Late Night Shenanigans

It'll be December by tomorrow and I can't help but get giddy just by thinking of what this year's Most Wonderful Time of the Year has in store for me!! 

Blazer and shoes: H&M | Inner top: Topshop | Shorts: Zara | Gloves: from night market in HK | Bag: Michael Kors

My birthday wish for 2016 was all about starting new things and seeing more of the world. How lucky I've been to have both of my wishes come true! I've started ARKIPELAGO with one of my trusted friends Tatiana and I've gone on numerous trips for the past 11 months (and I'm still about to go somewhere this December for the Holiday), at least numerous enough with what my approved absences allowed. Speaking of which, this post is somehow a bit of both. Last February, I went to Hong Kong with my fellow simple girls Tatiana and Abby, and Tats' boyfriend Ron. We coincided this trip with Tats' birthday as well as the pre-launching of ARKIPELAGO.

For our 1st night in HK, we had dinner in Budaoweng Hotpot Cuisine. Then we proceeded to Lan Kwai Fong to get everyone in the mood that dictated the rest of how the trip went: chill and up for anything. I'm a very easy person to travel with, honest! We're all quite chill persons to travel with for that matter so we decided to call ourselves The Simple Girls. Cause you know, we don't require to be fed in fancy restaurants all the time. We get by with food from a decent place and we definitely wouldn't mind buying off from the 10HKD-per-shot lady who's selling it along the street in between the bars in Lan Kwai Fong. Just the same, we wouldn't mind receiving drinks from friends of friends who turn out to be the actual owners of one of said bars. Or we're up for it even if we'd have to buy for ourselves the 120HKD-per-shot tequila just because we can't wait for the friend/owner to arrive. See, we're chill and up for anything right!

I will post about the rest of my HK trip last February in a couple of months. And I promise that I won't leave the blog without any post in December so, later 'gator!

Give the Devil His Due

I think that as the world keeps on progressing, so do the gray areas between 2 opposing straight-laced sides grow. It’s fascinating to see mankind accept that things are changing and that the interpretations of once-thought of as absolute truth are becoming relative. Of course, let’s not discount the power of determined traditionalists who refuse to embrace anything that’s different from what was observed centuries ago. I digress. See, I have always had a questionable sense of who to put my trust in. I’ve always rooted for the villain whose character has been so well-written that I understand his motivations. I especially like characters who’s facing a moral dilemma that’s beyond the concept of whether it’s good or bad. 

Dress: from Korea | Sandals: Gap | G-embellished Bag: Aranaz | Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Last June, we stayed in Samkara Resort in Quezon province. The place was idyllically situated in the middle of rice fields where farmers and their Carabaos plough the lands to prepare them for planting. The nationalistic theme of the resort begins the moment you step into their restaurant and see flags, bolos, and KKK-insignias litter the pathways. Then there’s the ice-cold mountain-water  which filled their pools. Everything about the place just invited relaxation and promised a nurturing stay.

I am in the phase of obsessing about American TV series. If before I only watch when I have the time, now I make time to watch. I’m still in awe with Breaking Bad, Narcos, and Stranger Things but the real deal which paved way for my American TV series marathon has to be Lucifer. I watched the entire 1^st season in just one weekend and  since then, I’m hooked! Let me begin my word vomit with: I love Neil Gaiman. I love his books and highly recommended them to my brother who’s slowly trying to find the joy in reading (he’s failing at it but regardless, he bought certain books upon my recommendation). Gaiman has a knack in transforming ‘childish’ horrors into adult nightmares and creating sensible yet mysterious characters who eventually inhabit the reader’s consciousness, that I was sure anything that he has penned is bound to be great (fine, sometimes it’s only “good”). From his brain sprung the now endearing Lucifer.

(SOURCE)

See, I had to screencap this quote including the date from whence I found it just to say that the 1^st time I came across it, my interest was piqued. Truly, the question that it posits reverberates and somehow demands an intuitive Christian answer. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not an evil worshipper nor would I ever be passionate for anything related to religion (or the destruction thereof). It’s just that, if we take out the Christian aspect of our prejudice and look at the question from a hypothetical non-extraordinary way, we will all become the greatest breathing hypocrites.

Aside from Lucifer’s good looks, endearing charm, and unmatched wit, I think that the best part about the TV series from Fox is that it posits more sensible questions in which the answers are lying on the treacherous gray areas between right and wrong. I get it that there’s such concept as faith but sometimes, it’s no longer logical to just trust in someone else when there’s no any concrete proof that will lead us to trust him. And really, how will we know if we’re doing the right thing? Is this what we’re supposed to do? Is this part of the Grand Plan? And what if it is? Will there be a reward at the end of all? Will there even be a point? Whenever Lucifer faces a problem and his vulnerable side resurfaces, he often blurts out the same questions we all ask at one point. Is it truly so bad to try to know more about what we don’t know? Or to try to do things differently from what is expected?

