"Quarter Life Crisis"

Recently I read quite a few blog posts from people who are roughly the same age as me, some are younger. They have been feeling a lot of negative emotions and are slowly slipping into what I call “Realized Depression” (oo, psychologist na ako, lol!). They are so overwhelmed with sadness, worthlessness and despondency form many different sources, in many different forms. They don’t know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. I received an email (which I modified a bit) aptly explaining this feeling. Now, this post is not to scare teens when they reach that age (20 to 25). Teens can think of this post as something informative and revealing, or for everyone to acknowledge that a lot of twenty something young adults who are experiencing this so called “quarter life crisis”. It may or may not happen to you when you reach this age and know that not all twenty something people are going through this. Teens may have all the angst, but young adults have all the drama. Lol! This is more or less how young adults, like me, feel:

> It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

> You are forced into decisions not your own but of your parent or guardian. Consistently being forced into a world you did not want… You know they only want what’s best for you, but not exactly what you want and love. You then hate yourself and despise the life you live. You don’t want to be a burden, so you take any way out.

> You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

> You look at your job, if you have one... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. You feel worthless and everything you do just isn’t quite good enough. Acceptance is only given when we are flawless. You feel like you are always under the microscope…Each mistake is magnified…


> Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

> You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but also love someone else or you might also love someone who is in love with another and cannot figure out why you are doing this, because you know that you aren't a bad person.

> One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts look pathetic. You yearn for that lasting fulfilling passion felt by those who are truly in love, but that doesn’t mean you are in a hurry for marriage.

> You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

A post dedicated to my Contemporaries, my “age colleagues”. My Generation… Once again, not everyone experiences the Twenty-Something Syndrome. Some may only experience a few symptoms. Some may completely disagree even, and say that they don’t feel like this when they were twenty-something. We face life through different occurrences and varying perspectives. I think even some teenagers may already say they are experiencing this. I honestly am subjected to quite a few… Let’s not go into any details… Just know that I take all of this in strides. Little by little I handle each fear, each emotion, each challenge… It’s our mind and our heart’s way of saying, “I DON”T WANT TO BE AN ADULT YET!” We should take all of this drama as the greatest barrier preventing us from moving forward with our life.

And once I get over this, I still have a few more years to enjoy life before a new crisis rears its ugly head…Hay, buhay nga naman! Lol!

Blog Jargon 101

Ahhh, another basic blog entry. An entry which lacks creativity and wit! Well, at least it was inspired by a fellow blogger. I was reading a recent post of Mai, when I encountered a blogging term which I found to be funny and interesting. This was the main motivation for me to discover what other words are used in the blogging world. I, of course didn’t include basic terms most bloggers already know of. There was quite a few, but I included only the ones I liked (biased much?!) so that this post wouldn’t be too long. Here it is:

Blogosphere - The internet blogging community. Can also be called blogiverse
Blogstipation - writer’s block for bloggers. Can’t think of what to blog about?
Blogathy - I do not want to post today and I do not care about it
Blogopotamus - A long long blog post
Blogorrhea - unusually high output of articles. (What a way to connect with diarrhea!)
Hitnosis - Refreshing your browser repeatedly to see if your hit counter or comments have increased (GUILTY of this act! LOL!)
Blogroach - A commenter who rudely disagrees with posted content (No Haters Please!)
Blogoholic - addicted to blogging
Blogorific or Blogtastic - something which a blogger says is terrific
Blurker - a blog reader not posting comments, just lurking around quietly. (scary! I think.)
Blogathon - update your website every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. Maybe collect sponsorships. (wanna try this someday)
Blogiversary - your blog birthday (My blog bday: May 9, 2006)
Blog Tipping - Compliment 3 blogs on day 1 of every month.
Blogger bash - a blogger party. A get together of bloggers (this is a cool idea!)
Reciprocal Links - called linky love. You link to my blog, I link to yours.
Blogstorm - a large amount of blogosphere activity due to particular controversy. Also called Blog Swarm.
Blogsnob - refusing to respond to blog comments from “not-friends”. (This is so not me)
Doppelblogger - plagiarize the content of another blogger. To Doppelblog.
Blogophobia - Fear of blogs and blogging. (Oookay, that's a wierd thing to be afraid of)
Blargon - Also called Blogssary. Blogging slang and glossary. (What I am telling you now!)
Metablogging - writing articles about blogging. (Like what I’m doing!)
Blog of Note - a recommended blog. A blogger’s dailies (I have my own set of fave blogs at my side bar)
Blogebrity - a famous blogger.
Dooced - lost a job because of blog entries. To Dooce. Also called
Blogfired
Blogther - a fellow blogger.
Blogstar- blogger running a popular blog
BlogDay - On BlogDay (August 31st every year), bloggers from all over the world post a recommendation of 5 new blogs, preferably, blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers. (Gonna try to do this when the time comes!)
Troll - A commenter whose sole purpose is to attack the views expressed on a blog and incite a clashback and rude debates. They also post controversial articles purely to generate angry responses and commensurate increase in hit rate.
Blog mute - someone who only occasionally blogs.

