Planning Weddings in Surigao City

I'm losing my whole life in Your purpose and for Your heart's desire. I'm running with blinded eyes, faith as my guide, let Your love take flight. - Devoted Citipointe Live

God truly surprises me in indescribable ways that leaves me in awe of His wonder. He constantly reminds me that He has my best interest at heart no matter how challenging the road I need to traverse in order to get to His promised land; nor how long the season of waiting will last. It was a rainy and rather dreary afternoon when I landed the gig I am working on right now after months of praying, brainstorming and little attempts of marketing. I've had a share of setbacks in the past, probably enough to discourage one to start anew. So there was a time when I didn't want to take risks nor did I even think of investing my heart into something that might not take off as well as I wanted it to. And the scarcity of capital resources has always been a constraint to getting anything done. So for a time, I guess I've entered a phase in my life where playing safe has been the ongoing mantra. But with God, there are no safe zones because He has promised that despite the impending dangers and challenges, He is there. And so with this new venture, I'm running with blinded eyes, faith as my guide, letting His love take flight...

Alodia Gosiengfiao and Luis Manzano, Dating?

image via here

When popular showbiz blogger and ABS-CBN insider Darla Sauler posted pictures of Luis Manzano and Alodia Gosiengfiao together on her blog implying that the two were somehow (or are starting to be) involved romantically, people started flooding the said blog posting nasty comments  defending one of the three parties involved in the controversy: Alodia, Luis and Luis' former beau Angel Locsin. Alodia was somehow blamed as the last straw that caused Luis and Angel to finally put a period to their attempts to get back together. Apparently this has been happening for quite sometime now and it was only through Alodia's facebook page that I even knew there was an issue. I frequent Angel's online forum fan clubs but there was no mention of the said rumor except when Angel tweeted a certain warning saying that all girls should be careful of guys who are "manloloko". A lot of the fans immediately linked the said tweet to Luis and the girl he is currently seeing and exclusively dating despite Angel's claim that the said tweet was totally random.

This issue has been discussed so many times already and has been given a conclusion in one episode of The Buzz. There is even a video of the said episode in Alodia's facebook page. Here's the video. The hosts clarified that nothing is going on between the two; and one of the hosts, Charlene Gonzales during discussion even named Alodia's real boyfriend.

It is clear that this issue is nothing but a publicity stunt by ABS-CBN to promote Alodia and Luis' upcoming show called L.O.L. (Laugh Out Loud). The show will be airing in the coming months and will feature pranks and practical jokes that the team will do to both celebrities and ordinary people. The show will also mark Alodia's first official mainstream showbiz gig. 

Several factors drew my attention to this issue. But first of all let me just say that I never believed the issue to be true because I've known Alodia and the guy she's been dating for quite sometime now and even met them during conventions. And I've mentioned this before, I am a fan of Alodia and of Angel Locsin (serious level) so I was bound to stumble upon and talk about this issue in some way. The real reasons why I am dedicating a blog post to this issue are as follows:

1. I am totally appalled at the way the Buzz co-hosts' discussed the said rumor and their un-awareness of the Cosplay subculture. It's one thing to not be interested. I totally get it that none of them have really encountered anime and all the other things surrounding that aspect of the geek culture. It's just my belief however that if you're going to talk about something on air, you have to at least research about things you don't understand. I mean they could've have just googled the term Cosplay and it would have made them appear a little less stupid than the way they did. 

2. ABS-CBN totally disrespected Alodia by giving her a negative publicity as an informal launch. What a way to introduce Alodia to the Filipino masses! Alodia has a fierce (and when I say fierce I mean they really really bite, hehe!) legion of fans in the country and is internationally recognized by a certain niche to be on a goddess level so I don't get why they had to give her a masa-level publicity. Sure, she's not yet marketable to the masses at this point in her career and her craft is not something a lot of people are even aware of, but her good looks and natural charm will win anyone over. Besides, she has an international stature. Anyone with international stature will draw the masses in no matter what the reasons are. Unfortunately, ABS-CBN decided to draw bad blood against Alodia's fans by giving her this kind of cheap stunt. If they market mainstream actresses with intrigue-laden issues then I don't think that same strategy will work in promoting Alodia. I really didn't think she needed it nor do I think it's the way to launch a show. Sure, it's being talked about all over the web but there's bound to be some backlash later. They should have talked to e-Games or the convention organizers who have worked with Alodia before, so they will know her real marketing power.

3. This has somehow caused a rift between Alodia and Angel's fans. The true-blue Angel Locsin fans will easily dismiss this to be nothing but a publicity stunt but there are already comments in Darla's blog that are derogatory towards Alodia and it saddens me. Fans will defend their idols without thinking and will compare the two and prove against each other who's the better person. Instead of possibly winning over Angel's fans, ABS-CBN drove them away from Alodia. This won't affect everyone but there's bound to be some casualties.

They say negative publicity is still publicity and is therefore useful. However, if rubbed the wrong way, it will burn whoever its subjects are right Manny Pacquiao and Krista Ranillo? TV Networks should start really understanding their market instead of doing a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy; which is plain lazy. That way they can maximize the potentials of the stars, people, and shows they are trying to build up. No wonder online media platforms like YouTube is now getting most of the viewing public's attention and television companies' attempts to go online is sort of desperate and may be a little too late.

Driftwood Christmas Decors

My Mom and I made something festive out of her driftwood collection. We both love to decorate and tinker around with almost anything. And I believe we both really like making things pretty and giving everything a personal touch. So here are the products of that. Everything you see here is handmade and locally sourced. They can be used as table centerpieces or shelf decorations.  These are FOR SALE but only for Surigao City meet-ups. Still thinking if there's a way to ship them. But the rest of the products can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071920&id=1310169630 So far we've had customized orders. Hehe! Hope y'all like 'em!

Macross Frontier: The False Songstress

I've finally seen it! After waiting for the fansub to come out for more than a year I've finally laid my eyes on it. *insert tears* Macross has been my favorite anime franchise ever since I was a little girl, so when they announced that a 25th anniversary anime series was going to be released two years ago, I was more than ecstatic. Of course I followed the series with a burning passion and fell in love with it almost the same way as I did with SDF Macross. SDF Macross however, remains to be on a skyscraper level of love for me though. Nonetheless, I waited for the movie sequel to the Macross Frontier series with massive enthusiasm in the hopes that it would contain answers to many questions left unanswered by the series two years ago.

So how did the movie fair? Unfortunately, it seemed a bit so-so for me and this is where I'm really frustrated. I still loved it but it didn't really have that much emotional effect on me as the series did. I really can't pinpoint what went wrong. I'm maybe too much of a Ranka fan that I felt her exposure and rise to stardom (or role in the defeat of the Vajra) in the movie was downplayed compared to that of Sheryl's. I don't know why they went on the Sheryl path (no offense to the fans though). I felt like the movie was made for her. I also didn't like the changes they made on Ozma. I loved how bad-a$$ he was in the series especially his low tolerance to Alto's emotional outbursts. He seems to really kiss-ass with Alto in the movie which frankly is a bit annoying and cliche (eww at the welcome initiation). Maybe that's what happens when you compress a 25-episode series to two hours. Certain charms of the series had to be sacrificed. That didn't happen with Macross: Do You Remember Love? (the movie retell of SDF Macross) though. Sure, certain characters that fans loved were given a less share of the limelight but the Misa-Hikaru-Minmay love triangle became more epic. And I liked their take on the story with Misa discovering one of the most amazing love songs of all time. I guess my expectations were a bit too high. It's really difficult to top something so incredibly epic.