It's just fitting to leave posts that are unresolved just like that: open and can be picked up from at any time in the future.

High School Forever

Oh would you look at that! It seems that I owe myself a couple of posts since I have pretty much been quiet here since 2016 began. Let me post two successive entries (the first is this and the next one will be in a couple of days!)

I figured, I've left the blog untouched since my last birthday post so why not continue with another birthday post! These photos were taken last 16 January when I held an overnight celebration with some of my favorites from High School.

6 years after graduating from High School and everyone's still as indecisive, impulsive, ignorant, shallow, and boisterous as when we left the halls of our beloved High School Alma Mater.

The Point Where It Gets Blurry

Between January and September (technically, my last post here was about how I celebrated my birthday in January so let’s consider last post to be from January), life happened. Everything is moving so fast and progressively that I can only retain bits of information from things I’ve and should’ve done.  My memory has never been something I’ve been proud of to begin with. I would have loved to tell stories about my first time to experience Hong Kong Disneyland without the usual human traffic but then I feel like the enthusiasm that it’s meant to be documented with is already doused by the fact that it happened last February. Then there’s my supposedly excessive posts about the Asian Cruise I’ve been on during the Holy Week. Oh gosh Time, you sure are a party pooper.  Then again, a geeky girl like myself can’t part ways with her books so there’s that for the semblance of normalcy. Speaking of which, I know it’s been months since The Cursed Child was released but allow me to gush over it albeit in the most concise way that I can.

Dress: H&M | Flats: SM Department Store (Gibi) | Bag: Prada

Let me precede this paragraph by saying that I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. Crying over Sirius’ death? Yup. Hating Umbridge with every fiber of my being? That’s my forte. Shipping Scorpius and Rose together? I’m all for it! But one thing I cannot say is that, I loved the manuscript of The Cursed Child. I’ve read far better fanfictions than that one. I’m not a Psychology expert; I didn’t even have a class in Psychology (or had I?) but to me, Harry may have some issues but he has not appeared as an emotionally-challenged human being. I mean, it’s a wonder how he got out of the Dursleys mentally  unscathed and perhaps it’s only well into fatherhood that his emotional imbalances are showing but I just cannot accept how the book described Albus as a socially awkward teen as a result of his parenting style. He’s Harry Potter’s son, for goodness’ sake; the very same man who defeated Voldemort and saved the entire world. If I were in his shoes, I’ll be ‘strutting down the castle’ and be an even bigger ‘arrogant toerag’ than his grandfather James. Then there’s also Scorpius Malfoy. Oh dear how can he not be cool? If he’s the spitting image of Draco (who by the way is among my favorite characters in the Harry Potter universe), won’t he be equally good-looking, aristocratic, and a downright snob? Oh well. So much for the characters I’ve thought they would have become.

Did you know how many people I’ve contacted just to ensure that I’ll have a copy by 31 July? There’s my brother Gio who’s currently in the US for his year-long internship (which I’ll tell more about in succeeding posts). He has pre-ordered because we were both anticipating that the book copies will run out as soon as it goes on sale. But then when he has placed the order, it's occurred to me that it’ll take weeks for the book to arrive at my doorstep, which I wouldn’t accept. So enter Plan B. I contacted different bookstores in Manila in hopes that I can have a copy reserved for me. To cut the chase, I had to step out of the office during my lunch break and drive to the bookstore where I finally got my much-anticipated copy (I prefer my books in their physical form rather than the electronic) I may have disliked the content but I will happily be the fan who will fight tooth and nail just to get any literary material concerning the Potter Universe.

These photos were taken last August 2016 when my family went to Baguio. So until the next post! Haha, I know. This post has been anticlimactic but this is more of a hey-I'm-still-updating type rather than the hey-would-you-look-at-that-I've-an-idea. Until the next!

Once I was Twenty Years Old, My Story Got Told

Oh my goodness, time! I know I have so little regard of you but must you really fly before my eyes so quickly? I'm still reeling in from my birthday celebrations last January and here we are, almost at the open of May. Give me some leeway here; everyone knows how self-centered and self-serving my January posts have always been owing to it being my birthmonth Hahahaha

Dress: Topshop | Bag: Michael Kors | Watch: Tag Heuer | Shoes: Zara| Laurel headband: from China Town in Malaysia

I celebrated my birthday with my family, friends, and officemates separately. I'll begin with posting my celebration with my family. Since I was, yet again, the center of the night at that time, I got to choose where I wanted to eat. For my special day, we ate at Cafe Ilang Ilang in Manila Hotel.

