Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Cirque du Soleil's SALTIMBANCO!

Behold, the most amazing show staged on earth ever!!! Kidding, I really felt lucky having seen the last show of Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco over the weekend. It was... it was soooo great that I can't find the right  superlative words to justify how amazing, fantastic and cool the show was! All the buzz and the hype about the show, it's really true! 
The greatest show ever! Saltimbanco ran from
Aug.9-19 here in Manila and will perform next in Taiwan. 
I didn't bother to research beforehand about Saltimbanco. All I know is, the show's really famous around the world and has been running for a very long time now. Coming in to the show, I thought it was just another acrobatic exhibition similar to the Chinese acrobatic show we've seen a year ago. But I was really wrong. REALLY WRONG.

Saltimbanco is a circus show. Many of us have this idea of what a circus show is about---acrobatics, clowns a lot of dancing from beautiful girls in headdresses and skimpy clothes and other fun stuff. People associate circus with festivity. And that's what you'll certainly get when you watch Saltimbanco. Except for the first few seconds that got me bored simply because the narrative was spoken in French (yes, they didn't translate it), I really loved every second of it. From their colorful costumes, smooth dance executions, the beautiful melody of the songs that (unfortunately) were not translated to English, the very funny and interactive portion of the  show that gave the lucky kuya a 10-minute (more or less) of fame, the live band performing and of course, the breath-taking stunts. Whew! Believe me, after seeing the last act, I was glad that my heartbeat went to normal again haha The show's really that great! Insanely great if I may add.          
  
Here's my favorite act.
Yes, who would thought that those muscular bodies are very flexible?!? How did they do that?I swear, this act made the crowd shrieked the loudest and I can't blame them. I mean, seeing the act is really insane, unbelievable! 
Saltimbanco, which made its two-week run here in Manila, undoubtedly unleashed the child at heart in its audience, captivating their attention and imagination that everything is possible. Yes, that includes balancing on someone's head. 
Taken from the official FB page of Saltimbanco

Friday, July 20, 2012

Ferdie

Dear Ferdie,

I must say, you caught me off-guard this morning. First, you came earlier than expected and second, you made a 'grand entrance' upon your arrival. Attention-seeker much? Well, you succeeded in grabbing not just mine but everybody's attention this morning. Your strong presence made us all sick, weary, hot-headed and
wet all at the same time. Worse, you didn't give me a chance to work today. I hate you for that!

Go find someplace where you will be accepted...that is, if anybody's willing to take you. Hmmm, I highly doubt. Whatever. But please, leave right now because the longer you'll stay, the more you'll ruin everything. Are you happy to be labeled as a wrecker?Well, I hope that I won't see you again Ferdie. It's time for you to go. The perfect time is NOW. Don't worry about us as we'll even appreciate your 'heroic' move to leave us alone.
Kthnxbye for the visit!Now go away! Ferdie
Happy not to see you ever,
Absent girl from Taytay

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Distance

There's something about Christina Perri's songs that make me want to suddenly burst to tears. Her songs simply speak of sincerity from the heart and very raw emotions that's why it's not hard to relate with her. I remember I'm almost on the verge of tears while my lips ironically forms a small smile everytime I hear of Arms. Admittedly, the song still has the same effect on me till this day and I swear. 

With her latest single Distance featuring Jason Mraz, I can't help but feel melancholic as I listen to it over and over.  Hell yeah, I can totally relate with it....promising and heart-breaking at the same time. 
  
The sun is filling up the room, and I can hear you dreaming. 
Do you feel the way I do? Right now.
I wish we would just give up, 'cause the best part is falling.
Call it anything but love.
And I will make sure to keep my distance.
Say I love you when you're not listening. 
And how long can we keep this up, up, up?
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/christina_perri/distance.html ]
Please don't stand so close to me; I'm having trouble breathing. 
I'm afraid of what you'll see right now.
I give you everything I am, all my broken heartbeats, until I know you'll understand.
And I will make sure to keep my distance.
Say I love you when you're not listening.
And how long can we keep this up, up, up?