I loved the animation of the Macross Frontier movie though and the re-arrangement they did on some of the songs. Surprisingly, the fanservice moments didn't annoy me although I felt they were a little bit forced and trying hard to join the trend of fanservice animes. Overall, the movie will really make any Macross fan happy. Especially those that waited too long to be immersed once again in the mystical Macross universe. Come on, let's all dream and fly! Yikes! Can't wait for the 2011 movie! Anyway, here is the movie version of the song Diamond Crevasse performed live by May'n and Megumi Nakajima with no less than Yoko Kanno on the piano!

Socorro Surigao del Norte and Rejuvenate Surigao Mission Trip

Dapat magpopost ako ng formal na update sa blogsite ng church namin kaso wala ako sa mood para maging formal. Besides may naka-assign na gumawa nun hinihintay ko na lang ang update niya. Almost one month delayed na 'toh pero hanggang ngayon totally overwhelmed pa rin ako sa ibang level na awesome-ness ng love ni God for us, and most especially for me. Towards the end of September I was struggling with so many things kaya wala masyadong update. Sometimes I really do think I bite off more than I can chew kaya mejo nalulunod din ako sa dami ng trabaho. Pero ewan ko ba, ang sweet sweet lagi ng timing Niya. Just when I'm about to really lose it, he reminded me once again that I am loved even beyond what I can comprehend. Sabi ni Dr. Charles Spurgeon:

"There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below."

While I believe that to be true, my life has been a testament of endless blessings. Sure, ang dami-daming moments when I felt like I'm being seriously refined through the flame pero I always feel like I've been transformed into something spectacular after. So on to the real updates. We were privileged to be joined by our brothers in Christ from the USA last September 27 to October 8. And what a fruitful trip that was! Officially, Rejuvenate Surigao ang pangalan ng mission. Super need kasi namin as a church ang rejuvenation. We are a very young church plant (2008) and already in the span of two years, we've been through a lot of trials together. But God has always been good and faithful. Everyday talaga is a walk of faith. 

One of the best parts of the trip was our visit to Socorro, Surigao del Norte. While we were unable to visit the famous Sohoton Cove (home to the sting-less jellyfish) and Bucas Grande's spectacular beaches, God showed us another side of Socorro that we immediately fell in love with -- His people. Kami dapat ang magmi-mission trip dun but instead we were treated like Kings and Queens. The human in me had a bit of doubt at the beginning anticipating kung ano'ng catch sa extravagant welcome and accommodations but there was none. Hindi ko ma-describe talaga yung mga pangyayari in sequence kasi sobrang I was really floating the whole time. I had an opportunity to share the Word through the explanation of our church's mission and vision. As of this time, in the works na ang mga possible developments na we will help do sa area all for His glory. Ang haba ko lagi mag-blog kaya putulin ko na dito and let the pictures speak for themselves. Credits to Pastor Nathan Klein of Turning Point Church World Outreach Center for the pictures.

Our Pastors with the kids...

Pastor Jon leading worship. The worship team couldn't go full band kasi sa islands toh at mabigat mga instruments.

The welcome crowd!

In the works na ang development project for this area. 20 hectares to be donated to us by the patriarch of the farmer's association. He said, He will will bless us according to His glorious riches!

After lunch, snacks na naman! Ako yung girl na matakaw na nasa gitna! Super obvious. Salvaro pala yung kinakain namin. It's sort of a cassava crisp thingie with latik! Sarap!

Lunch! Araw-araw ganyan promise! Allergic ako pero natutuwa ako kasi Php1000/kilo ang lobster! Galing sa farm nila yan. Lahat ng food actually produced by the farmer's association.

The HS kids! All of them received Jesus that day! I couldn't ask for more!

Where we were housed. Nasabi ko talaga, "Mission trip ba 'toh?" Ang bongga kasi. Pag-aari ang building na yan ng farmer's association. Mejo mini-hotel ang dating niya pero di pa daw nila dinidevelop kaya konti lang available rooms. Nonetheless, tig-iisa kami ng double beds! Heaven talaga after a long, exhausting trip.

So ayun. High na high pa rin ako actually. Thank You Lord for showing us just another glimpse of how much you love us. For Your glory!

Mag-Shot: Almost!

I'm not into fashion magazines. And I'm really a spaz when it comes to dressing up and matching clothes with accessories. I don't consciously follow trends and my rule has always been to dress comfortably no matter what the occasion. But when I started seeing people in what-used-to-be my tiny geek world, dress up as our favorite anime and game characters (a.k.a the art of Cosplay) I began to develop interest in other people's ability to expressively wear their personality. Art has always fascinated me (in the traditional and classical form) but I never really saw fashion as another avenue where art could creatively and magically flow. Suddenly, color combinations and accessories mattered to me. I'd even spend a significant amount of time online reading about fashion trends just so I'd know. I still didn't have the inkling to totally immerse myself into that girly world (anime and books came first of course). But I was contented with just knowing what was in and what's considered to be so last season. Back then, it was Tokyo street fashion, then I discovered pink, and of course fashion trends in Europe and other fashion capitals of the world -- all this happening while the cosplay subculture in the country is slowly beginning to draw a large audience share.

 image copyright Alodia Gosiengifao and Tricia Gosingtian

Then came the cosplay phenomenon that is Alodia Gosiengfiao. So many people don't really admit it but Alodia and her personal brand in niche modelling (whatever you may want to call it) is greatly responsible for making cosplay a profitable venture and thus, getting it some mainstream media attention. And because I was so smitten by her (in a non-creepy way if I may add), I followed her blog. Sure, we were both from Anime Club but we were not really in the same circles. I got to know more about her through her blog and during conventions and also through the people I've worked with. I also checked out the stuff she was in and the things she's endorsing. That's when I got to know of a certain fashion magazine for teenagers. 

Alodia was featured in the said magazine and I wanted to see what she was like away from the cosplay world. I wasn't really planning on purchasing the said magazine but upon reaching National Bookstore some unknown force prompted me to just go ahead and buy the issue she was featured in. As I began browsing through the pages of the said mag, I realized how useful most of the features were and without knowing, I actually was able to read the whole thing even the fashion features and was fascinated. Sure, since it's for teens some stuff that were in their were a bit cliche but I didn't really minds. And before I even began to notice, I started buying issue after issue. That was when I realized that my love affair with said mag has truly begun and was blossoming. I later decided to e-mail the editor of the said mag to share my story. I wasn't really expecting anything from it. But then one fateful day after a stressful thesis meeting, I got an e-mail that is from nameofeditor@webaddress-of-the-mag.com. I was in a total shock. Why on earth would she be responding to my e-mail? Then I read what was inside and I almost literally fell off my seat. The editor said she liked my story and she wanted to give me a full-page feature. Apparently she liked my writing and doesn't want the whole thing published just in the editor's corner. She even gave me her personal yahoo messenger user ID so we can chat about what she wanted to accomplish with the page. She said the other magazine staff were interested in doing the feature and if everything goes well, my article will be featured and I'd be getting a share of the spotlight as well.

