good to know

there are truths that need not be spoken but you say them anyway, just for the sake of having something to say (because you know there are truths that are never forgotten). there are things you say simply because it feels good to say them. there are things so obvious that words need not be said.

i am being too repetitive. you know what i mean.

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off to baguio for a training. will be back on friday.

(sad) sunday news

a ust fine arts--advertising student (and i think, teatro tomasino member) committed suicide (contrary to what the article linked below says--multiply kids said they know her, and she's from cfad) last night.

read the philstar article here: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=453064&publicationSubCategoryId=65.

multiply blog and discussions here:
http://kcajcauorek.multiply.com/links/item/248/UST_Student_makes_suicide_jump_from_hotel_rooftop

the news left me shaking my head with a lot of questions. kids breaking down (for whatever reason), when there's really so much more to life.

yesterday one of my sister binkee's friends hyperventilated/broke down/had an attack of depression (i can't really say because i don't know the whole story; chappy just filled me in that the girl was diagnosed with depression) during their graduation.

i am not one to judge people but i know there's a lot that can be said not only about this situation but also about similar circumstances. i can maybe give an hour-long treatise on the many cultural factors leading to fatal decisions (we did study suicide and depression for several meetings in graduate school). but that would be just plain bull--dead kids don't come back, problems aren't solved, the world turns, and people move on.

negative much? i just wish there's more we can do in the future to prevent stuff like these from happening (e.g. in 'typical' pinoy culture, depression is an alien thing, so it's easily dismissed--lengthy discussion here) than just talking about it. do you enact laws? do you make counseling available for everybody? how do you make people understand that it's all right to ask? do you finally recognize that some things just couldn't be brushed aside? do you teach kids to see the brighter side to everything? do you tell parents to stop demanding/expecting too much? or do you just make rooftop rails higher?

good morning pages

no matter how late i stay up, i always manage to wake up from 6:30-7:00 in the morning. good, huh? well, i have to wake up earlier now, because i, as of april, will be on probationary status in the university. yes, after three years of working there. yes, in the same office. and yes, that's an 8-5 job now, on probation for six months, according to the 'rules' of regularization. masalimuot na usapan 'to.

anyway. this morning i woke up early as usual. first thing i did was to reach for my notebook and my pen. i grabbed my pillow to prop the notebook on it and quickly wrote down what i remembered from the dream i had last night. [side note: yeah yeah i also grabbed the camera. thought the shot would be interesting since i don't do this often. and maybe i wanted to show off our room in all its messy glory, but succeeded only in showing off the bookshelves.]

now, doing the morning pages isn't a regular thing for me; i lack the discipline to do that. (insert sheepish 'hehehe'.) i just write when i had an extremely interesting dream that i'm lucky enough to remember when i wake up.

morning camwhorage (look closely and you'll see my sis bianca behind my right shoulder, her back turned, and by the shelf to my left, the clock that says it's way too early to wake up on a saturday. hahaha.)

so, last night's dream was er, well it had something to do with what s.b. and i were chatting about the past days, something that had to do with family and uh, knowledge (nervous chuckle). i'm not about to post that dream--i wrote it down so i won't forget, anyway. heheheh.

i wish some things

happen more frequently


and last longer than usual.

before the velocirapture,

i was doodling some pretty wholesome stuff:

a girl (me, most probably) taking a photo of a cat, and

a happy encounter.

nagkakatotoo na ang mga pangarap ko

my very own alfred.

(salamat kay ate abby para sa belated birthday gift, at dun sa taga-batasan na nagpakulit at pumayag na tanggalin 'yung tarp sa lugar nila. nakakabit na sa kisame sa ibabaw ng kama ko ngayon. hahaha.)

so this is why they became extinct

One fine Saturday, Dinosaur A was calmly devouring a piece of human from a nearby movie set when suddenly Dinosaur B, a Pterosaurus, came swooping down from the heavens and landed on Dinosaur A. The experience of being pounced on by another Saur, and a prettily winged one for that matter, was an experience too overwhelming for Dinosaur A, and he promptly dropped what was left of the human. The pretty Pterosaur quickly caught the dripping human torso and gave it back to Dinosaur A. "Let's save it for later, dear," she crooned. And they spent the rest of the day tickling each other. The End.

Make way for the great

It dances! It sings! It also eats meat!

See, this is what happens when I don't get my deep dark sleep when I want to.

Good morning, kids.

pairs

just some "themed" photos i'd like to share today.

1st pair: old school.

black and white photos i found in our house (and which i've included in my 'old photos collection').

i love the contrast in this photo...

...and the humor in this one. :)

2nd pair: pink.

a little girl amusing herself (i'm not really sure what she was looking at) at the roxas city airport terminal waiting area, may 2004 i think. both photos were taken with a canon ae-1 slr on kodak max iso400 film.

curiouser...

and curiouser...