And Finally, The words which inspired this post:

Blogwhore - A blogger who constantly updates, blog hops, comments on other blogs, and do everything about blogging. Blogging is their first priority right now and love doing it! Also: Blog slut. (
Mai, are you there? LOL!)

Bloggigolo – male equivalent of a blogwhore. (Came up with this one with the help of
Mai! I’m also guilty of this one!)

Whew! That’s quite a few. It’s nice to know that there are terms to the things I do and the jargons are very funny and interesting! Once again my knowledge of the blogging world, I mean, Blogosphere has increased. I hope someday I get to use this new found vocabulary in the future! That’s about it, thanks for reading along and joining me in my discovery of this new world I was so rudely shoved into. LOL! But I’m liking every minute of it! :)


P.S. I'm gonna use this type of font to make my posts easier to read. Sorry for the hassle with the small fonts guys. :)

I'm Tagged!

This is my first time to be tagged that I know of. Thanks to Jhed for thinking of me. LOL! At first I didn’t want to do tags. It seems similar to the ones I see at the bulletin board of my friendster account. It also seems so much work! LOL! Here I am whining again. Anyway, I decided to give it a shot so that you guys can get to know me a little bit more. It's a bit long, sorry! Read on!

Instructions: Name ten (10) of life's simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten (10) people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

1. Laughing – LOL! HEHE! HAHAHA! HIHI! LMAO! HOHOHO! BWAHAHAHA!!!

2. Writing – I got this from Jhed. I totally agree that it is a great stress reliever. Your emotions, feelings and thoughts about something can be expressed and released. Doodling is also a great way to spark creativity!

3. Popping Bubble Wrap – I don’t know if it is one of life’s simple pleasures, but it IS a simple pleasure. It’s another stress reliever and nothing but pure mindless fun. Vent all your anger on popping the bubbles! Plus, once you start, it’s kinda hard not to finish. LOL!

4. Singing – It’s a great mood accessory. So many songs for so many different moods. You see this in movies all the time. People singing their hearts out! I know you do this, in the shower maybe? LOL! My mood right now? Mellow. The song I’m listening to, Put your records on by Corrine Bailey Rae

5. Cooking and Eating - Another simple pleasure similar to Jhed’s. My ultimate stress reliever (obvious ba?). I don’t know, but when I eat something, I know what ingredients are used in that recipe even if they are not apparent when you see the dish. My Carbonara is always a critic pleaser. I also make great comfort food! Lol!

6. Breathing – This is truly one of life’s simple pleasures! If you don’t breathe, you die! So I take pleasure in the fact that for every air I inhale, I prolong my life! (palusot para may masulat! Hehe!). Added pleasure pa ang smelling. I love a lot of smells. The smell of the sea, coffee, and good food are my favorite smells. Some of the weird smells I like is the smell of state side items, the smell of a brand spanking new electronic gear, and photocopy smell. (weird noh?!)

7. Bathing – That fresh silky and cool feeling you get after a good bath or shower. Priceless! Especially after a long hard day and you feel so sticky (ugh!). May people take pleasure in bathing, but for us who don’t have the time and money, showers are the way to go.

8. Coffee – A cup of coffee always gets me through the day. It’s also proven to be good for you (as long as you only drink once a day). To have a cup of coffee is great, but to have it at Baguio (for the climate), with a good lounge chair and a few friends, Heaven…

9. Collecting Memories – What I mean by this is taking pictures, videos and documents of my life experiences. I love to take pictures most of all. Although I’m not really creative and have received no training in photography, I love just to take pictures of anything I see. The candid ones are always the best. You will see the soul of almost anything you photograph when it is candid.

