back "home"

i have the urge to peak through curtains most of the time...this instance, it was at the coffee market @ spitalfields...



* * *

we have arrived from prague since friday evening.

all the adrenaline has waned and i tell you, my body is exhausted. i cannot even stomach facing photos right now (mine at least). but i have to because i know it'll kick me back to the land of the living once i do something productive.

saturday was spent being a vegetable on the couch. i was watching english tv like im running out of it. then a dose of telebabed to my family over the phone.

* * *

ive got some goodnews and bad news.

the good news:

-ana, my sister, who is in manila right at this moment for a debating competition (she's the team captain for STC), has told mama, that their team have won their battle against, UP, Ateneo, and La Salle. she still doesnt know if they will get a good over-all win for a trophy. im excited for her=) bring home the bacon guys!

-my cousin/bestfriend/PR manager/psychologist/cheerleader Karla received the Presidents Excellence Award from her company (this is not new news, but it makes me proud to think that even if everytime we talk she thinks she's the lousiest employee there is, she gets all these wonderful awards from her bosses).

-my lola toyang is healthy. she doesnt know this, but i do wish her health for always.

-Aileen S. for future wonderful news from her...she's sooo inspirational..i want to be her...darn, i dont care if i dont fit into her clothes.

-my cousin joan's business is soaring high,just as i expected it would, because, she's so talented and so organized, and loves her work/hobby.

-and after talking to her,she said, everything is in order for jojo's kasal...


bad news:

-my other lola and relatives from butuan cannot attend the wedding. so many reasons, so little time.

-the beach house,we were after to rent at boracay is not free anymore (the same beach house we stayed at last year)...infact, all the beachhouses we asked after it are all booked by tourists for the date we wanted. darn. winter in europe does push tourists to the beach. maybe,try another island, instead of boracay. maybe bohol? or daanbantayan? anyone knows a beach house good for 6-8 people (A/c bedrooms) with kitchen for recommendation?

-i got no motivation to finish my essays. i am just lazy,and too tired to even think about it.


* * *

care to share your news?...

in prague

so i am now in the czech republic, specifically, prague.

we arrived @ 9:30 am and have not rested since then. the day was full of activities.

i brought my laptop along, instead of books to read, so i can check emails if needed (even if i wasnt sure the wifi was free). im using a pay-per-hour wifi in the hotel, but id rather as i needed to contact family back @ home thru email, anyway.

so how was the first day like?




first things first, the hotel we are in, is absolutely fantastic. although its too modern for my taste, its beautiful nonetheless...



so far,adrian and i managed to get lost. we rode the opposite direction of the tram we wanted to for our little sightseeing.

thats a photo up there of adrian, who, after ten minutes of arguing with him about where we should go, decided at last, to scrutinize a map (with no english translation).


when we did finally get on the right tram and ended in the place we wanted to be, we managed to get ourselves, lost again in a wonderful way this time.


we managed to end up in a gallery/restaurant. this gallery is a photography gallery/library/bookstore and restaurant at the same time. this is a photo of me, enjoying my drinks and cake while admiring the showcase of photos from Czech photographers.



(nahilis na ang make-up sa kainit...it was so warm in prague today!)


and here is the view of Charles bridge and parts of the Old town. it is magical...too beautiful to be described. i have yet to be very good in taking photos to show you its real beauty, but since im not a good landscape kodaker, that will do...





and of course, a photo to remind me, that im in a different country, different traditions and such amazing culture. i love europe...


(note: those are just tasters of photos from my nikon, but more to be uploaded when i get back to england...something you can browse if youre bored and have nothing else to do, i suppose,hehe).


* * *

PS: to my creativelens classmates:

Prague is such a photography enthusiasts haven..theres an entire block dedicated to photography gadgets, (the latest and antique ones). im drooling over a mamiya or a rolleiflex (or even a yashica) antique one. i hinted that, it will be a great birthday present, but then again, sometimes, adrian pretends he couldnt hear:-)

in the same block, there are bookstores, galleries and specialty shops just for photography!!! how cool is that? i havent found one as big as this block of photography specialists, not even in London (all of them separated from one another back in London).


