changes

sometimes things don't turn out the way you hoped.

sometimes you just have to accept that not everything works according to plan.

there are disappointing things. surprising things. hurtful things.  disappearing things.

maybe things will work out. 

maybe they won't. 

one thing's for sure: 

my hair's short again, yay!

 

and i think i'll keep it that way for a long, long while.

new tools

i was feeling blah this afternoon so i decided to take a walk to what is perhaps the most well-known and well-patronized school-and-art supply shop in the vicinity of the university.  i was planning to buy a new sakura brush pen, but the shop ran out of stock. i decided to try a cheap chinese refillable brush pen--it was the only brush pen left--and a small bottle of ideal (that's the brand) drawing ink. i looked around for a notebook that can take the ink (and preferably watercolor too) and found this:

not as popular as the "leading brand" that starts with an m, but worth a try, heheh.

it was cheap at sixty-two pesos, and seemed thick enough for watercolors, so i grabbed one.

i should have grabbed all of it. (maybe later, on my way home!)  i tried it out immediately:

sakura brushpen and prang colors. 

i like it a lot. i can see myself taking it anywhere (lol feeling artist talaga), and the paper isn't too white, unlike my other watercolor pads.  it has just the teeniest bit of texture.  i'm just not so sure about the binding, though. heh. anyway.

as for the chinese brushpen, i've filled it out with ink, and the first few strokes were--mm, should i say--i need more practice with the thing.  the tip dries out quickly, and i'm afraid i'll squirt it accidentally over a favorite shirt.  haha.

i'm looking forward to doing a lot of sketches this long weekend, especially when we visit the cemetery on the 31st.  wish me luck.

october sketches

 quick sketches done using brushpens. i think i like brushpens more than unipins. heheh. 

 my Philippine Airlines flight departure was moved to  NAIA Terminal 3.  i hung around for a while at Kopiroti before heading on to the departure area.

 a few minutes before boarding...

 the wing can be an interesting subject, why not?

 shoe.

a panel session during our conference

 hanging out in the boys' room because my roommate was feeling sick and she turned off the airconditioner.

 my slippers, jessie's bag, and a foot stool.

 a band member who played the kudyapi (or whatever it's called in their language)

 ketchup bottle from where we ate a giant pizza for dinner

 chair. i like chairs.

carabao getting ready to be milked

and a big serving of buko juice for lunch, before going to the airport for our flight home.

props

L-R: Catch As Catch Can by Joseph Heller (of Catch-22 fame), Deaf In America by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, and Light at the Edge of the World by Wade Davis.

These books made their way to Bukidnon from Manila, as airport / bedroom reading material that were never read.  They belong to three different people.

The first one on the left is mine.  I got it from Booksale for forty-five pesos (reduced from seventy-five).  It has short fiction.  I like short stories.  And books on sale.

The second one is Rej's.  The book is for his thesis; he's doing a study on sign language and Deaf identity.  I think it's cool.  I miss signing, and I'm afraid I've forgotten most of what I learned three years ago. 

The third one is Butch's.  He takes care of his books really well--the one he lent me last year is also covered in plastic.  Wade Davis is a National Geographic explorer; you might have seen his work on NGC.

It just feels good to have a book around, don't you think?

*The Skyflakes (care of Rej), were never eaten.  The water, however, was consumed, the medicine was taken, and the belt was worn.  The unread books are now back in Manila.

four days

 

 

  

 

in Bukidnon.

climb ev'ry mountain (well, just four)

2003.  i was in college and i badly needed a distraction from thinking too much about an ex (lol right), so i did what i have been what-iffing about ever since i gazed at big mountains: join a mountaineering club.

thanks to tere suratos for being our official photographer!

mt. san cristobal climb.  coldest climb ever (it was raining when we ascended, our teeth chattered as we slept).

can you see me?  of course not!  loljk, i'm the one at the leftmost, light blue shirt. (pico de loro fun climb, cutad beach-ineering)

 more san cristobal shots, before our descent.  prana's still with us. RIP, sis.  you should've played paintball with us when i invited you (she replied, saying, "punta akong mindoro e".--i didn't know she would be trying to catch up with the others at mt. halcon.  then i received the sad news--that they had not heard from her, launching a massive search.  her body was found around a week later).  :(

my photobombing skills ftw.

i only managed to join four official climbs (tarak ridge, pico de loro, san cristobal, banahaw) before choosing to spend weekends camping in a new boyfriend's room instead.  the relationship lasted four years (what the hell was i thinking?), but my friendship with these guys--especially my batchmates--continues to this day, but i have yet to rejoin them in a climb.  what's so cool about the experience: you help each other go to the top and back.  and there really is something about shouting at the top of your lungs when you get there.  i had two major climbs left (the skills climb and the initiation climb) before i was to be officially recognized as a member, and i gave it all up for "love".  dopey ain't it, and quite ironic, because i met the guy in da club, and he didn't like me to go on climbing, because, pretty girl that i am (lol), he kinda sensed some other guys were also into me (fresh meat much).  anyway.

i posted these pictures because ige mentioned something about a photo of him when he attended a 2003 comics festival.  and because i'm that good, i found them!  yes, not one, but two photos!  :P

 can you see him?  dude's rockin' the white (edit: he says it's faded beige) sneakers. and the long hair.  haha.

photos found on Gerry Alanguilan's Multiply page.

sigh. the stuff we were into then.  not much has changed i think--i still climb mountains hills for work, and ige well, he's rediscovered his love for comics-related stuff.  er, toys. see his stuff here!