And I keep waiting for you to take me.
You keep waiting to save what we have.

So I'll make sure to keep my distance. 
Say I love you when you're not listening.
And how long can we keep this up, up, up?

Make sure to keep my distance.
Say I love you when you're not listening.
How long 'till we call this love, love, love?

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Hopeful July


And just like that, the first half of the year has ended! To say that time flies so fast would be an understatement because the truth is, the first six months of 2012 is quite a long journey. Many things have transpired within those months and fortunately, surviving a number of (planned or not) experience in the not so distant past may prompt one to say hey, six months ago my heart was deeply bruised and my dignity crushed into pieces but look at me now living my life 100% or hey, six months ago I'm spending hours to polish my thesis but look at me now, enjoying and learning the tricks in the 'real world.' 

It's human's resiliency amidst life's challenges that leads to the realization that they're capable of going far in life. Six months as I've said is long, that's roughly 180 days spent on completing paperworks for school, coming up with a new campaign to be presented to your boss, misunderstandings with people, travelling with loved ones, repairing and restoring broken relationships and all other crazy things you could think of. It's not true that time flies so fast. What I believe in is that people, even to the minutest degree, mature or learn over time. Looking back, I can say that the first half of the year turned out well for me. Personal struggles, career-wise and searching for myself among others, are always part of the package but I can say that I was able to cope well. I'm thankful that these experiences are behind me now. 

As the second half of the year unfolds today, I can’t help but be excited and nervous on what’s gonna happen next. While I have two trips to look forward to before 2012 ends, another thing than I hope to achieve is to go back to school starting this second semester. It's just a shame that I can't figure out what path I'm supposed to take :-(  I mean, I have plans A to C but I'm really hoping that by September, my mind and heart will come to an agreement. Nothing’s final yet with my plans but I’m really praying for one good opportunity to come my way in the next  couple of days.

HOPEFULLY.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Hello Coron, We Meet Again

This entry is long overdue hihi I'm too lazy to update my blog during the first five months of the year and it was only until recently when I started to romance my blog again. Okay, enough of the disclaimer.

As I type this entry, I realized how loser I am this summer. Comparing my 2011 summer destination list with this year, (Shanghai, Calaguas, Baguio and Coron in that order), I only had one 'official' summer escapade. But I consider it a blast!

I'm back in Coron this year together with the ABS peeps whom I consider as my 'regular December travel buddies.' Well, at least there are two of them hehe. Anyway, instead of doing a sort of 'dear diary' entry, I'll only make a few points of the trip. (Besides, I made a detailed Coron series last year) 

DEPARTURE IN MANILA. This is one of the most nakakalokang trips I had, next to my Iloilo experience. Originally, 11 of us will spend the next 3 days and 2 nights in Coron---7 were booked via Airphil (where I'm part of) and 4 via Cebu Pacific. There's a one-hour difference in our scheds if I'm not mistakenbut due to unacceptable circumstances, the Cebupac group MISSED THEIR PLANE, literally speaking. They're not late and even managed to check-in but then.... As for our group, only one failed to show up. Despite the airport misfortune, the remaining six of us decided to push through with the trip. Sayang naman ang bayad no!

My 'Decemeber travel buddies' rei and azi
WELCOME TO CORON! As expected, we reached Coron a little past 12 and were fetched by the guys who'll bring us to Coron Village Lodge. Upon arrival, we immediately talked with the receptionist to address our concerns. Luckily, the whole check-in process and the computation of the pay adjustment went smoothly. What a relief!
Nilaga, calamares, tuna, pork steak and ice cold bottle
of Coke for our late lunch.
After a heavy meal, we went to our rooms to rest. We were fetched by Kuya Rollie (our tour guide) at around 4pm for our city tour which includes Coron Municipal Hall, Lualhati Park, Mt. Tapyas (723 steps one-way) and ending the tour with a hot dip in Maquinit Hotspring.
In front of Coron Municipal Hall looking for
Mayor Joel Reyes Jr. lol. According to Kuya Rollie,
the mayor was a nice guy and people love him. Oh well,
greed for power  ruins one's character  

Almost there. Successfully made it at the 'summit' of
Mt. Tapyas just in time for the sunset
Overrated. Food was normal, SERVICE
REALLY SUCKS!
A round of tequila sunrise and a bucket of San Mig Light plus Bb. Pilipinas coronation night ended our long 
day.