* * *

here are some photos from the canon which adrian took of me. yes, apil siya na busy ug pamicture, so dili siya bored while i stop every now and again... utro sad siya, buot buot sad ug stop, to take photos, haha.

these are photos of me, but he did take photos of prague too,haha.



after the lunch, we dropped by the nearby mall to see what they have.




@ an ice cream bar, at the famous wenceslao square.. dear diabetic police, i needed that ice cream. the sun was shining too warmly today. pang pabugnaw sa ulo.



according to adrian, "the soldier"--with all my gadgets in tow.
dear back surgery, you're not too impossible.


* * *

good night friends and family who read this, (and for those sent by the gentle breeze of talisay winds to this site), i wish you a beautiful sleep. i was up since 3 am this morning, the 30 minute snore on the plane has now past its effectivity.

tomorrow, adrian and i are on a historical tour of prague and a dinner at a medieval brewery.

nyt!x

searching for calm and stillness

hectic.

the word to describe my life the past two days.

i am running like a headless chicken at the same time muttering to myself for being a procrastinator.

im not supposed to write a blog right now lest i want adrian to turn a disapproving eye on me (he's clearing up the kitchen,while im in the front room cleaning up too *supposedly*).

so in case, i wont be able to say goodbye properly, and write down my thoughts tonight, let me say "farewell"..(i have to wake up at 3 am tomorrow as our flight is at 6am).

until friday evening again sweethearts.

im off to the czech republic for some culture and relaxation.

you all will be in my thoughts.

*hugs,kisses (and if you're a cute guy) bottom pinching*

chelowski

God punishes greedy eaters

He does.

you might not notice it when you go through your day to day life. you might not feel it when you eat your favourites, even after youve wiped out a plate of your gorgeous meal, oh no.

you might not know it even looking at pictures of yourself because sometimes, the camera lies.

but then it hits you!

you start to notice, you're starting to wear your fvourite "fat jeans" more and more. you start to notice you get out of breath when walking your favourite trail. your spring/summer clothes suddenly felt as if they shrunk from hibernating in your drawers. you start to look less in the mirror (so un-you), and you start to get uninterested in clothes shopping so suddenly (again, so un-you).

then you see yourself climbing up the ladder of sizes when you're shopping (only because you have to shop because youre travelling in a few days).

then you realize, the inevitable has happened. you just added another one/two sizes up your normal clothes.

and then you go home, feeling frustrated and angry for letting this happen to you.

but because you're a fighter, you decide, theres no use feeling angry and berate yourself because you allowed it. you were seduced,after all, by the sweet and tempting goodies that parade infront of you. and worst, you just sit your fat ass infront of the television, after overstuffing yourself.

you decide to fight on.

then you turn on the aerobics dvd you bought years ago. the same dvd that started to decay under dust and cobwebs.

and you start to hope, that dinner tonight will be less tasty so the 300 calories you lost will not go in vain.

dear God, shall we cancel our barbeque tomorrow?


* * *

reminder for yourself...you must not continue your spiral into the abyss of morbid obesity..why?



hats cant cover those ugly rolls in your waistline




there's a limit to until when you can keep pretending you're pregnant when you buy at the maternity section



there's only so much a smile can do..yes, it can cover up your embarassment when they ask when you're due, but it cant wash away your feeling bloated and unhealthy.



there's only so much make-up can do..MAC yet has to create a body fat foundation,honey.



even a good pose cant hide your flabs (and the flabs of the one behind you,lol)




there's only so much beach covering that can cover you up,for peopple to not run away when they see you at the beach. or perhaps, there will come a time,they might ban selling swimsuits to people your size.


---most of all...



mr.nelson wont like being photographed beside you if you stay the way you are.


so, really, if you cant lose it...maintain it (as you always planned).

life is already short (with all the good graces you're showered with),you dont want it to be cut even shorter with a heart attack.