3rd pair: my favorite fruit!

this photo is from my first-ever roll with an slr (testing testing depth of field), a canon ftql i "inherited" from my lolo, loaded with kodak max iso400 film. it was the summer of 2003, and a relative from ilocos brought these lovelies. :) happy summer!

this is from the same roxas city trip, one morning when i was alone in the room i shared with my mom then. i got bored a while later and went out to see the city by myself (mama had to work). (i dropped by their museum where i found out that barbie almalbis was a capiz girl. haha. hey, this could be useful information!)

cornflakes

a doodle i made on hearts' day.

sleeping with a chopped-up body part

introducing the Hug Me Pillow.

heh heh heh. freaky.

and i'd rather have the right side half, please. (since i sleep mostly on my left, hahaha.) still, i'm sure it would feel weird to uh, 'feel' for the other half in the middle of the night (weirder if suddenly it does grow the other half.)

meaning-of-life question: why settle for half anyway when you can have the whole?

naks. hahaha.

monday's ending

homeward, i felt good:

• on my way home i assisted an elderly lady across the boulevard and helped her onto a jeep.
• i kept loathsome feelings for one human in check. it was a guy who sat across me in the jeep, who smoked in the vehicle and spit on the road every ten seconds or so. i was sorely tempted to kick him between the legs and squish his (more mature content) to the tune of 'la cucaracha', tempo increased by five times.
• i saw cute tiny rubber stamps in a store display. they could also serve as erasers. neat!
• i walked on the other side of the road up to our street, for a change (and something new!)
• my niece miel gave me a smile when my mom was trying to get her to sleep.
• i rescued my cat who seemed to get lost in the bathroom!

alright then susa, lauren=zen it is! :)

(at least) one photograph a day

my new project, and i hope to keep it up, is to post at least one photograph a day, anything of interest. i know it's nothing new, but for my friends who know of my ningas cogon habit, this is a great challenge. :) i've been thinking about doing this for quite some time, and i've been feeling so cheery recently (and zen, according to susa), i decided to finally get it started.

so, the daily photoblog is this: everyday's little things. the title was inspired by a friend's artwork (who did give his permission to use the title--thank you, it fits the project perfectly). :) i'll still maintain this blog, of course.

rules:

1. i should post at least one photograph a day.
2. the photograph(s) must have been taken on the day itself--not before.
3. the photo(s) must have a short caption.
4. if ever i would not be able to post for the day (reasons may include not being able to go online, other priorities, whatever), i must include the intended photo(s) in the following day's post (or the next time i would be able to go online), duly noted.
5. the photo(s) must not be posted anywhere else (in my case, deviantart, multiply, friendster, and in this blog).

eh. so much for rules. let's get things going!

answers to "what?"

the birthday celebration. friends. the wonderful gifts.


pets sleeping together.


the cebu trip. dried fish, a tour, public transportation. craning my neck to see past the plane wing.


the community visit to maragondon. tagaytay, the beach, squid for lunch, halo-halo by the roadside, pineapples, terrible manila payday-mallwide sale traffic. running to him.

and more:

• the ferry ride along the pasig river. let's google earth the palace instead. beneath bridges. big black fish.
• the dave matthews song "crash into me" cut off and replaced by something else, something sung by black-garbed whiners. (man!) the pan de coco. walking.
• the old church. the children's choir. the sky. the cat caught off-guard.
• the art in the park. bench seats. the girl on a unicycle. rustling grass paranoia.
• the interesting dinner in an empty restaurant. the silly laughter when it wasn't empty anymore.

and of course,

the little boy who went with me everywhere.

it's tiny

This is something I 'made' because of a meme from Martin's blog. :) A little something while I'm in Cebu.

1 - Go to "Wikipedia." Hit “Random Article”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
5 - Post it to FB (since I have no Facebook, I'm only posting it here) with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

Lemme see... I tag whoever.

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in other news,
ige says the belle & sebastian album cover contest is still accepting entries. i wish him luck and lots of smiley support. :)

cebu day two

the philippine misereor partnership - central luzon cluster during the national assembly in lahug, cebu city.

we were welcomed by banging drums and a sinulog dance.

the sign outside the room beside ours. i found it very amusing. :)

the day after

on my birthday i got a really bad cold.

perhaps it was the sudden change of climate (remember i just got back from baguio, a quick overnight stay), or perhaps my immune system went bonkers with the number people around me who had colds--it didn't really matter; what mattered was that i have a cold and it's my birthday.

still, i had a great day, thanks to all those who greeted, and for all the presents, wow. :)

today i stayed home thanks to my (heavy) head and runny nose. what kept me company: happy thoughts, reminiscing the birthday tambay+dinner, and s.b.'s birthday gift. yes susa, i am elated. plus plus! :)

sicilian stwike twee

everyday

that is so me

agrrree. :)

birthday clouds

back

i love surprises

(canon ftql slr, kodak max 400, 2003)

i felt like janine in this photo, when s.b. showed up at the office after work last friday. he did a really good job tinkering with the teleport machine. :)

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in a few hours i'll be heading off to baguio for a quick ocular for our annual training/assembly on the last week of march. will be back by tuesday afternoon the latest. a few hours after that, my 25th birthday, on wednesday. hmm. i don't have anything 'special' planned. i'm more excited about the post-birthday celebration. :)

i think i overslept this afternoon. mild headache. oh well. zonking out in a bit anyway.