Day 243: Palette

Color palette of my oil pastels.

Looking for inspiration this month has been a little bit challenging for me.  I've been focusing on other things that finding time to take a picture each day have started to become a force of habit.  It's almost second nature to me now, like brushing my teeth and flossing after.  While it doesn't seem very hard to remind myself that I need to take a picture daily, the amount of effort I put into it has somehow diminished.  I'm not ranting, I'm just saying that my photos as of late have not been made with as much gusto as I used to have.  While I would have spent about an hour each day to take a picture, upload and blog about it, I find that I have not dedicated the same time for it lately.

The project is still fun, don't get me wrong.  I just think I've been doing a poor job lately.  I don't know, August has always been a bland month for me.  It was neither inspiring nor depressing.  If this is some funk, then I probably need to make a Getaway (Texas).  I'm making excuses.

Day 242: A New Mug

After nine cups of Cafe Mocha, I get a gigantic mug good enough to hold a serving of soup.  Well, this is something to add to my growing collection.  I wasn't even aware I was collecting mugs until I realized I had more mugs than drinking glasses.

Day 241: Leftover

I did not put effort in this photo.  Got home too tired to think.  So, here goes the cookies that goes with my milk.  Yep, I do not always drink wine.  Sometimes, milk does it for me.

Day 240: Food and Love

An old friend and I met up for a light dinner.  We decided to eat at Banana Leaf because it's been so long since we've dined there.  This is the last one left of the prawn balls with cheese I ordered.  I love Asian cuisine!  The taste, the texture, and the aroma is really something very distinct.  We also had roti and curry, which I also love.

I cannot end this post without saying that we watched Crazy, Stupid, Love.  It was ridiculously funny!  I can't get over it.  Sure, Ryan Gosling was a real eye candy here, but the rest of the cast was just hilarious.  I highly recommend it.  I had such a good laugh, I felt good after leaving the theater.  This is one of those films I'd like to watch when I'm stressed or depressed.  In fact, I want to get a copy of the video just for that.

Day 239: On Reading

I have a confession to make.  I haven't been up to date with my reading list.  I told myself that I will read at least one book a month this year, but I wasn't able to do that this August.  I'm trying, but it's close to the end of the month and I haven't even started a book yet.  So, there goes one of my goals for this year.

Oh, well. Maybe I'll read more than one book next month.  Who knows?  Maybe it isn't Too Late (M83)

Day 238: Hanging Up

My hangers are empty because there's no use doing the laundry when it's raining like it is.  

My longest day at work, so far.  I feel like I'm slowly getting my groove back.  Slowly.

Day 237: Spider Crabs in Alavar Sauce

One of my colleagues' mom came from Zamboanga and brought Spider Crabs in Alavar Sauce with her.  It's called Curacha locally, which is a curious name.  I love crabs, and this one's meat is sweeter than the normal crabs you get.  The sauce is also amazing.  The entire lot of this was gone in about thirty minutes, maybe twenty. :P

Day 236: Liar

Nothing disgusts me more than a liar.  That makes it my biggest pet peeve.

I had to think about what to post for this week's theme.  There are very few things that ticks me off.  I may get annoyed or irritated, but nothing offends me more than a liar does.  I give people credit, regardless of their background or reputation.  I can put up with people's little quirks, just don't lie to me.  It says very little about a person's integrity.

Day 235: Sparkly

My posts this month sure lack imagination.  I didn't have much time to dedicate on this project lately, so I end up taking pictures of random things.  These are some of my fridge magnets.  I used to buy magnets for my station at work, now I get them for my fridge.

Day 234: Nightcap

There was wine left from the weekend's staycation.  I poured myself a glass after a long day's work to relieve the stress.

Wind me down music: Make You Feel My Love (Adele)

Day 233: A City at Dusk

I love it when the world looks just like this.  This doesn't even give it justice.  The colors are simply perfect.  Dusk, for me, is the best time of the day.  The light is perfect.  Not too bright, not to soft.  The colors are fantastic.  There's nothing like the color of the blue hour.  There is just nothing like it.  I wish I can look at the world with a blue hour lens.  It's almost like looking at everything and seeing them as magic.

Do You Believe In Magic (Lovin Spoonful)?

Day 232: Tales of Coffee Trays and Staycations

I'm sort-of staycationing.  Hibernated for a weekend with some folks talking about pop culture trivia over servings of coffee.  The rooms were lovely.  The place had a laundry, for crying out loud.  If I knew that before I got there, I wouldn't have had my laundry picked up.

Day 231: Carbonara and Mushroom Quiche

Had lunch at Delifrance.

It looks like I'm beginning to acclimate into this whole morning shift.  What I like is that I have tons of available food options for me during this shift.  It's not helping the fact that I'm trying to tone, though.

Day 230: Serenity Prayer

Not much of a prayer, but this makes me laugh every time. :)

Day 229: Before and After

I'm under the impression that the can on the right was a real potato before it went through processing.

I've said this before, but I think I have to reiterate this to myself.  I seriously need to start working out.  All this eating without burning fat is only making lard in my body.  I'd have appreciated it have they decided to settle in more appealing places, however, they didn't.

Day 228: Bacon and Cheddar Soup

I had lunch at The Soup Kitchen.  It's not that I still cannot eat solids, I just felt that I wanted to have soup today.

When people warned me about adjustments, everyone said it was going to be painful afterward. I honestly do not find it as painful, but then it may be because I have a high tolerance for pain.  It isn't as much as the pain as the discomfort.  I had lamb chops last week and nothing ached when I bit into the meat.  It's just very uncomfortable, because you feel a lot of food particles stuck between the brackets.