It would have been a great opportunity but I blew it. After that brief exchange, I got sick and went through what I still consider as the worst days of my life: thesis problem, a traumatic breakup and trouble with certain commitments. I was never able to get back to the magazine people. The moment I did, I received an e-mail that the editor who wanted to do my feature has resigned. I actually even bought the last issue that she was still the EIC to. And even until now, the poem she posted in her goodbye message is tacked on my wall reminding me that my deepest fear is not that "I'm inadequate". That has been an inspiration to me. 

The magazine has never been the same after she left so I generally stopped subscribing. And no I wasn't bitter; it's just that the magazine has taken on a different route. Whatever substance and depth I saw before has been replaced by the glitz and glamor of local showbiz and Hollywood. Or maybe I've changed. I don't know but even though the project didn't materialize, I was a better person after that experience.

I was able to work with another magazine after that. My life has taken on a different direction now and I'm interested in a lot of different things too. God has poured out so much passion for so many things in my heart today that the journey despite being bumpy has been such an amazing ride. I never really shared this with anyone but since I'm reaching another milestone in my life, I guess now is the time to tell this story.

And despite the popularity of online media and publications, I believe print is not dead and will live on. I'll be supporting that despite my longing for a Kindle. Hehe. So above is an ode to the printed word -- a lovely video from Anthology Magazine. 

Disappointment

Magtatagalog ako ngayon para mas totoo. Inspired ako by Jethro -- isang kathang-isip na character na binuhay ng isang teleseryeng kinakatuwaan namin ng Nanay ko ngayon ang Imortal. Tulad ko nagboblog din siya dito sa blogspot, at tulad ko ang dami ding bumabagabag sa kanya ngayon. Bagamat sobrang fantasy ng mga problema niya, pareho naman ang magnitude na ito sa reality ng mga issues ko. Una, di niya alam kung kaduwagan ang ginawa niyang pagtakbo mula sa taong maaaring nakakaalam sa katotohanan sa likod ng mga issues niya. Hindi niya sigurado kung dahil do'n may mapapahamak o napahamak na. Sa kanyang pagtakbo, akala niya mababaon na lang sa limot ang mga katanungang iyon. Pero hindi. Dahil ang totoo ay totoo at kahit saan ka magtago, hahabulin ka nito. Gaya niya marami rin akong tanong at disappointments na mas pinili kong itago na lang at ibaon. Subalit gaya niya, hinahabol na rin ako nito. At gaya niya nahihirapan akong magsinungaling sa sarili ko. At least ang blog na ito, bagama't matalinghaga ay totoo so eto kung ano lang ang totoo.

Kanina mejo may masakit na nangyari. Wag na nating idetalye kasi ayoko nang magdrama. Ang dami kasing excuses, dami pa dahilan. Pero in the midst of it all, bigla ko na-miss ang Dadad (Lolo ko sa father's side) ko. Kasi alam ko kahit magka-kandaleche-leche ang lahat, he wouldn't accept crap. Yun siya eh, kahit masakit, kahit baduy, kahit mukhang cheap, basta totoo dun siya. Walang halong kaplastikan, yung totoo lang. Tough love, ika nga. Pero mas tatanggapin ko yun kasi at least yun, totoo. Hindi pretentious. So sa araw na 'to, kahit nung buhay ka pa di tayo masyadong close, para sa'yo toh. Na-mimiss kasi talaga kita eh. 

New Layout, New Ventures

It has been a while since I last posted. And I vowed to keep this blog active. However, real life is catching up on me plus we've had internet problems for weeks hence the unintended hiatus. I changed my blog layout to reflect my current fascination for simplicity and the color blue. This is a standard blogger template but I'm bound to upgrade this soon once inspiration hits me. The header image will probably remain.

Also, we are thinking of putting up a new venture. I am actually busy taking care of that. Will be posting all about it later too. So that's it. Just a quick and rather really short update. Will post pictures too of the fire update once I get my room back. We have visitors and my nephew's going to get an operation so it's rather a bit chaotic at home right now. So yeah, just letting y'all know that I'm still alive.

Miss Philippines Venus Raj is Miss Universe 2010 4th Runner-up

 (image via: here)

We Filipinos are suckers for getting our proud little country into the limelight of the international stage hopefully for the right reasons (after the numerous road mishaps and the hostage crisis yesterday, we deserve a breather) and beyond Manny Pacquiao. Venus Raj did that today during the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant held in Madalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas despite her "major major blunder" during the question and answer portion. 

I guess I was a bit disappointed because after Miriam Quiambao, she was the only Pinay who came close to clinching the title; and it's been a while for us Filipinos to see one of our own make it as a finalist in one of the world's most prestigious competitions. The sad part is, the crown would have fit her beautifully. In my honest opinion, her exotic looks are a stand out. With a 22-inch waste line, she was exquisitely stunning in her swimwear; and she looked gorgeous, regal and elegant in her evening gown.

While I am no beauty pageant expert, I felt that she gave up after reaching the top five, probably too overwhelmed at the fact that she actually made it that far. The question too (minus the pressure and compared to those asked of the other candidates) was rather easy and personal. She was asked by William Baldwin (whom I remember vividly for his annoying role as Serena van der Woodsen's father on Gossip Girl) what she thought was her biggest mistake in life. I think it's great that she doesn't believe in regrets and have so far done nothing "major" in her 22 years of existence. What irked me in the way she answered though, was the way she continuously referred to Baldwin as a "sir" and why on earth she thanked him for that "(un)wonderful" question. It's a very typical Filipino beauty pageant filler of an answer.

In a way too, her continuous reference to Baldwin as a "sir" reflected our hierarchical society (even when the world is moving towards a system of equality and away from societies where social classes dictate the way of life for most) and and inferiority to other nations. In the Philippines, foreigners especially Americans  are always referred to as "sirs" or "ma'am s" for all the wrong reasons. While I appreciate the fact that Filipinos are (too) respectful, I still think that our use of titles are more of results of our feelings of inferiority towards other developed nations rather than as a genuine sign of respect. This is an awful generalization against my own culture, but it's a fact everywhere in the country. I've worked with Americans and people from other countries, and from my own experience, they would like nothing more than to be treated as equals with the right amount of respect and without the unnecessary attempts at patronizing. 

I think as a country, in order to actually become known throughout the world as a mighty nation, we should start moving forward and join hands with other nations in creating a truly border-less world where anyone can be whoever he/she wants to be. 

Despite all this, I am mighty proud of Venus Raj. I think she represented our country well. Her life story at the same time is really inspiring and I know from this point forward, she would inspire many. Though it's wonderful that she feels that she has done no "major major" (here we go again) blunder in her life, I think mistakes do matter because without them, we wouldn't learn. And lessons learned, make us better persons. But all in all, congratulations Venus!

