Day 120: Revisiting a Classic

Almost forgot to take a photo today.  I was so busy preparing for Sunday and even Monday that I forgot I had Saturday to deal with.  Anyway, I've been revisiting a favorite classic, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.  Which is apt, considering that I might be spending Sunday visiting churches and cemeteries like a tourist.

Day 119: Great Ball of Fire

This was taken at California Berry in Megamall.  They had a very fascinating light.  Plus, a very fascinating concept of shaved ice cream.

There's a four-letter word that will make girls giddy, and it isn't love.  It's SALE.  :)

Day 118: First Few Steps

I'm thinking, it's midsummer and I ought to have more decent photos than the lousy little things in my apartment.  So, I'm heading out.  Imma brave this heat.

Nah.  I really have somewhere I need to be. :)

I'll be back with a photo taken outside of this apartment.

-

9:00AM MLA.  Byproduct of my short adventure in this heat.

So, this is what I get when I go out of my little safe shell and venture into big, bad, dirty Manila.  I wanted to take a picture of something today that will look good in black & white.  I realized earlier that I enjoyed the colors of my camera too much that I haven't been processing anything in black & white.  Then this pretty little baby showed herself to me.  She looked so innocent.  I bet she just discovered walking.  Soon enough, she's going to discover running.  Honestly, this photo looks a bit sad for me.  A little girl with a mineral water bottle standing in for her feeder.  I kept looking back at her face, though, and I just can't shake off the feeling that she gives a certain kind of Shimmer (Fuel).  Something only children can do.

It was a tough choice between this little bugger and a fascinating grandfather I saw.  Since, I'm half eight years old, the baby won.

However, since I liked the other photo so much as well, I'm posting it together with this.  My second runner-up is shown after the jump.

Day 117: Screw It

Another indoor post.  My bottle opener is in dire need of a chilled bottle of wine to open.

Is it just me, or is it really getting hotter everyday?  Beach.  Beach is a good idea.  Beach is a fantastic idea.  It's the perfect place to Soak Up the Sun (Sheryl Crow).

Day 116: Shutter on a Summer

I have probably posted a similar picture a few days ago.  Back when I was coughing like crazy and practically no good.  Well, I'd like to give justice to my window shutters, so I decided to take another photo.  Nah.  That's an excuse.  This is just another one of those lazy summer days when I do not want to look hard for inspiration.  I mean, look at my window, it was trying so hard to filter the raging sun.  It's not winning, either.

So, I'm sitting here thinking, what would make me move my sorry little butt out there in the sun.  Hmm...  If that sun comes with a wide expanse of sea crashing on white sand, probably.  A beach sounds so good right now.  I'm listening to U2 perform I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For in Milan, and I'm thinking if the world conspires to bring U2 to Manila, I'll be out there in this heat to buy myself tickets.  In a heartbeat.  I hope someone answers my prayer: Please, please, please, someone please bring Sir Bono to Manila!  I will be a good girl, I promise!

Day 115: Simmer & Boil Over

I'm cooking.  I'm. Cooking.  I'm actually cooking.  Good Lord!

If you've been reading my posts, you should have been able to figure out that I'm not exactly the domesticated type.  I did not own a stove for several years, and even when I was staying at my parent's home, I never actively sought to be near it.  I love food, but I prefer to eat it than create it.  I sometimes think that cooking takes the joy out of eating.  You slave yourself over a stove, basking in the aroma of your dish that by the time you're done you're either too tired to feed or too full from the scent of food.  What's also curious, is that I was born in a family where it's the men who cook.  The women cook sometimes, but it's primarily the men who uses the kitchen.  They cook very well, too.  An uncle, whose family I visit very rarely, would cook me one of my favorite dishes whenever I stay over, Ginataang Alimasag sa Kalabasa.  It was always so divine!

I'm like my mother, on the other hand.  My mother does not cook.  There's a difference between not doing and not knowing, though.  It's just not an activity we enjoy doing all the time.  The funny thing is, my mother has a complete kitchen set.  When they came over to visit a couple of weeks ago, she bought me the electric stove out of pity, and asked my cousins to bring the pots to my apartment.  I ignored it for a couple of weeks,  until I got sick and needed the stove to prepare my chicken noodles (When you're sick, it's imperative to have chicken noodles).  Now that I'm feeling better, I can choose to ignore it again.  However, I saw an instant champorado mix sold at the store on the way home.  So, here I am eating my champorado and thinking I'm beginning to take baby steps to getting domesticated.  God forbid.

