Tarak Ridge - 4/20

My first ever major climb...and I frakkin survived!! All I have to say is never underestimate a mountain.

The only hike I have ever done in my life is Mt. Pinatubo, it was a 2 hour hike going to the crater and another 2 hours going back. It was definitely hard, since you had to traverse in sand like terrain which made walking really hard (it's hard to walk in the dessert, imagine your feet sinking into the sand with every step you take).

But just like every hike, reaching the summit was as rewarding as getting your very first medal in school. I had cuts and bruises all over because I was wearing the wrong hiking clothes and I had cramps on the way. I'm no mountaineer but I'd really like to climb another one soon.

Here are some of the photos from the trip. Ofcourse, each hike is super special if you do it with your friends :)

(sorry couldn't upload high res photos since they took forever to upload ;) )

Here's to more summit assaults!!

xoxo

Pretty and Rich (the Call me Maybe cover, Pinoy style)

This video is so HILARIOUS...but apparently after watching it the 'bitter' me suddenly sprung to life.

I seriously wish I was tall, rich, pretty, and had a hot boyfriend.

Oh well, maybe there is something in me that is worth envying too :)

Enjoy

xoxo

Fliptop - the first Filipino Rap Battle League

First time I heard about fliptop was through my brother who apparently downloaded all his favorite rap battles to his phone.

I told him, "What the hell is that?" of course, rap in the Philippines isn't so mainstream since all people want to hear are covers and remakes of old love american love songs. Most of the songs of local artists are merely remakes of old love foreign love songs and because of this the music industry is dying, or it might be dead already. Gone were the days of the E-heads and APO wherein the songs actually meant something. Why do artists nowadays keep reviving their songs? why? may they can't seem to write anything meaningful anymore.

So I stumbled upon Fliptop and the next thing you know it, I've watched so many videos and have been replaying each scene that deemed funny or "astig"

For those that think that pinoy rap is "whack", well wtf have you been listening to yo?

I'd like to say that these are the modern "Francisco Balagtas" of this generation. They're videos are scattered all over YouTube, I'm actually wondering why a majority of the major record label companies have not noticed them yet. Haven't they?

I really hope there would be one talent agency or record company who would sponsor these fellas, since they're really good and they deserve that chance. Something like YG in Korea who manages Big Bang, Tablo and 2NE1. If I had the money, I'd do that myself.

I hope it's never too late before these Filipino Shakespeares would get tired of doing their thing.

Note: I don't think they deserve to be on Youtube forever, they deserve to be recognized at a national and international level.They deserve to have albums each landing on the top spot in the local record stores and not some whack host/guy singing "Ikaw na nga...ang hinahanap ng pusoooo"..lol

Here are my favorite battle emcees:

Name: Zaito

this guy's so effin funny man, he has the heart too. 

Name: Abra

the cutest. hahaha, I've seen him improve through his videos. And he's probably one of the best out there.

Name: Tipsy D

one of the new guys. But he's really good...go watch his videos on youtube, he's done a lot of tagalog versions of english songs

Name: Loonie

I guess he's everyone's favorite. And he deserves to be everyone's favorite

Subscribe to the FLIPTOP page on Youtube.

The Bookworm: The Perks of being a Wallflower

I love buying books! The problem is, most of the time I never really finish reading them. hahaha.. I read it halfway than I stop and totally forget about the book, until weeks after I find it in some dusty corner of the house.

Today I bought a new book since I've been reading a lot of 'quotable quotes' from the internet. So I picked up a brand new copy of The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky'

I've started reading until page 49, and so far, so good.

It has a 'diary' type of story so expect a lot "Dear ______". It felt like a boy was actually telling a story to me. I could relate since long lost souls have very similar lives with wallflowers.

I hope I finish this soon, and then buy my next book (I'm hoping to get either the Hunger Games or the Game of Thrones).

Have you read it? was it nice?

xoxo

Thai Cannelloni

In a few weeks I'll be leaving my current job in search of more fun and fabulous things to do. In the meantime, this is one of the few things I'll be missing:

Attending Airline parties!

I work in the travel industry, and every now and then different airlines throw little lunch "parties" which they call 'PRODUCT UPDATES' from which they discuss what to expect this year..blah blah blah...I'm not even sure if anybody listens, well I don't.

The last one I attended was held at the Dusit Thani Hotel here in Makati and the lady from the airline kept raving about how good lunch was going to be. Okay so here we go again...I have one word for that: OVERRATED. She kept telling us over and over and over again how good the Cannelloni was.

And guess what...IT WASN'T

Okay it was sort of dry and the cheese and the sauce was too little. The Cannelloni on TV tastes yummier, even if I can't really taste it..LOL..Well it didn't taste bad...it just didn't taste THATgood.

Oh well here's a photo of the somewhat 'malnourished' cannelloni

do not be fooled. O_O

xoxo

The Scab

Yesterday, was the best weekend ever because I got to sleep in the afternoon..LOL..I haven't taken an afternoon nap in ages.

And then I decided to go curl my hair using my favorite Philips curling iron...I was so inspired by those beach-wavy hair I see on TV; and since I was so bored I started curling my hair. It was starting to get pretty, and then BAM! I burnt my face with the iron... god that hurt. Its still stings and I've put loads of petroleum jelly so that it doesn't dry out ugly.