* * *

(self reprimand folks...i just had a worst day,having to go clothes buying today, i felt like i was "blobby fattina" infront of the darn badly lit dressing room mirrors). there were sooo mnay beautiful spring clothes, and i,my poor self cannot buy them even with money i worked hard for, because im now on a higher size than i used to. ahak!

anyone care to join me, doing the taebo?

lily's

i was moving photo albums to my external hardrive and reviewed albums from my trip to the philippines last year.

i was amazed of the millions of photos i still need to upload. i laughed and smiled at most of them, some, i felt teary eyed for the memories.

but the album that really caught my eye was the album of our memorable trip to Lily's----Patricia's ancestral family farm. our lovely hosts Tita Loy and Tita Rudy and Patricia are not only the most gracious hosts you can ever meet in this lifetime, they are the most creative and they really go above and beyond what normal hosts would do.

this post, is just a mini reminder of what a beautiful place Lily's is, i will upload the entire album @ my multiply site so that tita loy will see how memorable that trip was for me, adrian and ana.

my heart sighs at these photos..and the food prepared for that day (i promise to beg tita loy to invite me again on my next trip to cebu).




a quote from tita loy's close friend who visited Lily's




this setting is just making one speechless




furnitures that were handpicked with love and polished by time



merienda upon arriving at the farm



lunch was waiting during merienda



snacks in the afternoon



sungka



sundial/birdbath




the driveway..


* * *

-the drive to the place was pleasurable because of the sights we had to pass through

-the bedrooms were beautiful, (four poster wooden beds, and antique linens), and the breeze just adds to the entire romantic place that it is...

-we did poetry reading (from Tita Loy's favourite poet,the name slips me) and ate great food the entire day

-on the way home,we passed by one of the Alix's friends... tita loy introduced adrian and i to the owner of Borussia, a German baker where Adrian orders his bread since then.

-the place is an artists haven...poets, painters,photographers, dancers and just any soul wishing to whispher their secrets to the passing breeze.

im definitely going back..i just have to ask tita loy to organize another soiree @ Lilys.

on baby accomplishments

ive finally given my poster for printing at the university's printing office. it was such an accomplishment for me because there were times i said, i will not be able to make it. i know, i know, the deadline of submission is not until may.6, but im away the next week for some r&r, i can't enjoy a holiday when a work is waiting for me to finish.

here's a sample look of my poster.





it has ALOT of words only because thats an academic poster, so normally, thats meant for references for future studies. (what about academic posters? do you see posters at hospitals or your doctors clinic that has too many clinical terminologies,thats a sample of academic poster..which means, only peers of same profession can appreciate the gobbledy-gook written on it,lol).


* * *

im proud of that poster, i added colour and photos on it ...compare that to the sample one given to me for reference? here's the photo..



really, white and green (OT colour) is so overused. and im sure most of my blockmates will do the same...so i have to steer clear of the theme,haha.


* * *

im so pleased that what little i know of photoshop,helped me make that poster..i was able to utilise my little skill on layers in producing it, while my classmates have to use Powerpoint slides for theirs. i wish i could volunteer to do their work for them, but then again, it took me a loong time to do mine, so i wont try to solve the world's problems this time.

for the meantime, let me bask in my self-congratulatory stance...i will continue to strive this weekend. 1 down, 1 more to go! please heavens, help me.

and Prague, im nearly there.

this girl

...is craving for:

-isda sa bato (sugba)
-red rice
-saging and ginamos(all the time craving)
-my mama's patatim
-my mama's fried chicken
-humba

bow.

photo taken today at coffee market... taken by adrian using Gigi=)

my heart bleeds

we should appreciate all those people who work for our happiness..
we should show them how much appreciated they are for the hardwork they do,
day in day out, just so we are given the best in life...


* * *



my mind is with a girl named Tina today. (or at least that was her name).

i met her at the bank, while in the queue (she was before me) i could tell she was trying to make eye contact. i smiled and made "chika" asked her where she works and which part of the philippines she's from.

after a small talk, eventually, i knew half of her life story.

she is married, with 3 children (ranging from 8,6 and5years old). she had a son who died (which she was teary eyed when she talked, and said she was unable to go home when he died..i wanted to cry for her too). i could tell she was the most, my age, or even younger. she is pretty, slim and long black hair. she works as a domestic here in the UK.

she just came from Russia,as a domestic to a Russian lawyer there, but after working there for two years,she pleaded from her bosses to help her move to a different "amo"because of the hardship she has to go through every single day in Russia.