Day 114: Glass & Bottle

I could use a drink.  Since I was medicated the entire time last week, I limited myself to two cups of coffee in a day and the rest of the time just drinking water.  I was such a good girl.  Consider it my forced abstinence, even if I'm non-practicing and did not really plan on abstaining from anything.  Now that I'm feeling better, I could definitely enjoy a glass of wine.  After the tiring general cleaning that knocked me out for the rest of the weekend, I'd much rather enjoy curling up on my couch with a book and Adele's 21 album playing on the background.  However, my wine bottles are empty and my glasses need to get chilled.  So, I'm postponing this relaxing overture I have in mind for another lazy Sunday.  Hopefully, by then, I'd have gotten myself a fridge with wine and chilled glasses in it.

For now, I'd settle for a book and Someone Like You (Adele).

Day 113: Spring Cleaning

The last few weekends I haven't felt totally productive.  I have planned on cleaning my apartment and unloading some of the junk I have accumulated through the years.  It's funny that I do not have some of the basic necessities of a household (like a fridge, for example), yet I have tons of useless things lying around.  I promised myself that I will clean up this weekend since there wasn't any planned activity that should take me out of the apartment, and I was also beginning to feel better (less coughing fits happening).

The trouble with spring cleaning, though, is that it's when my separation anxiety attacks.  For example, I wanted to clean out my closet of the clothes I do not get to use.  Some of them I have never used at all.  I had a firm resolve when I started with the task, but my resolve got weaker as I tried to decide which pile to put an item on.  I look at an article of clothing and I keep thinking I might need it at some obscure distant future.  Or, if I bought the perfect shoes for it, I'd eventually get to wear it.  Or if I alter it a bit, it would be perfect again.  To keep or not to keep, that is the question.  Hamlet didn't stand a chance.  What makes me think I do?

Well, unlike dear Hamlet, I'm not going to get suicidal over spring cleaning.  I have decided to let go of some of the non-valuable things I've kept, because I want to have enough space for new things.  If an event comes that I may need something I've already let go of, I'm sure I'll figure out a way to find something perfect for it.  It's symbolic of a whole lot of things, if you ask me.  Now, what do I do with all these clothes?

Clean-up music: Tell Me What To Do (Metro Station)

Day 112: Rockstar

Taken at Heaven & Eggs while ending a Good Friday shift with breakfast.

Now, what does it take to be a rockstar?  While having breakfast, we were watching Madonna's concert.  I couldn't take my eyes off the screen while she performed Like A Prayer at the Sticky & Sweet tour.  She had this massive crowd in Argentina moving spontaneously at the same time in the same beat and chanting her name.  You see faces crying and laughing at the same time.  Say what you want to say, but this witch is a rockstar.  Only rockstars can have a legion of followers who will worship their every move with bated breathe.  I'm not a huge Madonna fan, but I will admit that if she does a concert here, I will watch.  And I don't care if she lip-sings the entire hour.  I'm not watching her because I want to hear her sing live.  I want to see her perform live.  She's like Michael Jackson.  There should be at least one song of theirs that you like.  I think, that's what rockstars are.  You will acknowledge their talent, notwithstanding whatever diva tantrum they throw.  You will still listen to their music, you will buy their album or stalk them on Twitter.  They have this insane ability to drive an entire stadium of people to do their bidding, sort of like royalty.

Now, I'm missing the high you get when you're in a concert.  It's like an explosion of endorphins.  That should be part of my goal this year.  To watch an amazing concert.

Day 111: Medicated

Dear antibodies,

I've been taking medicines for a week.  Still, I've been coughing like I'm gonna start puking my guts.  This ain't fun, you know.

So, when exactly are you gonna start doing your job?

Love,
Faith

To keep me perky: Love is Ouch (2ne1)

Day 110: White Lamp

One of my two night lamps.  Although, it's a bit weird calling it night lamp since I use it more when I sleep during the day.  How's that for weird?  But then, I'm not the only one who sleeps After The Sunrise (Yanni).