SUN,SEA,SAND, SNORKEL.  The next day, we woke up at around 6 since our tour guide will fetch us at 7:30. We started our island hopping tour around 8am. Our first destination was the beautiful, white sand beach of Malcapuya Island which is almost two hours away from the wharf. Seeing the white sand from afar really made me giddy and excited. I've heard and read sooo much about this place and finally, I was able to see it in person. I can die now haha!
Feeling poster girl for Malcapuya Island
The long stretch of powdery, white sand beach of
the island.
Oohhhlalalala....
The funny thing is, we didn't spend much time in its crystal clear waters since we're busy with our photo ops. Although we snorkeled and fed the fish. By the time we're ready for the grand dip, our tour guide's back. It's time leave Malcapuya Island.
Next stop: Twin Lagoon and Siete Pecados for another round of snorkeling activities.
Okay, excited much as we're headed to dock at
Twin Lagoons 
Just enjoyed the 'underworld'
On our way back to the city
Our second night was my fave part because of THE GAME OF CARDS hoho
Ready for the battle.Imma beat you all
because I'm the master of cards 
Okay, feeling ko lang na I'm a master of every card game.
Truth be told,  the only card game I know by heart is
solitaire. Bokya tuloy ako!
ONE LAST TIME. Since our flight was still at 3pm, we managed to squeeze in the famous Kayangan Lake and the Barracuda Lake.
Just finished swimming

Limestones that Coron is known for
The bravest jump of my life, literally
speaking
There goes my ABS peeps. 
My Coron trip, the only official summer vacay I had, was something for keeps. Prior and during the trip, many things happened and are happening which kinda pissed me off. But hey, it doesn't mean I should be affected. I'm just too lucky that at the end of it all, I WAS A HAPPY GIRL IN THE ENTIRE TRIP :)


   

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dessert Time at Claudette's

This week, I've been craving to go back at Claudette's to try their other cakes and luckily, I found a good opportunity to do so. Despite the lack of funds last night after some 'heartless individual' took my hard-earned P400 last week, I found myself happily seating inside this modest diner along Valero Street together with my college pal Jai.

Segue: Our dinner date was some sort of a farewell since he already made his decision to leave the traffic area of Makati City and go find a career somewhere in Ortigas or Libis areas. Goodluck to that pal. 

Anyway, it's my second time to eat at Claudette's and just as my first visit there sometime in March, my eyes feasted on the sight of a variety of cakes---tiramisu, brazo de mercedes, sansrival (tried it before and it was good!), Toblerone cheesecake (which I found interesting but decided not to try it since I'm not a fan of white chocolate), their best-seller Cloud 9 cake still inside the box and a few chocolate cake selections which Jai and I tried that night.

I had a plate of their best-seller Dolly Sin which is an equivalent of choco mousse cake but this one is better. What I like about it is that it's not too sweet, therefore no umay factor. The chocolate layer on top is my favorite part!  
Dolly Sin is a sinful treat to the mouth
 Jai ordered a plate of Midnight Layer cake, together with his delicious-looking puttanesca, which is covered with dark chocolate. Of course, his cake wasn't as sweet as the one I ordered since dark chocolates have that bittersweet taste. But the cake is also heavenly to the mouth! Just perfect for dark choco lovers like me.
Midnight Layer covered with dark choco, yummy!
 Other interesting cakes I'd like to try soon include their Tiramisu, Kahlua (which suddenly made me miss Chef Med) and the much raved Cloud 9 cake. Hmm, maybe I'll bring home a box one of these days.  The Toblerone Cheesecake is also a welcome challenge for me since I don't like cheesecakes either but we'll see about that.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