10. Hugs – AWWWW! Hehe! I like hugging but I rarely give out hugs. Hugs mean so much to me. Kisses are all good, but when you hug, it just feels warmer, more accepting and more loving. You can express your love, your anxiety, your fear, your trust, your sorrow, your remorse, your joy, well, just about anything. I just feel the sincerity when I receive hugs. It’s the tightness of the embrace and the liberation from your personal restraints. Plus, I give great hugs! LOL!

There you have it, in no particular order, my ten simple pleasures in life (Parang beauty contest, LOL!)! Hope these answers are pleasing enough. When I was making this, I decided not to tag anyone anymore, but I’ve changed my mind. I have two friends I wanna know more… Even more than now…

So, I’m tagging JAMES and REX. Hahaha! Something to keep you guys busy!

Forever Charmed

Hear now the words of the witches. The secrets we hid in the night.
The oldest of Gods are invoked here.
The great work of magic is sought.
In this night, In this hour. I call upon the Ancient Power.
Bring your powers to we sisters three…
We want the power…
Give us the power…

There have been a few shows that I have been watching unfailingly. The number 1 among them is a series from the WB called CHARMED. I am comfortable in saying I have never missed an episode. The show is about three sisters who discover that they are witches with powers, which they use to fight off demons. My dark personality has attracted me to the concept of witchcraft and “magick” powers. The show started with a dark tone. Just like Buffy, the vampire slayer but slowly became a lighter more family oriented program. Unfortunately, despite countless requests and petitions to keep the show on air, the series finally ended. The series finale episode was televised on May 21, 2006. I downloaded the finale episode from the internet because I just couldn’t wait to watch it (because it takes a while before it is shown in the Philippines).

I loved the cast the show had. The initial three sisters were Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty), Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano). But as the show went on, Prue was replaced with the youngest sister Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan), thus the Charmed Ones. Leo (Brian Krause) was their “white lighter” a guardian and their healer when wounded from a battle. There are more cast members but they are the main characters of the story.

“So much has happened over the last eight years, so much has been gained and lost, still in some way I feel like my life is just beginning. And it was.” – Phoebe Haliwell

I sat in front of my computer for hours, with a blank document in front of me. I didn’t know how to write this post. I felt like I was doing a eulogy for a show I lost or doing a tribute to an Icon which I have astonishingly loved all of my life. I wanted it to be the latter so that it doesn’t sound too morbid! Lol! The show radiated with hope and courage. It taught its fans the idea that anything is possible. It made the magical world seem so comprehensible. I even remember in high school when I (along with some friends) tried to make a pseudo Book of Shadows (spell book)! LOL! As I watched the ending, I felt like the eight years I devoted to the show was worth it. I loved every episode. Form the first ever episode (October 7, 1998), where Phoebe recited the spell to get their powers (passage at the beginning of this post) to the series finale, vanquishing the ultimate evil. The first spell they “casted” together as the Charmed Ones was, “The power of three will set us free.” I was asked by a friend which one was my favorite. It took me some time before I could answer. If I was to choose one, it would be the series finale episode. As the Brad Kern (Executive Producer) said, “It is an ending, all Charmed fans will be proud of”. What I loved about the ending was that you get to see all of the important characters from the entire 8 seasons, except for two of them, which is sad but they are still remembered and mentioned in the finale. The ending scene was the show’s signature closing effect which sealed the deal for me. Sheer poetry! Lol!

Charmed was one of my addictions…I am having difficulty writing this because I am currently experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I am sure I will desire for it in the future. My only consolation is that I can watch the whole 8 seasons again when I feel like it. As they always say, “All good things must come to an end”, and Charmed ended with a BANG!

Please take time to watch this. It's a good video whether or not you have been watching Charmed. its quality is not the best, but it will do. lol!

So, with the show in mind and a heavy heart, I’m saying goodbye to a show that has been a great companion. It’s painful saying goodbye, it’s so hard to see them go (ang corny!). But who knows, a similar show will be made or even better, a spin off! Lol!

I think I’m speaking for all Charmed fans out there when I say, THANK YOU! Thank you for 8 amazing years of entertainment. For letting us be part of the magic that is Charmed. For the laughter and the tears, for the spells and the potions. For everything… In our hearts, just like the title of the episode, the show is and will be, FOREVER CHARMED!