Back, Surigao City Fire

It's awful to be sick. I was sick for more than a week two weeks ago. I literally couldn't get out of bed as a result and my entire body hurt. Flu has never hit me this bad. And when I finally did recover, work backlog consumed most of my time that it became impossible to even go online. My facebook page has never been this stagnant; and I'm unable to answer non-work related e-mails. I miss the internet and I miss blog-hopping. But now, I'm back with a vengeance. I will be visiting other blogs later. 

On to a different thing, I am sad to report that almost 200 families were left homeless after a fire razed through one of our city's biggest slum areas last Saturday. The fire started in the block directly in front of our church/ministry center. In the middle of all the chaos, I couldn't even do anything except text the worship team who at that time was supposed to start their practice for Sunday's worship service. I had to be in a beauty pageant in the school where I teach and I couldn't leave because I was at the judging table tabulating scores and also judging the students' pirate costumes. It's a relief that the fire never got to our church and no one I know got hurt or lost their properties. It is sad though that almost all of our neighbors lost their homes and properties to the fire. An old lady, whom I was told was paralyzed, didn't make it our alive either. There were two children who got trapped and died too. The houses in the area were made of combustible materials; so as a result, it took three hours to completely put out the fire. Here are some of the photos of the fire courtesy of Ma'am Sharon Guerra:

And what was left of the area after:

We praise God that our church is safe. Times like these are truly difficult even for us who actually made it out unscathed. However, looking at what was left, especially seeing the place so ghastly truly breaks our hearts. Even though the reasons are hard to understand at times, our Lord God remains sovereign and in control of all. Not everyone in church is able to give a lot including our family (with financial difficulties all over the place). But yesterday, even in our nothingness, we decided to pool in whatever we can give just to be able to give to those who lost everything. My mom and I raided our closets and so did the other members of our church. In total, we were able to give away 5 sacks of clothes and 2 sacks of footwear. I am also collecting pledges. Some of my friends have pledge to donate clothes, rice and toiletries. We will accept donations for as long as they will come. We are also willing to provide temporary shelter to those who have nowhere else to go. If you are willing to give something, either in cash or kind, please contact me through my facebook page.

Updates on the donations and all to be posted soon.

Unexpected Gift Art

My artist friend Jherry was working on my aunt's soon-to-open medical spa marketing campaign when he stumbled upon my stick figure drawings.*dies of shame here* So yeah, I really really love art but I know how much it doesn't love me back. I however, am for visual/graphical expression so with stick figures I somehow manage to visually express my thoughts and experiences. My friend doesn't openly criticize but he doesn't lie as well; so I was pretty happy when he said he enjoyed my drawings and even commented that somehow they are more "expressive". Two days later, I found this in the same folder where I save my stick figure drawings to:

He called it romantic rain and indeed it is. But boo! This is maybe his attempt to draw something stick-figure like but it fails to be anything ugly. It's still too pretty to be considered crude and man do I love the blush on both the girl and the boy's cheeks. Hehe!

Jherry illustrates for me and for most of our clients. Manga-style art is actually his specialty (since he loves anime like me!) but he occasionally does graphics design work and does character commissions over at Deviantart. He's still a college student though and his time to do freelance work is extremely limited but he's so talented that I sometimes coerce him to accept more projects. His artworks are actually diverse so do check his site out here.

Fullness of Joy

Jesus is indeed the sum of my desires and the fullness of my joy... I marvel in His presence.

Bandslam

It's been a while since I last wrote something here and I do have an explanation for that but that will have to be done in the next entry because it's so hilarious that it deserves its own spotlight. For now however, I'd like to focus on reviewing one of the latest movies I saw. Our little city has not had any cinema/movie theater for at least 15 years now and since this is such a small city, theaters have difficulty operating profitably and has focused on showing either titillating films and/or those movies with mass appeals (mostly locally produced ones) that are so corny you'd drown in 10 truckloads of corn kernels while watching them. So anyway, during movie night we watched Bandslam.

I'm probably one of the very few people who actually prefer feel-good, predictable, and teenybopper films. I know saying that contradicts the other statement I made about corny films but with all due respect to the filmmakers of our nation, most Pinoy movies are really worse than the worst Hollywood-produced teenybopper movie you've seen. So knowing that Bandslam starred the likes of Vanessa Hudgens, I was expecting it to be a High School Musical-esque kinda film. But I was extremely wrong. Sure the movie had all the elements of the classic teenybopper/feel good/musical-themed movies but there's so much charm in the film that it somehow manages to elevate it self two notches higher than the movies of the same genre/target audience.

To recap, Bandslam is about two (plus one later) teenagers forming an unusual bond through their shared love of music. They would later assemble a crew of like-minded misfits and social outcasts to form a rock group that would later perform in a battle of the bands competition called "Bandslam". Because of its coming-of-age and musical themes, the movie had trite moments but the story presentation was handled so tastefully that it actually delivers despite the rather formulaic parts. Plus, all of the main characters: Vanessa Hudgens (Sa5m - pronounced as Sam with a silent 5), Gaelan Connell (Will Burton) and Aly Michalka (Charlotte Barnes) actually developed rather beautifully that you'd grow to love them despite the stereotypical natures of their characters. Plus, Lisa Kudrow is her usual brilliant self. Lisa plays Will's mom and unlike most teen film moms, the approach she gave her character is refreshing and becomes an integral part of the progression of the movie. On the plus side too, the film's source of conflict is rather unusual. Typical rom-coms would have its two main characters falling out because someone either cheated or was being untrue to himself/herself. While Bandslam had those bits, Charlotte's experiment and her reasons why as one of the films sources of conflicts was rather new and a welcome relief.

I also enjoyed Will's growth especially when he was placed under such a pressure situation. I was expecting him to breakdown but instead he used his pain to recover and made an amazing introduction for the band. Despite his internal conflicts, I do believe that the maturity he has gained from all those experiences made him a credible manager for such a band. Vanessa Hudgens was easy to love too. The character she played was admittedly very reminiscent of the Adam's family's Wednesday (with the black clothes and monotone) voice but when she started gaining confidence you'd see a sparkle in her eyes that makes you believe that she was actually born to perform. The supporting cast offers a great comic relief too. I especially loved the drummer and his affections for Will's mom. The bassists and guitarist are also perfect for each other even the brass players. The band also has characters who only knew how to play classical music (one is even obsessed with keeping her cello tuned) and watching them grapple with new types of music is really fun.

Another plus factor is of course the movie's music. It has everything from punk, rock, reggae, rap, ska and so much more. Plus, I really enjoyed how balanced "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" in terms of identity and the kind of music they played. Phil's song (Somebody to Fall Back On) was such a sweet sweet song that I actually almost cried listening to it. I Can't Go On, I'll Go On's version of Everything I Own (Vanessa Hudgen's rendition) was also so amazing. American Idol ought to learn from them on how to make something familiar your own; and how to make it modern and relevant while still retaining its nostalgic feel. And also, the cameo appearance of Will's hero was so sweet! You'll have to find out who it is.