Please pray that it goes away... :)

xoxo

OBLIGATORY LIPSTICK SHOT

ngaaw

this is what happens when I'm left alone at home...doing nothing

xoxo :)

Apo Reef and Pandan Island adventures

I've been really busy lately which is why it took me a month to create another blogpost. lulz. One thing that's going right now is that I'm getting more writing work again which means more moolah for me and more money to buy coffee and clothes..haha

So anyway, last month, last February 3-6, i think, I visited one of the best places in the Philippines = APO ISLAND.

GOD. I never imagined such a place existed. Like come on, if you live and wake up to chaotic noises everyday, you would never think that there was such a place.

Most of the people in the group were divers,  and I had the best snorkeling experience EVER. I now love my snorkel gear and I'm planning to use it again when I go to batangas..haha

So even if it was a bit expensive and FAR....emphasis on the FAR part. It was all worth it. Imagine a life of stargazing, waiting for turtles to come ashore, sleeping in tents, and saying goodbye to all the pollution and insanity in Manila. *siiigh....

This was the boat we rode from Sablayan to our first stop, Pandan Island. By the way, it took me 40 minutes by plane, plus 3 hours by road, plus 30 minutes by banca to get here. Now you know about what I meant by FAR. LOL

fatness..hahaha

After one day in Pandan we headed back to Sablayan which meant 30 minutes again by banca and back to the lodge/inn. We had to wake up at 4 am-ish for the 4 hour boat ride to Apo Reef. grabe ang layo.,When I told my dad that we were in the boat and that I would have no signal for two days, he freaked out. It was my first time to hear my dad talk like that, the aatakihin-ako-sa-puso (I will have a heart attack) lines..hahaha. So 30 minutes into the water and BAM...no more signal..goodbye world..

But, I will never put into words what I saw...it was the best two days of my life...literally. So Instead of typing...

I learned a lot of underwater creatures from Kathy...haha..an attorney..haha. Kathy, you could actually be a marine biologist someday..This my friends is a nudibranch (?) it's the prettiest slug eveer

Nemos :) possessive little things

magical...a flying sea turtle 

Another nudibranch...nice yeah?

Patrick says there a shark behind him..eeep

A pillow starfish...again info c/o atty. Kathy

The people I was with were the best ever. Sean, Michelle, Kathy, JP, Candy, Ads, and Allan. We searched for sea turtles laying eggs around the island, but was unsuccessful, I slept in a tent which felt more like a nap because I couldn't sleep, and I climbed the tallest lighthouse in the Philippines...daw :) haha

The food was great! Akala ko Survivor Philippines yung peg namin dun..yung tipong manghuhuli ng isda...pero ang galing ng cook namin.. :)

Then it was back to Sablayan, another 4 hours by boat and text messages arriving one after the other...sigh I was back to reality..And back to Manila before I knew it

Going here might be a bit expensive rather than visiting freakin' boracay or puerto galera ( ihave nothing against that) but c'mon don't you want to see something that you haven't seen on TV?

Until the next adventure!

xoxo

I won't let you go by James Morrison

Song of the day *cue drumroll*




this is food for the soul

xoxo

boring saturday

BORED

:)

The Reunions

My January is now officially called the reunion month. I've had reunions with my highschool batchmates from Oman, as well as my College girls from UST. It was all good. Here are a few snaps:

Our mini highschool reunion which was held at metrowalk. I only saw a handful of my old friends, I still want to see the others but that night was definitely one of the best :)

and yes, they all sounded different..haha..but everyone was just the same. I missed these people.

And of course, my bestest friends from college. Although we weren't complete since one of us had work...errr..but we had the chance to see Kim, who only comes home every 10 months.

This was us right before graduation. 

and us now :)

I have very few friends...but the few that I have is definitely worth keeping

xoxo

2011 - last goodbye

the Chinese New Year just ended. And before I finally say goodbye to 2011, I just want to say that I HAD SO MUCH FUN LAST YEAR!

dayummmm.

I couldn't believe that I would meet so many new people and be part of so many great things. Here's a slew of photos from what happened last year... **cue drum roll :)

I won't be specifying any months..so first up: It was my first time to attend a book launch, and I got a book for freee yey!!! I haven't read it though..but I will :)

and of course, I got to meet THE Jason Magbanua at the Ayala Museum for one his talks. I AM A TOTAL FAN.

I also got to see loads of plays this year...Got to see William, which is Filipino rap musical about Shakespeare...cool huh?

forgive the over haggard look..hahaha

Met a chef at Enderun...and learned how to cook :)

First time to attend a press conference...and see Judy Ann Santos up close...haha..

 

Saw another AWESOME play this year... CAREDIVAS...It is definitely the best musical I have seen and I highly recommend it to Filipinos of all ages.

 

Spent my birthday in Baler, for the first time without my family. Went surfing and attended the Surf and Music Festival...define an awesome birthday weekend

and of course...I went to Singapore :)) the best part is that I got to go for free! well, anything free is awesome :)

and of course I met a lot of new friends :)

I know I gained A LOT of weight last year, especially during the last few months...ahahaha...but nevertheless, this year, I will start afresh and begin start to live my dream.

2011 was a blast, but I bet 2012 will be better. So cheers to a new year and new experiences ahead.

xoxo