“Although we certainly had our struggles and heartaches over the years, we’re a family of survivors and we will always be. Which is why we’ve truly been…CHARMED” – Piper Haliwell

Joy to the 1000th Power!

Today, I checked my blog and saw the thing that made my day complete. I reached my 1000 hit mark! Yahooo! I’m so happy, In more or less a month’s time, I’ve achieved one of my blogging dreams (ang babaw noh?!). I know it’s really silly and I also know for a fact that just because I reached 1000 hits, doesn’t mean a thousand people have seen my blog. I’m just happy that people passed by my blog at least a thousand times which is good enough for me. I’m just starting here and I also know my blog isn’t as good as others and I'm no Shakespeare. That’s why I take simple pleasures in my blogging and my blog in any way I can. Lol!

I would also like to ask the person who visited my blog when it reached the 1000 hit mark to please tag me or comment on this post so I can personally thank him or her. I know it isn’t much but I promise "to try" to visit his/her blog regularly. Lol! I don’t know what else I can do to thank that person! So, if it is you, please let me know! Thanks!

This is me after 1000 blog hits! LOL!

This is as far as I go. Can’t stay up too late, got classes tomorrow. Thanks guys for welcoming me warmly in the blogging community especially to some bloggers who have been visiting me over the past few weeks. Thanks po!

I’m gonna make a blog post to the bloggers who have been excessively friendly to me and cordial to my blog and its contents. One way of my saying thanks! Till next time!

Proud to be One

Once again, an interesting email has inspired me to make this post. Inline with our Independence day, I think it’s just proper to show everyone (even to those who are not Filipinos) how remarkable Filipinos can be. I know I’m using English to express a message of patriotism to the Philippines, but of course I want this to be read by anyone (well, anyone who speaks English that is! Lol!). Do you remember the commercial of the Philippines for tourism with the title “More than just the ordinary” (or something to that effect)? The email has the similar message. When I read, it kinda made me happy to be a Filipino (kinda lang?! lol!). Ok, It goes like this:

FILIPINOS aren't good, we are the best
FILIPINOS aren't cute, we are sooooo freakin’ BANGIN!!!
FILIPINOS don't just kiss, we make out
FILIPINOS don't play, we f*ck shit up
FILIPINOS don't relax, we chill
FILIPINOS don't dance, we grind
FILIPINOS don’t talk bad, we talk dirty
FILIPINOS don’t just fight, we seek justice
FILIPINOS aren’t just good-looking, we are stunningly beautiful
FILIPINOS don’t just have fun, we enjoy life!
FILIPINOS’ lips aren't just luscious, they're lips u wish u could kiss
FILIPINOS don’t just do it, we do it best
FILIPINOS aren’t just creative, we are Da Vinci-like
FILIPINOS aren’t just kind, we are Angels
FILIPINOS are the people you could ALWAYS trust
FILIPINOS aren't nice, we are sweet
FILIPINOS aren't just friends, we are lovers
FILIPINOS aren't just cool, we are awesome
FILIPINOS aren’t just hot, we are Scorching SEXY
FILIPINOS aren’t emotional, we are fiercely passionate
FILIPINOS, we're blessed when we're born and were proud to tell everybody that we are 100% FILIPINOS
FILIPINOS are… Sorry, but there are not enough words that could explain how we FILIPINOS are.

People envy us cus they know we are great! We do everything in GREATNESS!!!
No nationality is more BANGIN then FILIPINOS!!!!!!!!
AND EVERYBODY LOVES US CUZ WERE UNIQUE AND DA BEST THERE COULD BE!!!!!!
!!!!! WE ARE FILIPINOS AND SO PROUD OF IT !!!!!

There you have it! Proud to be a Filipino! I’m not saying we don’t have our flaws, everyone has to have one! I think the one flaw of Filipinos is that we are too kind and too generous! LOL! Just having fun! It is our Independence Day after all! The day we became free of colonizers and such. Despite all the things that are happening to us. The misfortune we encounter on a daily basis. The poor state of our affairs. Are you STILL not proud of your country? Even just for being a fighter, and a survivor? Show it! Express it! Your love for your Mother Land… We are brilliant, We are successful, We are great...

