Velada Tomasina

Today we put on our period costumes and strolled around campus.  As part of the Neocentennial Celebrations, tarpaulin likenesses of the old UST campus and Sto. Domingo Church in Intramuros were erected at Plaza Benavides (or, to the alumni out there, "Lovers' Lane").  A historical marker was unveiled, marchas were played, and carriages took us around campus.  It's interesting to see people--students, faculty, support staff--walking around in barongs and baro't sayas.  Even the guards wore the uniform of the guardia civil!

i wore a long billowy black skirt, a tapis, white baro, and a head scarf.  i would like to think that during the spanish era, i was a tindera.  or a hacienda worker in manila.  :)  behind me is the facade of the old sto. domingo church.

with the 'big men' of the university--former and current vice rectors for religious affairs (where our office falls under) 

a sea of students in period costume...and their modern-day backpacks.  at the background is the likeness of the university in intramuros.

 video crew in camisa de chinos...and a guardia civil in relaxed stance.

 i love their leather satchels!  you can see the old sto. domingo church in the background.

i wanted to approach this man and take his photo.  but i kinda lost him when i tried to walk around to the other side!  isn't he a dapper chap?  and with a film camera in his left hand too!  i didn't see what it was but it had bellows...

 watching the unveiling of the historical marker behind the benavides monument.

professors from the college of fine arts and design.

 this student's skirt was really beautiful.

 there were so many people it's hard to get a "just us" photo, haha.

tv interview (that's a real priest, btw)

 we're with the band.

with my uh, novio.  he was so sweet to come see me after his class.  he looks annoyed at the camera though.

 impeachment court.

 the historical marker. it's quite a long read.

 band!

 

we also got to ride a carriage. caretela?

 

 matador's got pink socks!

  

there's a tree growing from the building! :P 

more photos in my flickr.

Harbor Square sketches

I finally found the time (and the guts) to join the Urban Sketchers-Philippines on a sketch session! :)

see more of my sketches here!

I had so much fun and it was pleasant and enjoyable to sketch with a group.  I was very glad for the warm welcome and I'm looking forward to more sketching sessions and other activities in the future.  See you at Art In The Park!  :)

photos grabbed from the Urban Sketchers-Philippines blog

If you're in the Philippines and want to do some urban sketching with us, please do join us!  You don't have to be an art major or have formal schooling in drawing (like me haha), you just have to well, like sketching (like i do).  :)  Follow the Urban Sketchers-Philippines blog [http://urbansketchers-philippines.blogspot.com] or find the group of Facebook [Urban Sketchers Philippines].  :)

blue

by you.

"corned beef."

the first words i uttered today.

my brother was asking what the torta on the table was made of while i was having my breakfast.  by the looks of it it was corned beef, and i had earlier placed a piece of it in my lunchbox, along with garlic rice.

as a kid i wondered where the corn was, because potatoes were not corn.  eventually i just grew to accept that that's what it's called, corned beef.  and it was yummy, especially when souped.  it goes a long way when souped, and it makes me eat a lot more rice than i should.

corned beef is a staple in my student-on-community-immersion life, as something we share on our foster family's table.  as a canned good it is more expensive than most so it rarely graces big family tables, and therefore is considered special.  plus it goes a long way when souped (with cabbages and potatoes and onions).

i've taken corned beef on camping trips, because it makes breakfast on a mountain more special--imagine taking in the view of the sunrise from a mossy peak while sipping 3-in-1 coffee and eating rice from the night before but with ready-to-eat newly-cooked corned beef (guisado) on top.

for us, having a family member come home from abroad means spam in all flavors, and corned beef with potatoes, corned beef chunks, corned beef strings, and just about every corned beef creation there is. 

when there is just a little bit of corned beef left on the table (sometimes i am last to eat on weekends), i just put hot fluffy rice in the corned beef bowl and mash the rice in the oil.  it's unhealthy but it's so. darn. good.

corned beef is love.

and i suck at taking food photos.  anyway, that's my lunch.  what will you be having?

ye olde university mailbox

Kate's post about vintage mailboxes got me into looking for an old photo I took of the post office mailbox in the university.  When I couldn't find it, I decided to just go out and take photos.  I also sent a postcard to a friend. :) 

The mailbox is positioned at a corner outside the post office.

Notice that it says "P.I. MAIL"--I'm taking a wild yet slightly educated guess that this mailbox dates back to the American era, when the Philippines was referred to as "Philippine Islands."  What are your thoughts on this? 

 Good camouflage!

 

"Vicente Zamora Manufacturing. Made in the Philippines." Interesting seal!

Other vintage stuff in the post office.  Probably this fan!

And this hinge.

There's a faint "PHILIPPINES" stuck on the mailbox.  Probably stickers before.

The post office hasn't changed one bit since high school (and probably since way before), even if the rest of the university's having a facelift of some sort.  Perhaps this is because the post office is technically under the Philippine Postal Corporation, and maybe they couldn't really upgrade their post offices as much as they'd like. 

Nowadays, there's a small box inside the post office where you can drop your mail for sending, and I don't see the big mailbox being used as much as before.  Or I just don't see people sending stuff (bank and insurance stuff not included) through snail mail anymore (with the exception of fellow Postcrossers and some of my friends).  Sigh.

Hairy Harry and I <3 snail mail so much.

Thanks, Kate, for the inspiration for this post! :)