Once I was seven years old
My Mommy told me that if I do my best and study hard, I would succeed in life. Back then, to succeed in life meant to get a new Barbie or Polly Pocket or another Sylvanian. That's why I studied hard, ate the vegetables on my plate, and obeyed everything that my parents asked of me. 

Once I was eleven years old
I think it was around that time when my Mommy had to explain to me how there are people who would always fare better than I do just as there will be a select few whom I'll end up besting out. It's not that I failed to give my best. It's just that, their best is better than my best. Then again, I didn't fully understand it. Because when you live in a world where everyone around you, from the Grandmothers to our beloved angels (most notably my beloved Ate Lea whom all of my friends from grade school until college know of), tells you that you are the best, you somehow end up believing in them. 

Once I was twenty years old
As far as I remember, the only time I dedicated my focus on studying was when I was in Nursery and in 1st grade. That's it. I never experienced the hardships of studying in college because I'm probably among the laziest and "chill" student there ever was. College life has been very kind to me. Even my thesis let me have a good time save for that 1 week of writing and revising. So now's really the first time I exerted this much effort. Perhaps the reason I'm having a difficult time coping with my demanding day job, attention-seeking side jobs, and equally time-consuming personal activities is the fact that I've never been prepared for this kind of burden. I'm too young to be burned out and I'm definitely not complaining about all the things that are genuinely keeping me busy for months now. It's just that, my 2016 is proving to be a good yet taxing year. It's making me think back to those times when I'm supposed to have learned how to budget my time and work on as many things in my life simultaneously as I possibly could. It's too late for regrets though. All in all, I still consider myself lucky for what the universe is throwing at my way. Never mind the thousands of regrets that I have, I am yet to redeem myself in the future.

I do not fear the future in general especially since I have high hopes for a good one. But I greatly fear having life pass me by. I fear passing on from opportunities just because I didn't have the guts to leave my comfort zone. I fear entering the late part of my life knowing that I do not have any fruits to reap. I'm most afraid of retiring without having anything to secure the 'things that I'm trying to build now'. I've never been the type who has written her Life Plan but I've always been the girl who, like so many others, wants to leave a mark. 

Sometimes there are songs so nicely written that they seem like they're a piece of poetry. My friend and I have been singing this song plenty of times just to remind us why we can't stop.

Title's from Lukas Graham's 7 Years

Enlightenment

I've forgotten about my last post from my Malaysia trip last August 2015 so here I am, a little dazed because I sadly couldn't remember everything that I wanted to say about Malaysia but whatever. Let's push through! Besides, I've to collate my thoughts and summarize my short trip already because I might find myself in the same country next month yayyyy!

Top: Zara | Pants: River Island | Sunnies: Oakley | Bag: Kipling | Sandals: Zara | Headband: Scunci

I am very interested in the different cultures that exist. Certainly I am not an all-welcoming person who reserves her judgments until I'm sure that no one will get offended, when I am a person who assigns identifiers on almost everything and everyone. There are different facets of a thriving culture that I enjoy observing from afar. First, there's religion. There's something about how a group reveres an Image that fascinates me. I haven't read Yann Martel's Life of Pi but I've seen its movie adaptation. For a while, I considered becoming like Pi. You know, try this and that to see which religion would work best for me. Of course in the end I've accepted that someone has to be responsible for how the world turned out to be. It just happens that to my easily influenced mind, it's the Biblical God  that made the most sense.

Second is their lifestyle. I don't uphold any tradition that's distinct to the culture in my country save for being extremely family-centered. Whereas other women my age would already start hunting for their own flats to live in, separate from their parents', I'm firmly resolved to live with the comfort that my parents can provide for as long as possible. I have nothing to boast of when it comes to being a walking Filipino-tradition. So I always find myself amazed when I go to places where a lifestyle distinct to them is obvious.  

Third is how the young people address their superiors. I've briefly talked about millennials in this POST. Allow me to add another nugget of information about our generation that I've read somewhere. They say that we, millennials, are too frank that it can almost be considered insubordination. Perhaps it's true, perhaps it's not. But whatever. Showing respect may come in different forms so what's rude for one may be acceptable to another but I believe that there are some behavioral conduct that're universally unacceptable.

Culture fascinates everyone but culture isn't supposed to be used as an excuse for any ill behavior that will affect another. 

I've enjoyed going around Kuala Lumpur. It's a beautiful place that has different races that intermingle well. It's also very easy to go around as the directions and various modes of transportation were helpful to tourists. I'd love to go back! (And perhaps I will soon. We'll see!)

You can see my other posts about this Malaysia trip HERE and HERE.