V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E-S

caption this! hahaha!

caption this! hahaha!

Remembering.  That is one task I can’t seem to recall on when was the last time I celebrate what should be celebrated today.  But for this year, let me hug, assent and celebrate Valentines.  Actually, the mere fact that I am posting something on Valentines is already a rare and huge celebration on my part.  Typing the letters V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E-S actually took some toll on me.  I needed few minutes of some peaceful rest after typing it.

Excited.  But putting myself on some positive note, this is basically my general feeling for the past weeks.  It is because I feel that very soon the one who would sweep me away from my being solo, by myself and alone would finally arrive.  I’m excited to meet the person whom I would simply sit down with enjoying freshly brewed coffee mornings after mornings.

Congratulations.  This would be my heartfelt greetings to all those who were blessed and successful in finding their significant other.  I hope your Valentines this year would be a celebration that would be remembered for a long period of time.  I also hope that your partner would not leave as swiftly as how he/she arrived.

And since I profess of celebrating Valentines today, here’s an old yet emotive song dedicated to those whose feelings were swept away by their significant other.  I’m hoping to feel and sing the same… soon…

O ayan ha.  ‘Di ako ampalaya!

Swooned & Captivated by the Sunset

After spending the whole afternoon at the mall with Nengkoy and family – watched a Filipino movie and have an early dinner treat – me and my nephew Luis decided to walk the three-and-a-half-kilometer distance from the Mall of Asia to our respective condo units in Vito Cruz.  I was actually in some way thankful that there was a traffic gridlock in our place and that taxi drivers refused to have us as passengers.  It is because on our way to our respective units, we instinctively slowed down, took photos and enjoyed this…

Capticating Manila Bay Sunset!

Captivating Manila Bay Sunset!

While walking the surprisingly breezy streets and intently listening to Luis about his school research/thesis, at the back of my mind I am realizing that appreciation for the beauty of nature is something that is innate and spontaneous.  Since it is instinctual, it is but a natural tendency for a person to stop, stare and be captivated.  It gives human beings a break from fretting over the past and a pause from worrying about the future.  Captivating beauty of nature makes you feel refreshed, relieved and revitalized at that very moment.

And for those who have been overridden by the acquired imperative of the need to be urgent, of the feeling to hurry up and of the thought to get things done immediately, I simply wish that you would someday take it easy and be swooned and captivated by the natural beauty of the sunset.

Teyk it isi…

A Song For The Person At The Final Gate Of The Last Mushroom Kingdom

It’s eight in the evening on a Thursday.  I am (again) alone with no intentions of doing anything except think of the last couple of decades.  Yeah, in the last couple of decades, I did not seem to have encountered the right timing for me to meet my supposed correct and destined significant other.

It may have been a lifetime, but this will not discourage me from constantly praying and hoping that the right one, in God’s beautiful time will simply arrive. And yes I guess, when it comes to love — same as when buying ice cream — some actually prefer to wait in line even if they can get the same thing from another store without queuing.

But waiting and working on this for the last couple of years seem to become quite more of a difficult task.  Each time I got to meet someone, work on a possible connection and ends up with nothing was like playing Super Mario Brothers all over again.  I was like the Mario (of the Nintendo arcade game) jumping on top of Koopa Troopas, breaking bricks and climbing flag poles, crawling through sewages and kicking Goombas only to be told at the end gate of the Mushroom Kingdom that the person I am looking for is in another castle.

And yet, may I already be on the latest Super Mario Galaxy Deluxe version or not in the stage of my life, I will not stop playing.  I will never stop wishing, I will never cease finding and I will never tire hoping until I meet that partner who is meant for me at the ultimate and final gate of the Mushroom Kingdom.