So Ordered

Twenty senator judges found Chief Justice Renato Corona guilty under impeachment article 2 or his failure to disclose his other assets in his SALn considering the 1987 constitution requires all government employees and public officials to properly disclose all their assets---cash, properties, jewels and cars to name a few. Three judges, on one hand, voted for his acquittal because of the following reasons: the accusation (article 2) does not fall under the impeachable offenses such as bribery and treason; there's not enough evidence from the prosecution to prove Corona's guilt; lastly, RA 6173 (requiring all government officials to declare ALL their wealth in their SALn) vs. FCDU Law (Foreign Currency Deposit Unit).

I am no law expert although I can still remember about due process,sovereignty, vox populi, vox dei, separation of powers and checks and balances. In the middle of this whole proceeding, I lost interest because of the prosecution's presentation of (fabricated?) evidence or witness to court. Listening to them is boring, not to mention not credible. Then, here comes the defense led by 'your henuer' former Justice Serafin Cuevas whom you'll hate (because he's in the wrong side) and love (he is a former cj, himself. a respected man on his field) both at the same time. The defense panel was soooo good that even if they look like the antagonists of the show, you can't help but get convinced with what they're saying because their arguments sound more logical to the ears.  
The decision to convict Corona is somehow I predicted although the result was something I didn't expect. 20-3 is too far although I'm 500% sure that Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago would acquit Corona and 1000% sure that Drilon and Pangilinan would hand a guilty verdict. It's obvious in their body language on how each stood up to defend their 'side.' Well, Angara's vote is also a giveaway since his handsome son is one of the house prosecutors.

2013 senatorial elections. 'Nuff said.

Revilla and Lapid's decisions are not that surprising as well. The latter, as he admitted it on live television, is no expert in law (he didn't reach college) so the probability that he will base his decision on emotions, sentiments of the public and not on the merits of the case is high. Well, Revilla for me is a rider...someone who loves to make sawsaw of the situation and project himself as someone who knows his laws well or someone who advocates the truth. I doubt it.  Legarda, well, is Legarda. 

The biggest surprise for me was JPE's decision. I thought he'd do a Miriam (acquit) come judgement day given his deep understanding of the law until yesterday when he asked Cuevas about 'culpable.' I told myself, pwede. And it did happen. 

If there's one good thing that this impeachment case have caused, it's awakening the minds of Filipinos. Many are saying that because of the recurring events in politics, Filipinos grew tired of hearing the same shit over again. But those who said that were wrong because Pinoys still care on national issues.

-How many times did impeachment-related words such as #waah, #gago, #JPE  and #palusot trended in the Philippines?
-How many drivers and households, despite the proceeding being said in the english language, would still stick to their TVs to listen and struggle to understand every latin word these lawyers are talking about?
-How many Pinoys participated on online forum/votes regarding their stand on the proceeding?

Filipinos were not that apathetic. They care. They observe. They become vigilant. They become more opinionated. It's funny that the impeachment proceeding suddenly turned almost every Pinoy to a constitutional expert or law interpreter to voice out their opinions in the ongoing case. Regardless of your status in life, work, gender, or age, this impeachment proceeding encouraged Pinoys to exercise their freedom to express their thoughts on what's happening in the country.

The impeachment is focused on Corona's alleged ill-gotten wealth and how he will defend it before the public who, most of them, see him nothing less than GMA who's a corrupt, power-clinging official. But I must say, the 80 plus year-old Manong Johnny stole the limelight. I did vote for him in the last senatorial elections because even if he's a trapo, he knows what he's doing, what's legal, what's just, what's sensible, what's good for Pinoys. Sure, he also has his skeletons hidden somewhere but you gotta admire his status as the presiding judge.He clearly upstaged CJ in this show. He was composed during the entire trial, scolding the prosec from time to time but he never lost his temperament even during the supposed 'walk out' of CJ from the court. And listen to his words...full of wisdom, of objectivity, of fairness. The Senate is lucky to have him as a presiding judge. 

