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Disaster #6 on Easter Sunday.

I attempted to bake a cake on my own and it was a complete and utter disaster. For posterity I took a picture of it (photoshopped to accent my simile in the next sentence). It was like a beautiful chocolate hill when the dough rose and suddenly it became a volcano raging like mad and collapsed and all that's left is a molten lava.

I changed an ingredient, I put in Splenda sugar instead of confectioner sugar, so it would be senior-citizen-friendly. So fuck it, I've just proven baking is a science and not an art where I can go ballistic and be creative on the ingredients. 

Lesson learned + Next Steps: Bake another carrot cake!

Trusting The Void.

This picture is part of the theme of the house - a place conducive for conversations, food, fruit shakes. Taken at Granada, Spain, waiting for our orders with only our coins as our lunch budget.

I stop any music when I write. I need to hear the voices in my head so I can shush them. I'm writing on my bed  now, lying down, with laptop all over my chest, I don't even know where to put it. My hands are in an awkward position and the screen on a weird 60 degree angle pointing at me. Gadget acrobatics. Like how I'm jumping up with so much brightness today. I got good news.

I'm so immersed and trying hard not to be stressed with this project of fixing my house.  I'm over-the-moon tested and everyday I laughably repeat this line to myself: "enjoying the process, enjoying the process", trance-like mind you just so I could get it in my head that this is after all still a fun thing I chose myself to get crazy in. I have to move in less than a month now and I don't have a contractor to fix it based on my specs (another story altogether), that is of course compatible with my financial capacity. 

The first candidate gave me an estimate almost 100% more than my allocated budget. Mentioning negotiation is a laugh. But I'm not the kind of person who gives up easily.  Hello, um di naman sa pagbubuhat ng bangko, but I masterminded with my travel buddy Nikki a budget of 170K pesos for our 3-week-euro-backpacking travel and it's not a joke, europe is an expensive continent to travel to for third worlders like us.  I'm an expert cheapskater, hopefully where it matters.

I set a deadline last Friday, find a contractor or it's do or scrap-this-project-altogether moment na. I decided to trust the Fates and hope that my Project The 5th a.k.a. Yes-Filipinos-Can-Afford-To-Beautify-Their-Home-On-A-Non-Exaggerated-Price will happen. And oh yes it did. Last Friday at around 5PM, a contractor emailed me with a price estimate that fits my budget perfectly to a T. She was my last bet. I literally jumped for joy. I'm astounded by how things could work out in the end.

I don't want to put a period though. I  mean, we have just started bringing into reality this insanely beautiful mess of an idea. Let the outrageous, exciting, creative and fun stuff begin!

p.s. I hope you will be as trusting too, probably  more so, because everything does work out in the end. Let humanity take comfort :).

WhaleRiders.

Ang haba ko raw mag-post, feedback by my one (forced) reader. Just to show I listen to feedback, this post is going to be short: Gentle, beautiful whalesharks here I come! Anyone who wants to join us next long weekend, see you there at Donsol Sorsogon! Yeehaa! I could just imagine my greatest moment: Me a foot away swimming with this huge, docile fish (it's not a mammal, it's called a whale because of its size).   My greatest fear which I'm trying very hard to ignore is that I might get in their way and since their mouth is so big and their eyes are so small, they could swallow me whole -- death by a plankton-eating-butanding, how mortifying. But personally it's the most appropriate way to end my life of bloopers. This is why I don't do short posts, I get morbid when I do.

Ang mga confirmed kaladkarin -- Joy, Lem our high-maintenance (gusto ba naman mag-airplane) hired photographer, and The Other Boleyn Girl (cannot be named, cannot be linked baka daw kasi magfile sya ng sick-leave hehehe!). Dear reader, is this short enough? :D

Reusable, Recyclable!

Folks, if you need retail therapy this weekend, I would like to invite you to a garage sale @ Cubao Expo this Saturday February 2, 10AM - 6PM.  It's being organized by Sandy, the soul card reader and I just happened to hop in and surprise, surprise, me to sell and not to buy this time -- I really am committed to one of my personal and financial goals this year: Going Green through Recycling. It's one way to clean up my life (not just lifestyle mind you) at the same time make it fun!