And when I got to meet that person at the final gate of the last Mushroom Kingdom I will definitely gonna sing this song…

ken ay bi yor…

 

Two Glances and a Pinch

Two glances and a pinch is what made my day today.  These very simple acts are the movements I made that totally made my day different from the rest of the days that has passed.  I know that such is a silly thought for such an old soul like me.  But today I was feeling like I’m in my first few weeks of high school, shivering and shuddering because of an absurd chance of mingling with a person of infatuation.

The Christmas Season has passed, a new year is on a roll and last year’s events and highlights are now officially a memory.  But today is some kind of a different highlight.  I received two short glances from the person I have been thinking, wishing and praying for and that I got to give a light pinch to that person’s arm before I walked away.

Walking away, I felt the electric current in my right hand.  The lucky hand that pinched the arm of my object of infatuation.  And as I walked away, I felt my left hand being so jealous of my right hand.  And while I walk away, I can feel my lips curving into a happy shape known by all as ‘smile’.

While the electricity in my right hand starts to wane as I walk away, I wanted to let everyone near me to hear me shouting, “Hello, all of you!  It’s a beautiful day! A perfect day! A day of possibility!”love photo

Santa Maria!!! Salamat!

Keeping Up To The Pinoy Underwear New Year Tradition

Late in the morning today, Jan 1, a new friend whom I met in New York shared/posted in his Facebook page a video and article that highlights the tradition of what underwear color men wears when welcoming the New Year.  Interestingly enough my country, the Philippines, is included in the video feature.  And I was not surprised to find out that men in my country wears polka dots!

get lucky!

get lucky!

The researchers of The Underwear Expert really did their homework.  To support this claim, I am exactly one of those who wore polka dot last December 31st and when I welcome the year 2016.

nice booty!

nice booty!

The round shape being a symbol for money, wearing anything polka dotted in the Philippines during New Year’s Eve is believed to bring prosperity all year round.

This tidbit of a tradition has been instilled upon me by my beautiful and fashionista grandmother, Lola Teray (Nengkoy’s mom).  I remember during the early years when Lola Teray was still alive, she and her sisters (Lola Sario and Lola Beheng) would make sure to wear polka dot “daster” (house dress) every New Year’s Eve believing that it would bring good fortune in the coming year.

Pwet kung pwet!

Celebrating the Heart of Filipino Christmas

Yearly, without hardship and difficulty, I can easily capture and feel the spirit of Christmas.  But not this year.  I guess I can attribute this to the still very hot weather due to the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, my having no time to do any Christmas shopping as well as the need to do and attend to the tons and loads of work in my office.

screen-grabbed from the video! cool foreigners indeed!

screen-grabbed from the video! cool foreigners indeed!

Thanks to Philippine Airlines because after seeing this heartwarming video, I can somewhat feel what seem to be a elusive Christmas spirit.

The short happy video captures the magical energy and some unique elements of a Filipino Christmas which foreigners seem to marvel and be surprised about. Seeing this video made me realize that no one in the world celebrates Christmas like the way Filipinos (like me) do.

Tumitibok-tibok, sumisinok-sinok! Tenks PAL!

Holy Koyasan Makes Me Wanna Pray

I would like to believe that I must have done something beautiful in my past life that my present one has been so blessed.  One particular blessing is the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful and mystifying Koyasan, a unique Buddhist town nestled high in the peaks of Mt. Koya in Wakayama, Japan.

But what is so amazing by such a blessing is that I did not only visited this UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the holiest places in Japan once.  I was given by the heavens the generous chance to visit  Koyasan twice.  First was during the springtime of 2014 while the second was this year’s richly colored autumn season.

