If you were given a roundtrip plane ticket to paradise but had to travel alone, would you go? Hell yeah! And that’s just what I did a week before my 23rd birthday – traveled to Coron, Palawan alone.
Eat Pray Love in Coron
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Holy Week with the Moriones
For holy week 2012, instead of dying of boredom in the house, I hopped on a bus and “Titanic” to visit the island of Marinduque and experience the Moriones Festival. The travel was exhausting but it was sure all worth it. In the few days I was there, I fell in love with Marinduque and didn’t want to leave.
Take Me Back to Malasimbo!
When I first learned about Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival 2012, I invited some friends to come along but I was sure that the trip wouldn’t push through – knowing that we have to travel to Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro and buy tickets that would cost us a thousand bucks at least each. Add to that the fact that ALL of the friends that I invited were either disinterested, don’t have a budget, or had a prior scheduled trip. I was ready to give up when the sole companion that I managed to convince to come, ehem, Kathleen, ehem, backed out 2 weeks before the trip. As the always enthusiastic person that I am, I have already bought two tickets for us when ehem, Kathleen, ehem, gave me the go signal. Yes, the thought of going alone actually crossed my mind. Basta kahit anong mangyari, pupunta ko sa Malasimbo! With 2 weeks left, I tried again and alas, I found a Malasimbo buddy in my officemate, Beep! Although in that span of 2 weeks, I kept on receiving these ‘threats’ that he’d backout, which I just always shrugged off. Belat.
First Instax Store Debuts at The Collective Art Fair
I dropped by The Collective at Malugay St. in Makati yesterday to support Joni Ang of Lil’Whims (the newly opened retail store of Polaroid PH) and for The Collective Art Fair. Only walking distance from our office building, The Collective is a great laid-back place for good food, arts, music, and hobbies.
Lil’Whims, the one stop shop for instax and analog items, is the brainchild of instax hobbyist Joni Ang. The business started out online with Polaroid PH. Seeing that there isn’t any instax specialty store in the Philippines, she took the big step to start her own little instax store at The Collective. The store not only offers instax cameras but there are accessories, films, and lomo cameras too! The store is definitely a photography enthusiast’s haven! Word of warning: you’ll want to buy EVERYTHING in this store. seriously.
La Luz Weekend
Last Christmas, our team in the office won 10,000 php for the best Christmas decor (yay competitive Team Brazil!). Instead of dividing the money between ourselves, we decided to go on a weekend beach getaway. Two months later, we found ourselves driving down south to spend the weekend at La Luz Beach Resort in Laiya, Batangas.
An open letter to 4-yr old Gem
Dear 4-yr old Gem,
Your singing idol, Whitney Houston, is dead. Yes, that lady with the beautiful voice and songs that you sing to everyday, without fail, is now gone forever. She was 48. Cry if you want to, I’m really sad too. 
How are your Whitney Houston casette tapes? I have a confession to make, we broke those tapes. Well that’s what happens when you play those tapes over and over and over again every damn day. We love her that much. Those were the very first albums we ever had.
While kids your age watched cartoons and played outside, you stayed inside and sang to her songs. You know all her songs, you memorize every word, every note, and you can sing those songs so beautifully for a kid so young as you are. Yes, even the very high notes, you love those high notes because you can reach them without much effort.
Do you still sing her songs when there are guests visiting your house? The grown-ups love it when you put on a mini concert, keep it up.
Don’t worry, your future singing idols are still alive.
P.S.
The future looks awesome. Also, you shaved one side of your head. It will be exciting.
Ang Goatee. Bow.
Tanda mo ba nang sinabi kong “never underestimate the seductive powers of a goatee”? Eto ang produkto ng statement na yun.
Ang Goatee. Bow.
Hayup na tumpok ng buhok ka
Nagbago takbo ng buhay ko simula nang kaadikan kita.
Ano bang mahika ang meron ka
Sa maitim, sa pandak, o sa mataba
Patubuin ka lang, instant gwaping na.
Para kang murang-mura na pang-gayuma
Ako’y iyong naakit, nabighani, napaibig.
Masulyapan ka lang, ako’y nababaliw
Ang iyong dating: walang singlakas, walang singkupas
Akalain mo, nakabuo ako ng tula para sa’yo?
Ganyan katindi ang kamandag ng goatee mo.
Standards.
Part 2 of (bahala na kung ilan): Gemilita’s Valentine’s Special
Kung interesado ka, heto ang Part 1.
“Endangered na kasi species ng mga lalake, and since kelangan ng survival, kelangan natin magbaba ng standards.” - katshia
Para sa mas simpleng pagpapaliwanag ng usapang to, ianalyze ang chart na ito.