If you're interested to sell, game din! Here are the contact details.  Drop by lang even if you're not interested in buying :).  Besides Cubao Expo houses one of the best Italian resto in the metro: Bellini's(!) so you can have some taste of their thin-crust pizza while there. And who knows we might treat you to a glass of Mojito at Mogwai (Resto with a cinema room at the second floor!)? Actually, I've never yet tried Mogwai but I'm planning to this weekend.  Join us! (Tapos bili na rin my 10-20 pesos old magazine issues!).

My highlight product: The Santa Claus Bathrobe -- Never Worn, Never Even Opened!  To be sold at half its original price! :) Oh and please don't forget to bring your bag as we are doing the best we can saying no to plastics :).  Looking forward seeing you there.

Ain't It The Life.

 

On my way back home (where, for now "home" is conveniently defined as a "time" to rest) and resolving to be at the airport 3 hours ahead of my flight time.  I brought with me some Kerouac and that smash Eat, Pray, Love book in preparation for my travel to Europe next year (Yes to being intentional!), all the dvds I haven't watched but remain stocked for more than a year (some old school Tarantino, documentaries and sell-out blockbusters to watch with Dad, those excellent HBO TV series, some artsy movies that I probably would need more than a subtitle to understand) and writing on journal. Of course a journal, oh la la.

I am practically a walking heaven for diabetics having hoarded all the sugar-free bread and desserts at the Salcedo Market yesterday to bring pasalubong to parents. And I'm sure my mom would just ask, where's my fruitcake? Christmas is not complete without a fruitcake and no, it's not tacky in our household. Today's my mom's birthday, I'm looking forward to seeing her and dad.  I miss Bacolod food so badly (Pendy's baby back ribs, Bob's fresh mango salad and yummy crinkles, chicken inasal - the genuine, juicy kind with that sinamak sawsawan, creamy napoleones, cakes by Calea, crabs with aligue anywhere),  I would guiltlessly binge that's for sure. And I would stay at the Bacolod Spa for the whole day, it's super affordable and super worth every peso. And I would meet friends who are possibly also in town for the holidays, and I would continue to root for Marc and Rovilson (Yes to witty men! Go Pinoy!) and will await that episode this Christmas where Dave Matthews played the piano with Dr. House. And I would experiment a new recipe, as inspired by my just recently Cook-Your-PotLuck-Food-Christmas-Party over at Cindy's.

And I would continue to decline plastic bags and celebrate the power of creativity when recycling.  May you all have a happy (and green!) christmas with your families. :)

Listening to: Be, Be Your Love - Rachel Yamagata.

Rafting Positive Energies.

Music in the background:  Elton John's Mona Lisas and MadHatters

Everybody who knows me knows I'm a bit of a pessimist -- to myself. I would conjure thoughts to prepare myself in case I would get disappointed. My great discovery right now is I'm no longer that, hahaha! And it's not a miracle, it's not like I woke up and I'm no longer that, it didn't happen that fast. The secret?  It was a conscious choice, I just decided not to do it anymore.  I guess to realize that at every moment you have a choice, and nothing in your life comes by chance -- that realization is a gift in itself.  Let me stop myself before I sound like those self-help teachers :). Basta, I love the me now!

Elton, you rule! Stole the words from my mouth:   "Turn around and say good morning to the night...."

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I'm excited for Pogs this weekend.  He'll be attending a talk I attended last April and it was life-changing for me. Join with an open heart Pogs! Make it a truly amazing experience for you! Don't forget to bring your phone and charge it like hell! :)

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An officemate forwarded a Chico River White Water Rafting details to me (no link, via email only) and he said that now, being monsoon, is the best time to go rafting in Cagayan Valley. I saw the video and oh man, I saw the raging river and after the rough waters of rafting, it became calm and then the view was, what's that used-phrase -- of relentless beauty :).  Shit, I'm giddy again! :)  Anyone interested? Let's!  3 days, 2 nights, 13 hour bus ride one-way! That long bus ride is part of the adventure, folks! Complaining is only for the sissies hahaha! I was reading the site and this person convinced her sister with just one question:  When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Think of adventures and conquering fears and connecting with strangers and just having fun. Indeed, when was the last time you did something for the first time?

;)

Taunting me and taunting me.

Sagada here I come! From playlist and what to wear, dd and I have been excited for weeks!  And this trip is far from being prepared, we have no idea where to sleep, we will just go! Go to paths unknown, trek to breathtaking places! I just hope there's a nice bathroom :) Some of must-dos:

Originally uploaded by ebeseyes.