Selected 2014 Photos

with nengkoy and the gang...

with nengkoy and the gang…

at my back is the massive kongobuji temple

at my back is the massive kongobuji temple

breathtaking...

breathtaking…

feeling blessed...

feeling blessed…

right at the heart of ukunoin

right at the heart of okunoin

Selected 2015 Photos

taglagas...

taglagas…

strike a pose...

strike a pose…

mesmerized by the chanting of these monks...

mesmerized by the chanting of these monks…

hugging a massive tree at okunoin...

hugging a massive tree at okunoin…

same alley, same person, different season

same alley, same person, different season

colors of autumn...

colors of autumn…

What captivates me most about Koyasan is the peaceful aura and zen-like atmosphere it emits.  Visitors will truly feel the positive serenity and explicit spiritual side of Japan.  I am not religious, but each of the visit I did in this holy place made me feel so moved, it makes me wanna pray!

Koyasan is one great travel destination, no way will I hesitate if in this lifetime, I would be given the chance again of visiting this holy place for the third time.

Mapapa-Eymen ka sa ganda!

Halloween in Osaka: I got to be The Riddler!

Thanks to Halloween and the tradition of dressing up to be someone else on this day.  It is because it is one day in a year when the young ones and young at hearts got to exercise their wonderful sense of magical imagination.

I have always been the “I don’t care about Halloween” type of a person.  But my Halloween this year is totally different!  I spent this year’s Halloween in Osaka, Japan.  And I had a blast!

i got to be The Riddler

i got to be The Riddler

It was the night I got to be someone I was not.  I got to be The Riddler!  It was the night that no soul stopped me from looking weird and acting strangely.  It was one night that I just took all my cares away.  And the best part of it is that I got to party with some of my monster pamangkins (nieces & nephews)!

What is so awesome about the Halloween in Osaka is that herds of people wear costumes for the occasion. The array of costumes are just unbelievable!  And they would walk the streets of Osaka in a very cheery mood creating an awesome street-party-like atmosphere!

aylavet!

aylavet!

super fun!

super fun!

amazing!

amazing!

one with the osaka halloween

one with the osaka halloween

Me and my pamangkins, in our respective costumes, walked and went to the Triangle Park known as Sankaku Koen where people in their amazing costumes converge to see and be seen.  A lot of people say that walking the streets of Osaka in costume during Halloween will be incomplete if you won’t pass by Sankaku Koen.

One extra ordinary thing about this Halloween tradition in this park is that there seem to be no planning, no advertisement, no organization nor program being followed.  But everyone just turns up to this park in their costume so as to amaze and be amazed!

nemesis galore...

nemesis galore…

bongga!

bongga!

the queen of hearts and the joker

the queen of hearts and the joker

the riddler and the stormtrooper

the riddler and the stormtrooper

party! party! we owned the dancefloor at balabushka!

party! party! we owned the dancefloor at balabushka!

After witnessing the colorful, amazing and unbelievable costumes in Sankaku Koen, me and my pamangkins went to Balabushka – a dance club – where we all danced our Halloween cares away!

Kakaibang gemba! Kakamangha!

Being So Immersed in Coloring My Secret Garden

My presence into the world of internet has been reduced for the past week.  This is because I have been busy utilizing my brain’s right hemisphere for the past few days.

No, I have not been reading a book but instead – believe it or not – I have gone crazy with a coloring book.  I know it sounds like another childish silliness, but this coloring book seem to relax me.

the book itself, uncolored, is gorgeous!

the book itself, uncolored, is gorgeous!

my first venture!

my first venture!

Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford has so far been completely entrancing!  It has been the book that surprisingly calms me and at the same time enabled me to squeeze a lot of my creative juices.

I have yet to know or read an actual science that proves coloring in a coloring book makes the person happier or reduce stress.  But for me, it has been an effective tool for a blissful meditative escape from stress and pressures of daily life.

flowers and the "ipis" (as per nengkoy)

flowers and the “ipis” (as per nengkoy)

primary colors!

primary colors!

my next project...

my next project…

And after finishing three pages by simply coloring away to my heart’s content, I was chilled out to realize that there exist some creativity in me.  This book is so engrossing, it is like being so immersed in your own Secret Garden…

Aminin! Pang Nashonal Myusiyum ang gawa ko!