Sana naintindihan mo, simple yan kung simple. Patunayan mong common ang common sense.
Back to the quote, heto ang masasabi ko. Sa pisikal na aspeto, oo, binabaan ko ang aking standard. Kaya naman sa aspetong intelektwal, tumaas ang standard ko. Diyos miyo, kung di ka kagwapuhan, maginvest ka naman sa utak.
Sa panahon ngayon, torture ang paghahanap ng lalakeng parang Pineapple Express (a trifecta of joint-smoking power/ the dopest dope ever smoked/dapat kase nanood ka ng Pineapple Express para di ko na to ineexplain). Kung makahanap ka man, good on paper guy lang siya at hindi ka makukuntento at sasabihin mong “may kulang eh, di ko alam basta may kulang”. Ganun naman lagi, well sabi ng mga telenovela. Parang yung mga roles na ginampanan ni James Marsden sa The Notebook at Enchanted, yung perfect na lalake pero laging iniiwan. Kawawa.
Walang perpektong tao. Ang SM nga sabi ‘we’ve got it all for you’, valid yun, kasi di naman tao ang SM.
Iba iba din kase ang standard natin para maging perpekto ang tao. What may be perfect for me, may not be perfect for you. Sabi ko nga ’what makes someone perfect are their imperfections’. Ewan kung may nagsabi na ng quote na yan pero promise di ko kinopya yan sa kung saan.
Ngayon, sabi ni chart, pick two daw, eto sakin: Intelligent and Emotionally Stable.
Sabi nga ni Andrew E., “kung gusto mong lumigaya ang iyong buhay, humanap ka ng panget at ibigin mong tunay. yung PANGET talaga, yung hindi mo matanggap, at huwag ang gwaping na iyong pinapangarap”.
Wag ka kaseng bumigay sa kagwapuhan, tignan mo si KC, “nagrerebelde” tuloy ngayon nung nalamang *toooot* si Papa P.
Choosy ka pa.
“Bakit walang boyfriend si Gem?” – isa daw sa mga malaking misteryo sa mundo
madaming problema at kahayupang nangyayari sa mundo, pero bakit may nagaabalang makaisip ng sagot sa tanong na ‘to.
concerned citizen of gem’s world: “maselan ka ba?”
intel-intelan: “hinde, gusto niya kase yung mga wirdo.”
oo, totoong diskusyon ‘yan na nangyari sa harapan ko kamakailan. as usual, NR ang subject.
una, define WIRDO. actually, tama si intel-intelan. alam nya ang aking taste, pero to sum up the qualities of my ‘type’ in one word, masyadong negatibo ang dating ng salitang WIRDO. ikaw ba, gugustuhin mo bang one word description sayo eh WIRDO? parang RETARDED na dating mo ata nun lalo pa kung hindi ka talaga kilala nung taong sinasabihan na WIRDO ka.
Kung hindi makitid ang utak mo, kapag WIRDO ang tao, hindi agad-agad na RETARDED na. Kakaiba lang, hindi common, hindi nagbeblend in sa crowd, hindi nakikisakay sa opinyon ng mga nagmamagaling, hindi slave sa trends, hindi nakikiuso sa mga patok na pop culture references. May sariling identity, kahit na hindi attractive at pleasing para sa majority ng katauhan. Alam kung ano ang gusto, kahit baduy man o panahon pa ni kopong-kopong. Hindi siya outcast, hindi din sya rebelde. Nung nagkastampede kayo para lang makapasok sa mundo ng USO, umiwas na siya sa entrance pa lang at nanirahan dun sa abandonadong mundo na binigyan niya ng kulay gamit ang pintura ng kanyang kamalayan. Walang kinokopya, hindi gaya-gaya, trip lang niyang maiba, at maging SIYA.
Malamang ngayon iniisip mo “t*ngina wirdo din to e, ayaw lang diretsuhing sabihin na choosy siya!”
Hindi ako choosy, maingat lang. Mahirap na, baka sa tindi ng unique na pagkatao ng isang kandidato eh matindi din pala magpaikot ng ulo. Isa pa, pwede ba, ikamamatay ko ba yan?
show me your workstation
Don’t you sometimes wonder what your blogger friends’ workstations look like? I do, especially those blogs with the clean minimalist layouts, I imagine them having workstations that are to die for. Something like this maybe?
*drools*
Until I can afford an awesome city view and new machines, this, my friends, is where the magic happens:
TADAAA!
Confused with what you’re seeing? Let me help you decipher the mess. That’s my workstation on an archeaic dining table in a corner of our house’s living room. Why don’t we go on a short tour of this jungle?