This was a gift from my learners two years ago.  It was hand-crafted because I said I was trying to find things for my apartment, and I wanted wood things.  This was two years ago.  If they only knew what little improvement I've made since.

Day 109: Trinkets and Amulets

A constant in local cabs are trinkets and amulets supposedly guaranteeing your safe journey.  This is in the one I rode today.  I am constantly in taxi cabs.  For a spoiled urbanite, this is the preferred mode of transportation.  I think I lost patience with mass public transportation after quitting my last job.  If ever I have any, then there's very little left of it.  However, since I don't drive, and have no real active desire to learn, I stick with cabs.

I've had several fascinating stories about riding in cabs.  Some of them, hell stories about using the damned meter.  The worst ones are in the South.  They do not really understand the concept of using a meter.  Some stories, are pretty fascinating ones.  Like the cab driver who rides a swanky Altis and whose children have graduated with degrees in Engineering.  He wanted to continue working so he won't get bored.  Since he's in the retiring age, he asked his kids to buy him a taxi franchise.  Some stories, are really just plain interesting.  One cab driver who was truly pleasant, bless his soul, caught me in a bad time.  Start of day without coffee.  I was very quiet and barely conversational, with my earphones stuck in my ears, when I asked him to take me to our office building.  Probably trying to engage me in conversation, he asked me what company I worked for.  In the flattest morning tone I could muster, I asked him why did he need to know that.  He looked utterly shocked.  I sat there waiting for a response not realizing that I just bit his head off and chewed on it.  Then he said, "Grabe, ma'am.  Sa lahat ng tinanong ko, wala pang nang-sopla sakin ng ganyan."  He caused my first smile for that day.

Sounds like someone's Rolling In The Deep (Adele).

Day 108: Darjeeling

Still coughing like a mad dog.  My Tea & Sympathy post would have been perfect today.  I survived my first day with my class, though.  I know I could have done better, but considering how I came in not expecting to be able to run it without passing out before the first hour ends, I'd have to say I'm happy to have survived the day.  I'm now taking another large dosage of vitamin C and Guaifenesin for the damned cough.  Downing it with some lovely Darjeeling tea.  I guess, that's my silver lining today.

Don't wake me, I plan on Sleeping In (The Postal Service).

Day 107: Watching The World Outside

Not a very imaginative post, I know.  I wanted to take a picture of the Palm Sunday mass next door, but I've been coughing the entire weekend, so all my lovely little plans went down the drain. :(  I wanted to get well, though, since I'm starting a new class this week.  So, good luck to me.  I swear, I've probably never drunk eight glasses of water in a day before this.

Day 106: Sort-of Library

This is my sort-of library, which I need to organize.

I joined a book club with the intention of being able to read at least one book a month.  I've been able to do that.  The things is, in the last three months, I only manged to read one book assigned by the club.  All the other ones I've read were self-assigned, so I haven't been joining the discussions.  For example, I've been reading One Day by David Nicholls when I'm supposed to be reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon.  Well, Emma and Dexter were fascinating.  This sleeper hit is as charming as it's London setting.  This is given that I wasn't reading the book chronologically.  I normally wouldn't do that, but since the order of events does not follow a chronological order either, I figured it was fine.  Overall, I'd say I've finished about 85% of the book leafing through it the weird way that I did.  I think it's a good summer read.  Light, but with a punch.

I still need to read this month's assigned book, though.  Otherwise, I won't be able to join the discussion again.

Day 105: Retail Therapy

This is my girly-time post.  When Forever 21 first opened in Manila, I wasn't really caught in the storm.  I looked forward to shopping at the store, with all the raves about it.  When I finally got to visit the humongous Megamall branch the end of last year, though, I left the store with nothing.  I thought, maybe because their target market is a younger audience.  Twenty-one, right?  So, I didn't actively try to visit their store anymore.

When their second location in Makati opened, I knew I would end up visiting.  I just didn't think that this time I would really find anything.  I went home after my first visit with items I really liked.  Over the course of this week, I kept thinking about a yellow dress I saw there.  So, I decided to go back.  I saw the yellow dress, and another star-dotted (it isn't studded) dress.  The yellow dress did not really fit me like I wanted, and I ended up going home with the other dress.  It looks very 50's.  (Cue 50's music: Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry)

A fascinating thing I found out is that at the bottom of my their shopping bag is a bible verse, John 3:16.  Made me smile.