Originally uploaded by boogieman625.

Originally uploaded by ebeseyes.

Originally uploaded by chad0926.

My Favorite To-Bring

I seldom link to quizzes online but this is good. Visual DNA Quiz and here's my profile:

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

From my now all-time favorite movie, The History Boys: The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and -- taken yours.

You should see the movie, on how that line was delivered. It was really right on, and I really have felt that many times, about lots of the books I've read.  Having said that, help me out. I'm going to spend Holy Week in Camotes Island and then afterwards in Ormoc to attend Tet's wedding.  I'm super excited and I'm thinking the most important stuff to bring to a primitive island (yes, sobrang primitive daw ang Camotes, hahaha!) is a good book.  I'm choosing between Jeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything or Douglas Coupland's Generation X.  The former about culinary writing with humor, and the latter, fiction writing - dare I say it, of postmodern genre.

I'm excited but half of me wants this vacation to be reflective too. Self-reflective I mean.  So which one is it? :)

The Delicious Smell Of High Bandwidth As It Passes Me By

I am just so extremely happy, very very happy that Globelines - Solutions That Mean Business (daw) has finally fixed its cables and now the Typepad login page is showing up, I don't get "problem loading page" error when  I check my web-based email and the sweetest part, I can now see the Google logo when I visit Google.

I have Christmas stories but I think it's a bit inane to talk about it when it's already over been a month.   I'm planning to go to Bantayan Island this March -- I already bought a new swimsuit and worse (for my budget), I'm planning to buy another one.  I'm actually torn because I really really do want to save up for the South America trip (Saan nanggaling yun? hehehe!).  Well, at the back of my mind, it seems this backpacking trip to SA is too far-fetched, baka drawing lang, but that was the same thing I thought too for the India trip two years ago.  But I've done it and it was the most amazing trip ever -- it was also the most reckless thing I've ever done, that India!  Imagine, blowing up almost all of my savings in two weeks! But you see, I'm a changed person because of that trip, it was everything I expected and more. Gusto ko yung naliligaw ako, na di alam ang gagawin in a strange place, but laughing about it with a friend, connecting with the locals, enjoying the food, hating the food, throwing up and probably getting drunk, losing sleep for over 2 days, missing that train, be tongue tied with amazing colors, wonderful structures, embracing all the bloopers, be culture shocked, etc. God I miss that feeling. It makes me giddy and inspired whenever I remember it.  I want to be continuously changed!  Shit! That or a new bathing suit, is that even a fucking choice!

I was inspired by my officemate who plans to backpack to Greece this March, by herself. Imagine the bravery and the confidence, and that sense of purpose. Life's too short, I feel like I'm going to die in 6 months. And if you step back and think about it, that's a good feeling.

 

Taken during offsite at Tagaytay , originally uploaded by Dahon. I love the presentation in the attic, it's so hush hush like planning for a rubbery..

I welcome 2007 with....

...this photo (because I'm inspired!):

January Light., originally uploaded by L'embellie. Starting fresh for 2007..

...this song (because I'm full of hope!!): 

Who knows?  There's something due any day; I will know right away, Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky, Gleam in its eye, Bright as a rose!
Who knows? It's only just out of reach, Down the block, on a beach, Under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due, Gonna come true, Coming to me!
Could it be? Yes, it could.

Something's coming, something good, If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is, But it is gonna be great!
With a click, with a shock, Phone'll jingle, door'll knock, Open the latch!
Something's coming, don't know when, but it's soon;
Catch the moon, One-handed catch!
Around the corner,  Or whistling down the river, Come on, deliver to me!
Will it be? Yes, it will. Maybe just by holding still, it'll be there!

Come on, something, come on in, don't be shy, Meet a guy, Pull up a chair!
The air is humming, And something great is coming! Who knows? 
It's only just out of reach, down the block, on a beach, Maybe tonight...

(Something's Coming from the West Side Story.  I love West Side Story - love it, it's so sad. )

...this resolution (stolen from somebody's secret)  =)

Fuck convention! I want to make an impact

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I'm just happy that I can now blog.  Internet connection has been insane the past weeks, I can't even access the typepad homepage.  Now it's only accessible at 2:00AM accessible, how sensible is that.  But small joys, small joys.  I am happy that I can now blog!

nv