Oh, and Farinas and his palusot was really entertaining yesterday. If not for him, I would not understand RA 6173 and the FCDU law better. My 'dream' father-in-law Sen. Bong-Bong Marcos speaks very eloquently, intelligently and reasonably. He made it appear that he's one of those judges who can prove his objectivity in front of the people because although he speaks the 'language of the learned and a Europe-educated man' he was able to express his thoughts clearly and very simply. Hindi naman halata ang bias ko sa kanya haha.

The senator-judges said their piece one by one, the votes had been cast and the decision was final. Finally, both chambers of the congress, especially the Senate can now attend to reviewing the pending bills which include the RH bill among the many others.I hope our officials will finally leave this chapter behind and start going back to their business. 

Well, I hope P-Noy will also start acting than talking, to think of measures on how to make life more bearable to every Filipino. To speak more of positive news about the country or what his government is doing in fighting poverty and joblessness than just criticizing CJ and other allies of GMA.

I hope Filipinos will vote more wisely. I wish they'll see it in their hearts who among the 20 senators voted out of 'conscience' and not because they're politically motivated. 

I wonder, if the impeachment happened after the senatorial elections, would CJ, backed by his defense panel, will receive a different verdict?Hmmmmm.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Goodbye my dear phone

For me, the most painful part of being robbed off---phone, wallet, laptop or worse, your whole bag---is not how many meriendas you've skipped, how many times you close your eyes everytime you pass by your fave boutique store or how you tolerate commuting on an overcrowded and 'un-airconditioned' bus on your way home to save money. The saddest part of being robbed off something is being deprived of the 'memories' forever. Yes, memories---important messages, pictures, government ids, notebook with your notes on it, contact numbers of people, etc. 

My two-year-old Nokia phone plus P400 worth of cash was stolen from me last Friday and it was one of those unfortunate moments in my life lol. Honestly, the phone was no longer as functional as it was back when I first bought it. I thought of selling it out so that I could make some fortune out of it but then I realized that aside from the fact that it's no longer marketable, the phone has sentimental value to me. It is my companion, physically and emotionally speaking; it witnessed all my escapades in life; it kept all my secrets; it served me well despite 'hanging on' me several times.

My phone, along with the pictures, messages, government id numbers and songs on it were taken away from me in less than five minutes. Awful. But if there's one eye-opener thought I learned from this situation, it's my officemate's words telling me that 'things that you no longer use should be given away' or something to that effect. I'm a very clingy person and letting go of things is very hard for me. Actually May is my "letting go month" because of the following:
-I let go of someone whom I thought is a friend through thick or thin
-I turned down some job interviews
-I shut my heart
-I forego the emotions playing inside of me for the past years
-him, I think.

Still, I'm very thankful that not all my things were taken away from me....that would be more painful. I'm glad my other phone was kept in a secret pocket and my atm, credit card and all the government ids are still intact. At least I still go these things. Not that bad.  

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Let Go...


I didn't imagine it has to end this way. I'd be a hypocrite to say that I'm not saddened with what happened but  the feeling of being abandoned is really insulting...and painful.

LETTING GO OF SOMETHING IS A MAJOR DECISION IN LIFE. IT'S RISKY BECAUSE OF THE MANY WHAT IFs AND POSSIBILITIES THAT MAYBE IT'S WORTH SACRIFICING FOR. BUT WHEN CAN YOU SAY THAT EVERYTHING'S WORTH GIVING A SECOND, THIRD OR FOURTH CHANCE? HOW FAR CAN YOU CONVINCE YOURSELF THAT THINGS WILL BE BETTER IN THE END?

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT'S TIME TO LET GO AND NEVER LOOK BACK.