Day 104: The Wimpy Kid Writes

From the Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  This is probably an effect of my medication.  However, this has been eating at me for some time.  So, I'm going to talk about a current issue on child abuse.  This is my two-cents worth on this issue.  As this is my blog and I live in a democratic country, the laws governing freedom of speech should apply.  So sue me.

I was never really mindful of what was on TV, because for the longest time I lived without it.  Even when I got myself a set, I still managed to only watch shows on DVD.  I had no antenna, and I did not have the patience to deal with it.  The concept of local shows, or even those in cable, are a bit foreign to me.  Talk to me about shows I've patronized in my childhood and we will have a conversation.  Current ones, at least the ones shown in the last six years, I don't really know.  So, finding out that a child was abused on national TV was surprising for me.  People have questioned if this was really an example of child abuse.  Well, it is.  That is a fact, and nothing can change that.  No amount of suing people in a Facebook page or asking how much you have given to the poor will change that.  A child was abused.  What bothers me most is the fact that an entire audience just sat there and watched.  His parents even watched.  They encouraged him to do it.  For ten thousand pesos.  How poor of a society are we?  And I'm not even talking about poorness in relation to economy.  For a country so deeply immersed in religion, we have a very twisted sense of morality.

I feel sad about that.  Sad and angry.  Sad, because we have grown way past apathetic.  I'm including myself here.  I have gone to a point where nothing seems to surprise me.  Nothing, until this.  Angry, because I cannot believe we are willing to put up with it.  People have asked, what have I done to help my country?  I have never donated a million pesos to charity.  I do not have it.  And since I'm not in the habit of lying, I can tell you that even if I have a million pesos, I will not donate it to charity.  If I earn that monthly, though, I will.  Twelve million in a year?  What the hell do I do with that?

I said earlier that I never really cared what's on TV.  Until I heard about the infamous TV show not even worth mentioning and that incident.  Some of the questions that I had in my head then were; Is this the kind of entertainment I want my nephew to grow up to?  Do I want him to grow up not even knowing his rights?  Do I want him to believe that dancing like a gigolo at the age of six for ten thousand pesos is right?  I don't think so.  I want him to grow up knowing when to say "no".  I want him to grow up knowing he can fight for what he believes in.  And by God, he will learn to tell people off if he's being harassed.  Maybe, my perspective started to shift when my nephew was born.  I do not have to be a mother to know the difference between right and wrong.  The world is messed up as it is, I know that well enough.  I got messed up by the world.  I was the wimpy kid.  Sure, tough luck made me strong.  But do I really want him to get messed up the same way?

Thinking about it, I guess, this is one of those conversations I would definitely have with the Lord in the afterlife.  This is one of those things I Think God Can Explain (Splender).  Well, He can try.  For the time being, I want to express vigilance.  Einstein said that the world is a dangerous place to live in; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who do not do anything about it.

Day 103: Say a Prayer

I feel a fever coming, and I'm battling it.  Praying I won't be sick.  I can't be sick.

Right now, I feel so Delicate (Damien Rice).

Day 102: Wakey, Wakey

Most people's sunrise, is my sunset.  At least, in this part of the planet.  Pretty, isn't she?

Such a humongous Starlight (Muse).

Day 101: Tempura Dinner

Another food post.  I try so hard not to make this look like a food blog, but then I can't help it.  Food is a highlight everyday.  I also did not have anything significant to take a picture of today.  Unless, you'd like to see a photo of an excel worksheet.

Need to rest now.  Big day tonight.  Or night tonight.  Whatever.  This girl now Sleeps With Butterflies (Tori Amos).

Day 100: St. Paul at Dawn

100th photo for this project.  A view of St. Paul's Church at dawn.

I never thought I'd get past Seven Days (Sting), much less a hundred.  It feels pretty good to cover this milestone, though.

Day 99: Under Yellow Light

My best friend is finally graduating from law school!  After graduation, she will have to focus on reviewing for her bar exams later this year.  Knowing that it's going to be tough to see her in the next few months, we decided to meet up.  The good old barkada.  Under this yellow light at Bugsy's, over beer and chicken tenders, we caught up on each other's lives.