Overall, I'm pretty happy about the movie. It's kind of sad though that the film didn't do well commercially. Critically however, I believe it's a gem. Would have enjoyed watching it in the cinema but watching it on DVD is also really worth it. And no, actually owning the DVD is way cooler than just renting it. I believe it's worth the money and I feel like I can actually watch this again if only for the music. So in conclusion, here's a video montage of the film with Someone to Fall Back On in the background. Enjoy!

Jaded

So it's a little crazy for me this week. So many things to do and read. I have to come up with a marketing campaign, prepare for a seminar, come up with graphic designs (I don't do them; I just conceptualize how they're supposed to look and the artist and I have good chemistry) and write tons of papers! Plus, there are essays I need to grade. So that's me studying my seminar materials and trying to grade essay papers all at the same time. When I get bored reading my students' essays I study my seminar notes. That way you don't waste time staring into space wondering why on earth your student wrote what he/she wrote and expect you to NOT GIVE him/her a big fat F for his/her gobbledygook. Doing two things at the same time also makes it less boring. Haha! And yes, I try to stay away from the computer while studying and making the grades; but apparently here I am again. So just a short update. I have to get back to that other table like NOW.

BC Bloggers 4 Now Open!

I have been waiting for this to open again and finally it's here! BC Bloggers 4 is now open. So if you're new to blogging and is finding it hard to gain links to your blog;  tired of exchanging links one blog at a time; and looking for friends in the blogosphere, then you absolutely have to join this batch. Here's how:

1. Make a blog post about BC Bloggers 4 to help spread the word. Invite your blog friends everywhere!

2. Put the BC Bloggers badge in your sidebar. The code can be found here.

3. Make a page dedicated to BC Bloggers where you intend to post the links. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the navigation bar or at the sidebar as long as it is linked in the homepage.

4. Once done with 1,2, and 3, fill up the application form.

 

Pretty simple, huh? So join us now!

White Lady

This happened on our way home. We usually take leisure drives before heading home and this is what we saw:

It was a bit of a shocker especially with the effect of the moon and all. We consoled ourselves saying it was probably just another human who decided to take a stroll in the middle of the street at midnight (yes, we go home that late!), wearing an all-white flowy gown. Who does that? What was creepy though is that we did pass by her and got a little close but I don't think I remember seeing a face.

Ryan told me it was probably a white lady. A White Lady is a type of female ghost purported to appear in many rural areas, and who is supposed to have died or suffered trauma in life. This is the Philippines' version of White Lady according to Wikipedia:

White Ladies are popular ghost story topics in the Philippines. Along with other Philippine mythological creatures and ghostly beings like the Manananggal, Tiyanak, Kapre and Wak-Wak, White Ladies are often used as subjects that tend to convey horror and mystery usually aimed at young children for storytelling purposes. Sightings of white ladies are common among folk from around the country, and usually every town and barrio has its own "White Lady" story to tell.

The most prominent one is the White Lady of Balete Drive, in Quezon City. It is said that it is a ghost who appears as a long-haired woman in a white dress. According to legend, she was raped and killed by Japanese soldiers during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II. Most of the stories that have come out about her were told by taxi drivers doing the graveyard shift. In other instances it is said that when solitary people drive by Balete Drive in the wee hours of the morning, they tend to see the face of a woman in white in the rear view mirror for a split second before the apparition disappears. Some accidents on this road are blamed on the White Lady.

Another story tells about a taxi crossing the dreaded Balete Drive and a very beautiful woman was asking for a ride. The taxi driver looks behind and the woman looks like her face was full of blood and bruises. The taxi driver escaped from the taxi from fear.

Many sources have declared this legend was actually manufactured by a reporter in the 1950s, and also possibly a combination of multiple stories from the area

 Okay so I'm going to end it here because it is seriously creeping me out.

You Are for Me by Kari Jobe

This song really spoke to me when I first heard it. In times of weakness and great sadness, I remind myself of God's promise that tells me whatever I am going through He is for me because He planned to prosper me and give me hope and a future. His plans are perfect and pleasing and I ought to trust that.

The chorus says:

I know that You are for me
I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that You have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who You are

So amidst despair and feelings of emptiness, I remind myself who He is. He has defeated death and conquered the world. He gave His own life for me even when I am unworthy, even if I've constantly rejected His love; just so I can live in freedom from my own shamefulness. I love because He loved me first.

So to my bestfriend, if you ever get to read this, I dedicate this post to you. Run into His arms. His love does not run dry; His touch restores life. And He is for you, as He is for me. I love you with the love of Christ.

Surigao City Weather

I used to hate the second half of the year. Even if our country is in the tropical region, our little city in the south had it bad during these times. June to December was always characterized by either typhoons or heavy downpours (without the wind). Flying debris have actually become a typical site here. Aside from that, it's difficult to get out of bed as it was almost always cold (for a tropical region I mean). And since some parts of the city had pour drainage systems, you can always expect them to be flooding. So before daily weather for Surigao City was a toss up between the following:

However, something's become really strange here. June has come and gone and there's not been a slightest drizzle. Not to mention we've had terrible power outages because the water level in the biggest hydroelectric plant in this area of the country has gone down to its critical level. Apparently, this is global warming touching base. So after its onset, weather patterns here have turned to this:

I used to sing the "rain rain go away" song before. But now I miss it terribly that I forgot what it sounds like, tastes like (ah yes!), smells like (oh the wet earth) and looks like (the cool little needles of water!). Rain, rain please come again before I lose all my weight simmering in the sun.

The Princess Bride

It was Ryan's birthday two days ago. We had a lovely dinner with the family at the restaurant called Spectacular View. (Pictures are yet to be uploaded because he has them.) The view wasn't really that spectacular. The entire place could really use a bit of ambiance and re-decorating, but we had a great dinner nonetheless. On the plus side, Ryan got two birthday cakes, both extremely delicious! One of them was an unexpected present from a special student who's extremely generous with everything. (Thanks, Madam!) So anyway, I thought the day ended with just that dinner and with us distributing the cake to the customers of LOLZ (the business we put up together -- an Internet Cafe), but no it didn't. See, Ryan's an unpredictable sweet guy who'd research, download and watch cheesy, romantic flicks with me. He also knows my "anti-social" nature and thus, has downloaded a ton of indie films for me (err... both of us) to enjoy. Guys are known to love the action-filled types of films but I'm not really into that. The more conversations there are in the movie, the more likely I'd watch it. And Ryan can actually sit through something that would put others to sleep. So we had another movie night and we watched The Princess Bride.

I feel like such a loser for discovering this wonderful gem of a movie only now when it was released way back in 1987 and has probably been shown in Cinemax a couple of times or something. Plus, it stars Mandy Patinkin in his best role ever. It prolly was one of the first feature films Robert Wright Penn has done too and she was so adorably pretty and innocent. Ah, the magic of true love and a beautiful narrative. I love it that the film was able to preserve the witty narrative style of the book where it was based from. And as the grandfather said, the movie has everything: comedy, romance, adventure, pirates, torture, sword fight, battle of wits, strength and steel; what's not to love? What's more, the screenplay is so clever it brings me to tears and makes me burst with happiness all at the same time. I love how each characters fit into their stereotypical role and how that played out so well for the film. Big LOLs for the Albino, the Miracle worker and his wife. Everyone has a story to tell and that darn, Prince Humperdinck is so easy to be disgusted upon. Vizzini is more lovable than he is.

