shoe boxes by putting pictures of what’s inside. convenient and easy. i had unlabelled boxes, plus, my old pictures on the boxes badly need replacements as accumulated dust and paper tears and folds are here and there.

then i came with my pair of glads, gladiator flats.

i got this pair in HK while on vacation with the family late last year. it was love at first sight. it fit perfectly, it was in, and it was a unique find! my sister, who shared the same shoe love with me, also got herself a pair of the same glads in a different size.

we couldn’t contain ourselves at the remaining days of the trip, or at least I couldn’t. i kept on planning outfits to go with the new pair. when i shopped, i looked for items i could wear together with the new acquisition. i wanted to go home to try out stuff in my closet if it’d go well with pair. yes, a pair of shoes can make you gaga.

after seemingly a while, it was time to go home. yaey, i’ll soon strut my stuff with my gladiators!

never tired of shopping, hitting the mall was one of the things we did when we came back. i was satisfied to see that though a few gladiators have been popping out in the stores, mine was unique - the style, cut, color, quality isn‘t available yet.

imagine how i felt when staring in front of my eyes, was the exact style, cut, color and quality - a clone, a sister. and yes, there was a bunch of them in stock!

“oh, it’s not unique anymore. at least, mine was a steal.”, i consoled myself. i made another mistake by turning the shoe over and not resisting to glance at the price tag. the clone, err, sister gladiator, costs a few hundreds less!

ouch.

Proj 69 of 365 - come hither

07.04.09

in front of us, an array of uber delish desserts was in plain sight. to the one with the sweet tooth, it was beckoning to be tasted, relished and savored.

but i was too busy clanking with my laptop to notice and take notice of the delightful temptation in front of me.

out of theblue, he thought out loud, “i want to eat a cake.”

surprised, since he was never the one to crave for something sweet, my attention now shifted to the enticing thought at hand. “what’s it gonna be?”

“i can’t make up my mind”, he replied. as an afterthought, “i know you love blueberry cheesecake and cheesecakes in general, but you know i’m not a fan.”

bummer.

but i can always compromise, after all, a chocoholic can almost never run out of cake options.

i looked at the display, inspecting each cake and imagining what each would taste like.

chocolate -oooh, so decadent and sinfully sweet.

blueberry cheesecake - stop looking longingly at it, commanded myself to myself.

triple chocolate - triple the chocolatey fun!

mocha - of soft-melts-in-your-mouth chiffon with a hint of tangy coffee.

i offered him my top choices, omitting the cheesecake of course.

he battled with his mind for a bit, but was unable to come up with anything. to add to the dilemma, he piped in, “oreos and cream cheesecake maybe interesting, but i dunno, it’s still cheesecake.”

but if I can’t have my blueberry cheesecake, no one can have cheesecake. (evil laugh). “no cheesecake.”, i smiled.

“triple chocolate maybe too much”, he countered. mentally, i scrapped chocolate heaven off the list. now we have two options. two life changing options.

“either would be fine, I guess. your call.”, he supposed.

not wanting to make the decision myself mainly because i can’t decide, I opposed, “nah, i dunno too. you choose, you wanted to eat cake in the first place.”

on and on the thought of mocha versus chocolate was running in my head - but it was just so hard. because if i would’ve made up my mind, i would’ve declared whether i was much of a caffeine-addict than a chocolate-freak, or vice versa.

in the end, we just finished our coffee and pushed the temptation off our heads.

Proj 68 of 365 - moments like this

(06.28.09)

sometimes it feels like we’ve been programmed to put on a face when we know someone’s watching. a smiling, happy face at that.

moments like this, when we're caught off-guard, when we smile without knowledge or care that someone's looking or not, radiating the happiness we feel down inside - NOW, that's special.

Proj 67 of 365 - the final bow

(06.26.09)

creativity comes in many forms and the possibilities are definitely endless – all it takes is a bit of ingenuity, originality, inspiration and you’ve got your masterpiece. there is nothing you can’t do even if all you have is some masking tape and carpet.

this sight surprised us all when we came into the office.

inspired by MJ’s untimely demise, three officemates have knowingly or unknowingly created a tribute of some sorts to the king of pop.

“the final bow”, i’d like to think.

Proj 66 of 365 - the fight

(06.25.09)
at first glance, the pink rubbery baller band just might as well be anything. it can be a child’s accessory or something picked out from the accessory shop.

but this band’s special since this reminds me of the fight I’m currently in.

almost a week ago, i embarked on my fight which just started as my first of a series of three. i came out the first time with a needle mark, a sore arm, a bandaid and the pink baller band as trophies of my battle.

the fight against cervical cancer is definitely on.

*cervical cancer, according to statistics, is second to breast cancer as the “killers” in women. as nothing can be done to prevented breast cancer, women can now safeguard themselves against cervical cancer with immunization against the HPV, the virus which causes the dreaded cancer.

Proj 65 of 365 - moving out

(06.19.09)

i come to work everyday, sitting on the same cubicle straight out of college.

it was at the center of everything, just as i liked it – right at the middle of office chitchat and just ‘round the corner for afternoon snacks.

and now, it's pretty amazing to think that everything that makes my cube what it is can be contained in just a few boxes – memorabilia, office supplies, trinkets, and those little things. all my accumulated stuff in what seems like so many years can just be dumped in just so few containers.

and yet, by the end of the day, there was no goodbye ceremonies nor there was any ritual. i was pretty much excited to be in my new cubicle in our new building and too tired and sore from the packing to feel sentimental.

and so, for the last time, just like any other day, i walked out of the cubicle I’ve been working for the past 4+ years.

Proj 64 of 365 - coffin boxes

(06.18.09)

as so often-times heard: “someone’s trash can still be someone else’s treasure”.

with this train of thought on my mind, i say:

“someone’s old printer boxes maybe someone else’s coffin.” :D

*marvin so gamely played dead (without anyone even asking him to) and i couldn’t resist taking a shot.