anecdotes that made me feel sorry for her...- 15 filipina's live in one bedroom, to which each pay 200 dollars. only 4 are legally allowed to stay in the bedroom, so the 11 are illegally paying into the rent. so everytime the landlord comes to collect, all the 11 has to go out and should not be seen until the landlord goes home. one time, some of her co-boarders were caught, they were put in a police cell where they were abused...
-on their way to work in the train filipinas will be abused (verbally) groped and even sexuallyharassed and no one would help (the other russian passengers will just look on). Tina had been twice groped on her breasts and one time a drunk russian man was harassing her for sex in the train. she thought she was going to die. thank goodness,she was able to jump in one of the stops.

her employers after two years eventually let her go (after hearing her story and difficulty in Russia) and recommended her to one of their friends who was British lawyer married to a Russian lady. which led Tina to work and move here in the UK as a nanny and domestic to the British lawyer and his Russian lawyer.

so far, she's only worked in the UK since Februarythis year, and she's feeling so homesick and missing her children. i wanted to hug her. i knew how she felt. but at least, i have adrian to talk to.

she said,she has saturday evening and sunday morning off,and she said,she locks herself in her room (which doesnt help).i gave her my mobile number and asked for hers. i said, since she lives quite far from where i live (a two hour drive), i would love to invite her to the house, every now and again, so that i could introduce her to some people,so that her network will widen.

i waited for her to finish her business in the bank, and introduced her to adrian. we invited her for coffee and lunch but she declined saying her bosses are already waiting for her to go back. i said she should call me if she feels sad, or feels in any danger at all, or she needed a friend. she promised to call me.

i hope she does.

i cried to adrian. i feel life is not fair on some people. i moan about my life, but really, who am i to complain? Tina has a difficult life, and i wish i could help her, just by being her friend. i hope she does not feel so homesick anymore.

i wonder if her husband knew how much hardwork she had to go through? considering he doesnt work and is in the philippines, living a quite comfortable lifestyle(according to Tina)...i feel for her.


* * *

anyone of you missing your love ones today? let me send you my hugs.

alleviate

(from Gigi's eyes...)

today during a pharmacology discussion, the lecturer asked for a drug that would alleviate illness.

someone mentioned, anti-inflammatories, paracetamols ,so on and so forth.

but the biggest illness stuck to my mind.

stricter laws regarding climate change, supporting non-profit movement for climate watch, restrictions on capitalist system, tighter controls on nuclear testing, abolishing of tax havens and ill practices in financial markets (and exhorbitant bonuses) are just a few to alleviate the society's illness today...there definitely is a societal decline.

(thoughts from today's G20 summit). i wish i was there to protest.

anarchy is not dead.


* * *

dont shoot me...just my little POV.

excited

today was such a beautiful day (at university) . the sun was brightly shining and we didnt even have to wear our coats. we had lunch at the grass.

i wish i took photos, but there are moments that flow of conversations and the spontaneity of the moment get disrupted once i start taking out my camera out of my bag (although the small one as i dont carry the big cam with me to uni). plus my classmates are anti-photography. i can't take photographs of myself with them watching,can i? (haha).

i got so many things to get anxious about and things to be excited for. but talking about my anxiety here will just create a chain of anxiety which i dont want (lol), so let me share to you my exciting news.

1) im 95% done with my poster (an essay worth of research in a poster)..i only need now to look for a cheaper printer for an A1 size poster. and oh the leaflet/brochure too.

2) if the poster is done, which means, im on date with my targets when to finish everything. once the poster is done, i'll be concentrating on my 6,000 worded essay one. im halfway there.

3) if both gets done by then, i'll be able to enjoy my two week holiday from university and i can go in peace to catch some R&R with Adrian. (that means my camera will go on overdrive!!! Lola,Dee and Gigi will have a girls outing!).

4) its easter, and adrian and i are going "fishy" the week of lent...(lets see if this works,lol).

5) easter egg shopping to give to my stepson...(easter traditions of easter egg exchange,i know,lol)..

6) writing. because its simpy therapeutic to write. its just like breathing.

7) visa applications...such exciting news for me and my family...i hope they will be successful..(sad part is, Jojo has declined to come with them. i can understand, as his wife to be, Mayel, will be on her 3rd term when they are supposed to be here...he does not want to leave her...such an adult decision...im happy and sad at the same time).

those are my exciting news lovelies...what are you looking forward to?




just one of them scenes from the front seat of my car...passing by Tower of London.. photo by my Gigi...