One thing that's most memorable about the film is it's brilliant screenplay. The lines are forever etched in my memory. I even made a drawing for my most favorite one. I'm probably going to do series of drawings for this film just for the LOLz of it. There are a lot of them in the movie's facebook page. Even until now, the film has a fiercely loyal following and I just became part of the cult. Overall, this is such a charming film and no matter how much of a cynic you are, it somehow makes you believe that truly love really does conquer it all. The film is also one of the most faithful and tasteful transition from the written word to the silver screens. Comic book transitions to the big screen have disappointed me for so long (with the exception of Spiderman) and book to movie transitions suck big time (hello, Twilight and Nicholas Sparks based films -- not that I'm a fan but they become cornier in the movies).

So, I really thank Ryan for this one. It's his birthday and yet, he's the one who made me happy. I guess that's what true love is for me. ^_^

Stick Figures

I don't know how to draw but I love expressing myself through images. And this blog: Diary of a Fair Weather Diver inspired me to pursue the only art I know how to do -- stick figures! Check out all of her wonderful drawings and mini-comics. They're all really funny. Hehe! Anyway, please become a fan of or like the stick figure page over at facebook by clicking this. It's so cool to know how many people love stick figures the way I do. Yay! So here's my first art. It's about my blog, catching that sunshine in your cup! I was never really good at art but I love looking at them. I attempted drawing (seriously) at some point in my life but failed miserably. I guess you'll just have to make do of what you can draw. Did this in Adobe Photoshop though using my trusty Hello Kitty mouse. I know how to use Photoshop but I'm not an expert so I'll probably stick with something crude. Like this.

Cheating in Class

 (image via here)

You've had zero hours of sleep because you spent the entire night trying to memorize theories, equations and a whole bunch of mambo jumbos that explains how societies allocate scarce resources to satisfy people's wants and needs. Your notes are scattered all over your desk (or the floor) and practically all the pages of your book are filled with neon highlights that emphasizes all the important information that you need to remember in order to survive. You've eaten more than a fare share of junk food and consumed gallons of caffeine in order to last the night. And then you ponder why, with the abundance of time you've had before, you never thought of allocating them to memorizing and understanding the things you were already supposed to know. Welcome to the night before examination periods where students cram, panic, and try as hard as they can to shove up all the information they can possibly process in 24 hours (or less) in their brains, all for the ultimate goal of attaining that seemingly elusive passing mark. This may not apply to everybody but at least a large majority of students all over the world have nights like these. But when that fateful exams day eventually comes, all systems would suddenly and (most of the time unsurprisingly) fail and none of the information hurriedly digested the night before are available for recall in the memory banks. Exam questions then transform into un-decipherable encrypted data and the chances of making it through have gone from barely possible to mission impossible.

When this happens, students turn to one of their last and most ingenious of tricks -- cheating! The art of cheating is one that is perfected throughout time. It takes skill, perseverance, determination and cunning to be executed seamlessly. It evolved together with the advancement of technology and has now taken on numerous forms. Students have now developed elaborate and fail-safe systems of cheating; some of which have been widely successful while the others have caused grief even to top students. It has been embedded deep within the academic culture and putting an end to it has proven to be futile.

Schools have now set-up stricter policies to counteract cheating such as -- no cellphones during exams; bags and all notes must be left in lockers or placed in front of the class; and worse, students have to be frisked before they're allowed to take the exam (yes, I've seen that happen!) As a teacher you must exert a significant amount of effort to ensure that your exams are cheat-proof (if you can only put anti-cheating charms in the exam papers that would be neat). You need to have a hawk's eye to detect the most subtle of movements and you'd need a bat's ear to hear the faintest of whispers. But despite all of these, cheating persists and prevails.

So what should a teacher do in order to minimize if not eliminate the incidence of cheating? In my two years of teaching I've learned a trick or two that has helped significantly reduce the number of students in my class who resort to cheating as a means of getting through a course and I'd like to share them here:

1. Take the focus away from grades -- most teachers think that terrorizing students with failing marks will somehow push them to work harder. That may move at least three to four students in class to react positively but unfortunately, the good majority of the class will not only respond with hate, but will try to outsmart you whenever they can just to exact revenge on you for being unreasonable even if you have the best of intentions. Instead of constantly reminding them that you hold their fate in your precious little hands, stress to them the significance of the things they ought to learn in class. After all, the end goal for classes is not just achieving a high grade but actually learning from them. If you take away the stress of grades the focus will be on learning instead of achieving. Students will no longer need to cheat because they've actually learned something.

2. Prioritize depth over breadth -- You hand out the course syllabus at the beginning of the class with high expectations and with a wide range of topics and learning objectives. You throw piles and piles of reading materials to the young ones believing that it's the only way to achieve the goals you've set for them. But the truth of the matter is this, your class is not the only one your students will have to attend to. We've all been students once and we know what it's like to have heaps of reading materials to go through. And because we have to do so many, we end up taking shortcuts for some subjects (like cheating) in order to focus to the ones we think are more important. The key is to streamline. If there's a range of reading lists for a single topic focus on the material that would best enable the students to learn what it is they're supposed to learn. Slow deep learning is still best. They'd remember those that they've learned deeply. Even if you've covered hundreds of materials, students will immediately forget them if they don't really have a clear understanding of them. As a result, it will be as if your class never happened.

3. Make learning fun by being creative in class -- Sell your class by understanding your students' culture and relating to them. You may find hearing a barrage of facts entertaining but not everyone does. Find a common interest among your students and build from there. All classes even the dullest ones have practical applications and it is your duty as a teacher to discover what those are. Sure, teachers have different personalities and interests, but classes are not about them, they're supposed to be about the students. There's more at stake for them than for you. (Here's when I remember Mr. Miyagi telling Daniel that there's no such thing as a bad student, only bad a teacher -- Karate Kid I) And when the class is fun, students will absorb the lessons like extra-absorbent sponges and learning goals will be achieved. As a result, exams will be easier for them.

4. Be a mentor not an authority figure -- Ah, the lure of power and domination; for what end? I believe it is better to be feared out of respect than to be feared out of hate. If you're their mentor they will have so much respect for you, that they will never try to cross you and cheating never becomes an option (or less of an option).

5. Don't ever try to show off by emphasizing how difficult the subject you teach is (even if it really is) -- It's like telling the students they can't do it. Instead, encourage them to take it as a challenge and remind them that they're capable. You once survived it right? Always emphasize the practicality of the subject. That's how I've learned to love my business law and statistics classes despite the number of jargons and other technicalities.

6. If all of the above still fail, make your exams cheat-proof -- Schools have different policies on the type of exams a teacher can give. Some schools require multiple choice exams, while others are okay with essay questions. It's very difficult to cheat on essay exams; but checking them can be such hard work. For essay exams, try to limit the number of sentences a student can use to give his/her answer. For multiple choice exams on the other hand, you can probably give different sets of exams for each row or line. Exam questions need not be entirely different. You can have different sets of options for each exams -- like instead of using ABCDs, you can make use of numbers or other letters in the alphabet. It's fun to form some sort of a code with the choices.