Every time I see my old friends, we somehow end up putting our current lives under microscopic scrutiny.  Things we've done.  Things we didn't do.  Mistakes we've made.  Successes we've achieved.  All these and more.  I take comfort in knowing that over the last two decades, I was blessed enough to have a very strong support group.  If I look back at it, I can say that not everything I planned materialized.  But despite the fact that This Is The Future (Owl City) I did not expect, I'm still blessed to have ended up this way.  In those days when I've probably tested too many risky things, they managed to rail me in and bang my head on a wall while giving me an earful.  My best friend, in particular, is probably worse than my mom.  I still love her, anyway.  These friends, are an extension of my family.  We don't carry the same last name, but they're family to me.

By the way, congratulations is in order for Dianne, too.  I'm happy for you, sis!

Day 98: Golden Spoon

Started the weekend with the usual.  A good meal with wine at Ayala Triangle.  After long conversations, we wanted frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon.  I have to say.  It was just lovely.  Some people don't like fro-yo because it's a bit sour.  Well, that's yogurt for you.  I like yogurt, too.  But then, I like everything.

Day 97: Mango Cream Pie

This is absolutely the best thing Red Ribbon has come up with.  I stared at it for some time before we started eating, thinking it looks so pretty.  And when we did... *smile*  It made everyone who tried it happy.  Seriously.  It makes you think of rainbows, fluffy clouds and butterflies.  The crust was like buttermilk cookies, and everything between the crust and that layer of sweet mangoes was just cream.  It wasn't even too sweet.  It was just perfect!  Happy!

Happy music: Follow Me (Uncle Kracker)

Day 96: In My Cupboard

I was looking around trying to find something to photograph today.  My initial plan of going out to take a shot went down the drain the moment I felt the sun on my window.  It feels like my lazy week.  So, no.  I'm not going out to take shots.  I'm staying in and having everything delivered if God will permit such indolence.  This, my friends, is my cupboard.  Or what's inside it.  At least, it's the cupboard containing most of my unused things.  Empty wine and vodka bottles, vitamin bottles, coffee and tea cups, coffee press cover, plastic cups, a wineglass, a candlestick holder, saucers, chopsticks and a vintage frame.  

If this laziness persists, by the time I end this project, I'd have taken a picture of every inch of this apartment.  

Day 95: Matworks

Seriously, Faith.  It's time to unroll that mat and start stretching.

I wonder when will I actually Get It Right (Glee Cast).

Day 94: New Shoes

I have officially retired my abused pair of Melissa.  I don't even want to show you how worn-out they've been.  If that pair could talk, they would express their hatred of me in a string of creative curses.  After much procrastination, I finally decided to let them die a natural death and replace them with this Anthology pair.  I did mention that I love shoes and I have several pairs of them.  I'm more of a collector, though.  Out of five pairs, I'd probably stick to wearing one or two pairs until they're beaten and worn.  The rest, I just wear every now and then.  Sometimes, I only look at them.  Like what some people do with dolls.

I needed these New Shoes (Paolo Nutini) not just because I've worn out my old pair of flats, but because a new pair has this magical ability to make you feel better.

.....

I am such a girl.

Day 93: Little

Had my family visit over the weekend.  They brought the baby with them!  This is my nephew, Ad.  It's true when they say that babies are such amazing little creatures.  They hardly do anything productive as newborns, but you watch them all day long doing absolutely nothing but sleep, yawn, drink milk, and smile a little.  Ad's at an age where everything he does is cute and funny, though.  He eats a bit now, too.  Plays a lot, and makes you laugh.

This is a selfish thought, but sometimes I wish he'd Never Grow Up (Taylor Swift).

Day 92: Norwegian Wood

Finished reading Norwegian Wood.  It was beautiful and tragic at the same time.  A coming of age story.  

I also recently found out that a movie of it was released last year.  L from Death Note is playing Toru, which is curious.  Now, I'd like to see how this story translated itself to screen.

Day 91: Pinwheels

I don't get to see pinwheels very often, but they give you a very childlike summer vibe.

Or, Maybe It's Just Me (Butch Walker).