Playing: I Got You (Leona Lewis)

Day 227: Eco Bags

I got these from Aldevinco in Davao.  The green one was a pasalubong given to me a few months ago, and the purple one I got during my trip.  I hardly go around without one of these bags now.  It comes in handy when I end up buying something unexpectedly, or when I'm carrying extra shoes or clothing.  I love the batik design and the fact that I can fold it up to the size of a purse and fit it in my bag.

Watching: The Dance (Charlotte Martin) - A Mia Michaels choreography

Day 226: French Macaroons

I love macaroons!  Their lovely pastel colors and sweet fillings.  I think, majority of what makes these things so appealing is the fact that they look absolutely delectable.  They're so pretty, you almost do not want to eat them.  Almost.

I bought a box from Bizu on the way home from doing my grocery.  Since it's Sunday, I spent most of the day indoors watching past seasons of So You Think You Can Dance (my all-time favorite pair is Katee and Joshua of Season 4) and doing my laundry while at it.

Day 225: A Stolen Night Shot

I went out to meet a friend and took this shot for the theme of the week.  I wasn't happy with it, but before I could take another, a guard asked me if I had a permit to take pictures.  Of course I didn't.  I'm a hobbyist.  So, I didn't really get to take any other decent shot for the night.  Oh well.

Day 224: City Reflection

I wish I had my Nino when I took this.  My phone just can't give it justice.

This is GT Tower, and I like how the skyline was reflected on this building's glass walls.  It creates a whole lot of great illusion.

Day 223: Cold

Unimaginative post.  This week is turning out to be far more challenging than I expected.  As always, when I get a little stressed, I crave for ice cream.  On the way home, I dropped by McDonald's to get myself hot fudge and ate half of it while I mulled things over walking home.

Day 222: Making My Own Meal

Baby steps.  I'm taking baby steps.  I have managed to prepare myself breakfast that involves a stove.  Sure, sausage and eggs isn't much, but that's a lot considering what I do in the kitchen.  Which is nothing.

Day 221: A Larger Dose of Caffeine

I wasn't exactly insane about this day.  It was the day I was transitioning from night shift to morning shift.  It was a bit trying.  Apart from the schedule, sometime between yesterday and today, I seem to have lost my e-mail.  I don't know, maybe it has decided it has had enough and it was throwing the towel in.  I had this mental image of my Outlook walking out while saying, "That's it.  I quit."

After some badgering with IT, it eventually returned to it's senses and got back to work.  It will take a few days before it will have everything in it, though.  Let's just say that today, my patience was sorely tested.  Ergo, the need for a larger dose of caffeine.

Day 220: Headbands

Lately, I seem to be channeling my inner Blair Waldorf.  Which is interesting, since I have never watched an episode of Gossip Girl.  I find myself wearing headbands to hold my hair back since I'm trying to grow it longer.

Day 219: Omakase Lunch

I had intended to go out this Sunday.  However, I was too lazy to get out.  I ordered lunch through City Delivery and had an Omakase beef bento and tuna tataki.  The food is good.  I enjoyed the sushi and tuna tataki best.  The tempura was also pretty good, considering I'm slightly picky with my tempura.

After lunch, I was struck with a fierce bout of lethargy, I decided I wasn't going anywhere. :)

Day 218: Tools

Spent Saturday sleeping.  I had nothing special to take a picture of, so here's a blurry shot of my make-up brushes, which I haven't been using as much.

Sleeping in music: The Man Who Can't Be Moved (The Script)

Day 217: Rainshower on My Breakfast

The weather seems to be bi-polar.  When work ended, it seemed like it was going to be a day for the sun.  Then it rained like crazy while we were having breakfast.  Then, as we were finishing off our meal, the sun just shined.  I swear, this weather is insane.

Day 216: Garlicky

This was an interesting and tiring Thursday.  The team had dinner with the General Manager at Caruso Ristorante Italiano, and I was late.  The place is about ten minutes away from where I live.  I left home 15 minutes after six, and got there at seven.  I truly have a talent with getting lost.

Anyway, I did not get to take pictures during dinner and was so busy the entire day, that I only got to take a picture of the the garlic I have in my cupboard.

Song of the day: Let's Get Lost  (Beck and Bat for Lashes)

Day 215: Blurring the Colors

I have to admit, I'm still trying to get back to my normal groove.  It's a little hard to let go of my vacation hangover when it's raining like there's no more tomorrow.

The pencils, by the way, is a gift from a colleague.  Sort of like a pasalubong, which is interesting for me, because the trainer who gave this to me is American and they find the concept of pasalubong a bit trivial.

Day 214: Out of the Shelf

These are things that should be on my shelf, however, I do not have enough space for them.  Ergo, they end up in front of the TV.  They make a pretty decent accent, if I may say so myself.

My apartment is littered with books.  I shame Mother Earth with the amount of paper I have in my apartment (books, journals, cute and useless what-nots).  I've been trying to curb this seemingly obsessive compulsion I have to acquire printed material.  I try not to print at work, but at home, I have countless paperbacks.  I say it's because I can't seem to keep myself engaged with an e-book.  It does not give you the same feeling as reading from an actual paper.  I've been having this weird conversations with myself, What If (Kate Winslet) I got an e-reader?  It would probably do the trick.  I'm just not sure just how comfortable I'd be with that.  Or I may just be finding an excuse to spend on another gadget.

Day 213: Next Stop

First day back at work and I'm wanderlusting again.

My last trip had me thinking where do I head off to next.  I decided I want to visit a familiar place later this year.  I want to see the Ruins of St. Paul again, eat Salmon Fried Rice at Quinella, scout San Malo for bargain stuff, have coffee at the Singing Bean at the Tower, watch Zaia at The Venetian, see The House of Dancing Waters, cross the border to China.  I can almost smell the takoyaki, the grilled Portuguese chicken and the freshly baked egg tarts.

I'll see you this year, Macau. ;)