Cheating is really something we (both teacher and student) will encounter when we go to school. It's beginning is unknown and how it will progress in time is not for certain. But one thing is clear though, we go to school in order to learn. More than anything, that has to be the priority whether you're there as a student or as a teacher.

P.S. First exams in the school where I teach will be next week and I am currently revising the exam questions. I sincerely hope, all my students will do well.

Who Am I

(image via here)

Who I Am In Christ
I AM GOD’S…
· possession Genesis 17:8/ 1Cor 6:20
· child John 1:12
· workmanship Ephesians 2:10
· friend James 2:23
· temple 1 Cor 3:16/ 6:16
· vessel 2 Timothy 2:2
· co-laborer 1 Timothy 5:18
· witness Acts 1:8
· soldier 2 Timothy 2:3
· ambassador 2 Cor 5:20
· building 1 Cor 3:9
· husbandry 1 Cor 3:9
· minister/instrument Acts 26:16 / 1 Tim 4:6
· chosen Ephesians 1:4
· beloved Romans 1:7/ 2 Thess 2:13
· precious jewel Malachi 3:17
· heritage 1 Peter 5:3
I HAVE BEEN…
· redeemed by the blood Rev 5:9
· set free from sin /condemnation Rom 8:1-2
· set free from Satan’s control Col 1:13
· set free from Satan’s kingdom Eph 2
· chosen before foundation of world Eph 1:4
· predestined to be like Jesus Ephesians 1:11
· forgiven of all my trespasses Col 2:13
· washed in the blood of the Lamb Rev 1:5
· given a sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7
· given the Holy Spirit 2 Cor 1:22
· adopted into God’s family Romans 8:15
· justified freely by his grace Romans 3:24
· given all things pertaining to life 2 Pet 1:3
· given great and precious promises 2 Pet 1:4
· given ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor 1:22
· authority over the power of enemy Lk 10:19
· access to God Ephesians 3:12
· been given wisdom Ephesians 1:8
I AM…
· complete in him Colossians 2:10
· free forever from sin’s power Romans 6:14
· sanctified 1 Cor 6:11
· meet for the Master’s use 2 Timothy 2:21
· loved eternally 1 Peter 1:5 /
· eternally kept in the palm of his hand Jn 10:29
· kept from falling Jude 1:24
· kept by the power of God 1 Peter 1:5
· not condemned Romans 8:1-2
· one with the Lord 1 Cor 6:17
· on my way to heaven John 14:6
· quickened by his mighty power Eph 2:1
· seated in heavenly places Eph 1:3
· the head and not the tail Deut 28:13
· light in the darkness Matthew 5:14
· candle in a dark place Matthew 5:15
· city set on a hill Matthew 5:14
· salt of the earth Matthew 5:13
· his sheep Ps 23 / Psalms 100:3/ John 10:14
· a citizen of heaven 1 Peter 2:11
· hidden with Christ in God Psalms 32:7
· protected from the evil one 1 John 5:18
· kept by the power of God 1 Peter 1:5
· secure in Christ Jn 10:28-29
· set on a Rock Psalms 40:2
· more-than-a-conqueror Romans 8:37
· born again 1 Peter 1:23
· a victor 1 John 5:4
· healed by his strips Is 53:6
· covered by blood of Jesus Rev 12:11, 1 Pet 1:19
· sheltered under his wing Psalms 91:4
· hidden in secret place of the Almighty Ps 91:1
I HAVE…
· access to the Father Romans 5:2
· a home in heaven waiting for me Jn 14:1-2
· all things in Christ 2 Cor 5:17
· a living hope 1 Peter 1:3
· an anchor to my soul Hebrews 6:19
· a hope that is sure and steadfast Heb 6:19
· authority to tread on serpents Luke 10:19
· power to witness Acts 1:8
· the tongue of the learned Isaiah 50:4
· the mind of Christ 1 Cor 2:16
· boldness and access Hebrews 10:19
· peace with God Romans 5:1
· faith as a grain of mustard seed Luke 17:6
I CAN…
· do all things through Christ Philp 4:13
· find mercy and grace to help Heb 4:16
· come boldly to the throne of grace Heb 4:16
· quench all the fiery darts Eph 6:16
· tread on the serpent Luke 10:19
· declare liberty to captives Isaiah 61:1
· pray always and everywhere Luke 21:36
· chase a thousand Joshua 23:10
· defeat (overcome) the enemy Rev 12:11
· tread Satan under foot Rom 16:20
I CANNOT…
· be separated from God’s love Rom 8:35-39
· be perish or be lost John 10:28, John 3:16
· be moved Psalms 16:8
· be taken out of my Father’s hand John 10:29
· be charged or accused Romans 8:33
· be condemned 1 Cor 11:32

from: Awake Kings

Vintage Finds

I went shopping today! But since our sleepy little town doesn't have any malls nor any shopping destinations to go to (not discouraging tourists though; shopping isn't really something we sell anyway) I went to the most unusual of places: my grandparents house's basement! Yep! An Aunt who lives there told me that certain "stuff" from the basement was going to be thrown out that day. She knew I loved books so she told me to pick out those that I'd love. Termites were eating away the cellulose - rich pages of my grandma's book collection so they had to be thrown out. To my surprise however, I got more than what I bargained for. Look at all these stuff! All vintage, acquired prolly during the 60s or 70s! I rescued them from their garbage dump destination and here they are sitting in our living room awaiting their new mission assignments as decors for either my room or our workplace. So what do we have here? The big brown box thingie is a vintage make-up kit. It probably belongs to my grandma as it contains some of her stuff. It's so pretty I knew I just have to find a new use for it and I think I already know what I'll use it for. Then, in front of the make-up kit is the classic FOX'S candy box my grandpa used to own. It's so colorful and retro! I remember stealing a few of his candies back then. He always had this on his bedside table. Then I found Japanese red boxes and some other ceramic trinkets. Oh I love the painting too! I'm planning to create a wall art of some sort in my room and it'd be a wonderful piece to add. I'm so excited! I'm going to start decorating soon. Yay!

Random, Flowers

Little things brighten my day especially those that give a splash of color to a monochromatic room. Didn't notice this corner of our living room until this morning when I finally woke up early. I'm not a morning person so I never see things with that much light; especially light that comes the morning sun. So I thought wow, my Mom got us flowers and they're extremely pretty! It's weird too because she rarely has time especially now that she's on a night shift (she's a nurse) but I know much she loves decorating as much as I do. So then I went near the beautiful bunch and tried to touch the pink and orange ones. To my surprise however, they had none of the delicateness one would expect from such pretty little things. And also, they didn't smell of anything. Non-fragrant flowers smell of water and earth but no not these babies. It was only then that I realized that they were plastics! Haha! Do they look plastic to you? XD

Desk Journal 1, Ukay Finds, Second Hand Stuff

Been in agony for the past two days cleaning and sorting out stuff that I've accumulated for a while now. I've thrown out like a heap of junk (with due consideration of course to those that can still be DIY-ed to form other interesting decors or used in the work office/ministry center office) already but it's still surprising to see so many stuff left! I particularly needed to organize my desk because I do a lot of writing in my room which is very crucial to the freelance stuff that I do. Anyway, I know this state of calm in my room wouldn't last for more that two days so I needed to document just to remind myself that yes, at times, I am capable of some sort of order. So here goes:

These are the stuff behind my laptop (which you will see later). Hate the lighting but this is actually the best it can get with the equipment I have. I seriously need to do something about the lighting of this room. I replace bulbs like every month plus only two out of four dimmer bulbs actually work! There are electrical issues that need to be fixed but we still don't have the budget for it as of this time. So as you can see, I have an assortment of pens and pencils. I just love looking at them. The feather Death Note pen is out of place but I have nowhere else to put it. Meanwhile, the papyrus Egyptian painting are gifts from the former Mayor. They're precious to me even if they're normal tourist souvenirs from Egypt (he went for a conference on good governance). The Mayor gave them to me after the work I did for one of his speech-presentations. Both clocks (pink and yellow Belldandy) don't have batteries right now (I don't really use them anyway). They were all given to me. On the other hand, I got the picture frames from Christmas Parties (I always get frames!).

My old Jigglypuff (laptop) still works wonders for me despite the shabby appearance. Hello kitties on the right side of the desk; all given to me either as (speaking engagement) tokens or as gifts. There's one there given by one of my younger cousins because she said she wanted to add to my collection (cute!).

This area is where the speakers should go but I don't have huge speakers right now so I converted this into a picture board. Random photos of me and Ry, my family, college friends, pre-school friends, and other stuff. The pink dolphin study lamp is again a gift from my friends Grace and Ram. The Majin Buu ash tray serves as storage for certain accessories. Got it from Comic Alley (haha I do buy something once in a while) from way back in college! It was on sale and extremely cute so I bought it immediately! The tiny Hello Kitty creatures are from Davao. I can't remember when or why I bought them but my cousin Jacqui loves playing "pretend" with them when she's here in my room. We'd tell stories using them as characters so they serve a purpose.The purple M&M plushie and the American Idol toy beside it is from a package sent by our mother church, TPCWOC. Hehe asked it from one of the kids (the original recipients of the package) and replaced them with bigger presents.

My anime loot. I don't have the best stuff in the world but love all of 'em as they are once again gifts! The comic party figure in particular (the only original figure here) is from the peeps from Otakuzine. The gashapons (Bleach, Naruto and Death Note) are from Ryan and Earvin. The puzzles are gifts from Kuya Cocoy and Ate Lotlot (of Child Evangelism Fellowship) who saw anime stuff during their trip to Malaysia and remembered me!

The other table where most of my paperwork go (underneath and they're a mess so I'm not showing them. Haha!) So what I have here are ukay finds! I love things with character and I've had a long time love affair with bargain shopping. Charity (the porcelain doll) is a purchase from an antique store in Cebu. I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. The Japanese doll house (or at least half of it) is a find in the Japanese surplus store in Cagayan de Oro. My mom and I frequent surplus shop for great finds! She has like a tone of ceramic and porcelain stuff from these stores. By the way, we also bought a Roland piano from one of these Japanese surplus stores for only Php23,000! Checked the price of it online and found out that it's current market price is at least Php150,000! Earvin, my brother who play the piano, almost collapsed upon getting it. And those that you see there are original Louis Vuitton and Ferragamo bags and clutches. Oh the other brown one is a vintage Gucci. And guess what, they're ukay finds! People from all over the place have offered to buy them from me, but no way man! I should probably get dust bags from them though. Hehe! There's more hello kitty stuff there (gifts again) and my colorful bible (a gift from my college buddy, Rhea during my 20th birthday!). Every page is indeed life!

This is the shelf above the desk. The plushies above are my purchases from different anime conventions. The Japanese kokeshi doll is from my Pop. He studied in Japan for a while and brought home what I thought was the weirdest doll I've seen that time. The Harry Potter figure (which is actually a bottled liquid soap) is an original souvenir from Warner Brothers sold during the first Harry Potter movie debut in London! My Aunt gave it to me way back in 2002 or whenever the Sorcerer's Stone movie came out.

And last but not least, the airconditioner area that doubles as a dresser. I'm on a Herbalife diet by the way and it has worked wonders for me. More plushies and some of the stuff I use.

So there you have it! I'm still re-decorating the other parts of my room and my bed is still in chaos right now. Once I'm done, I'll prolly post pictures. Still surfing the net for lighting ideas. Help!

Home Decorating, Indie Films, Medieval Music

I've been dormant  for nearly three years in the world wide web. Not that anyone would notice nor care really; but since I'm devoid of anything profound to say, I just want to announce that I am back or at least I plan to create an online presence starting today.

It was way back in 2007 since I last maintained both a blog and a site. Back then, I didn't have a definite purpose other than to keep an online diary where I would speak to myself (which often helps in my quest to make sense of everything around me). But real life suddenly took a hold of me (almost drowning me at some points) so writing became a struggle rather than something therapeutic. Between then and now, I've learned so many new things about the things I am able to directly perceive. But more importantly, I've discovered a lot about who I am. Starting from this post and in some later I'll be sharing some of the things I've come to love/like and explore with a sense of wonder. I guess in a way they make me see life a little bit brighter; definitely drops of sunshine in my cup!

1.  I'm a sucker for DIY projects and interior decorating makes my heart beat faster. I recently fell in love with Apartment Therapy.The site has been around for a while now and I feel kind of a loser for having discovered it only now. But I'm glad I did. I now have a zillion ideas on what to do with our future house so we ought to seriously start saving soon. To put certain DIY's to practice, I did do some renovations to our "command center" at work but the walls and lighting still need a lot of work. I will be posting pictures of that soon.
2. I've gotten into "indie films" with Ryan these past few months. We've seen a lot of movies (we actually have movie night every night). I guess I got tired of the usual Hollywood stuff so getting into the indie spirit has given the two of us interesting new perspectives about everything, even death. I love the treatment they give to these films, especially the storytelling and the cinematography -- aspects I often find somewhat lacking in most Hollywood films (even those people have declared to be profound). These are some of the current faves (will probably be talking about each one of them a little later):

3. I've discovered Heather Dale and my fascination for medieval - themed songs such as Mordred's Lullaby: We have decided to do a medieval wedding. It's close to impossible to pull off especially here in our sleepy little city, but we are just as determined.



This song is kind of a lullaby to me as well even if the lyrics are so depressing. Heather's voice and storytelling are so powerful that I can't help but be drawn in. Somehow I feel Morgan/Morgana's pain and probably the loathing she has for Mordred's father (in most legends they say it's King Arthur). Even in her son's lullaby she talks about his loyalty that must only be to her. They are both so destroyed not knowing their place in the great destiny that was actually laid before them. It's sad when you choose to harness your potential for evil; but it is sadder to know that you decided to do that because evil got to you first.

I still have a whole lot more but it's almost 5:00 a.m. so I'm ending with the lullaby above. More cups of sunshine for everyone, next time!