***This post is dedicated to the Filipinos who are not in the Philippines and miss it terribly. It is also dedicated to those few Filipinos who do not acknowledge their “race”. This is so they’ll remember it…***

Are you, Proud to be ONE?

Musika II

A New Music Video for a new set of Blog Posts. This song is from one of my favorite Hip Hop groups out right now, The Black Eyed Peas!!! Hurrah! LOL! This song was not as popular as My Humps, Pump It and Don't Lie, but this is one of their best songs in their album, Monkey Business (buy now! LOL!). This song exhibits the art of rapping and how complex and cool it could sound! The video is COOLNESS personified! It's like moving artworks with the artists entangled in their own creation! This style has been used by alot of other artists because it just looks so good for a music video. Hope you appreciate it and enjoy it as much as I do! Godere Everyone!




Like That - Black Eyed Peas

Blog Blast! 2nd Edition

Thursday
June 8, 2006
School

Day One…

Ahhh, first day of MY school year! Lol! (My friends would know what I mean by that) I am an irregular student, which means I get to pick the subjects I want to take now and the time and day I want to take them. Many do not like being irregular because you could easily run out of slots in the subject you want and you don’t usually know who your classmates are. But for me, irregular is the way to go, I like not knowing most of my classmates. I am a semi-introverted person. I like my personal space sometimes.

So for the first week of school, we were allowed to wear casual clothes rather than the usual uniforms. It’s to give time for those new students to finish having their uniforms made. This is one of the things I didn’t want to go back to (it’s like high school all over again, lol)! As you might have known, for at least 3 years, I studied at U.P. (University of the Philippines) which didn’t require uniforms, so I got used to that. I only have four subjects for this day, each is an hour and a half long. It starts at 3:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m. Ok, let’s do this! Bring on the classes!

First Class: Speech. It was easy enough. The name of the subject speaks for itself (no pun intended). They teach students how to speak properly, pronouncing words right, vocalization, orations, and of course giving speeches. The first activity was simple and fun; we were paired together and asked to interview each other. Then, introduce to the class the person you interviewed. A unique way of introducing ourselves to each other.

Second Class: Cost Accounting. A major subject for my course. Ughhh, this class was painful. The teacher was an old lady (pero take note, naka sleeveless siyang blouse at skirt! Confident!). As soon as she placed her big bag on her table, she started to discuss (di siya excited! Lol!)! Everyone was sooo eager for the class to finish. But, being the good student that I am (ahem...), took notes! Here’s a glimpse of me taking notes while bored, lol!


Third Class: Kapampangan Studies. We are in Pampanga, so knowing our culture is a must in our University. The only problem is, I was raised a Tagalong and English speaking boy and barely understand, let alone speak kapampangan! It only gets worse from there; my teacher was an old slightly overweight man who looked like an angry old retired character from the Sopranos! His first words were, “Marwyumbp hah brawnggi kengko man”. GOSH! What was that!!! It was bad enough that was using Kapampangan but he was mumbling every word he said! It was like he was gargling while speaking! I asked my classmate what the prof (professor) said, it actually was, “Mayap a bengi keko ngan”. It means Good evening to everyone. If I can’t understand that, I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me in the rest of the semester. He was also soo boring, since I can’t understand, I couldn’t take notes so all I could do was this, and this is how I felt. lol!


Fourth Class: Literature. Ahh finally, my last class. This class proceeded without any problems. The teacher was good! She knew the subject really well. Plus, she knew how to motivate people. Despite the fact that it was late already, she got us interested in the subject. She made us do this activity where in we wrote on the board one word about what we were thinking right now. After that, she made us connect the word to literature. It was entertaining to see my classmates relate their words like hungry, bed, and accounting to literature. LOL!

Day One was not really bad, I’ll get used to it sooner or later. I have to. The next day is a new set of subjects, a new set of teachers and a new set of classmates. This is going to be… Interesting…lol!

Sight Seeing

So, this is the part two of my post regarding my trip to Olongapo and the Baptism of my cousin’s son. After the baptism at the church, we went to the reception area where there was a party for the baby’s christening. Now, I’m not sure in other countries if they do this also but we Filipinos love celebrating life and everything it has to offer! Woohoo! The party was great, everyone was warm and welcoming specially my cousin’s mom. She was like a supervisor, going to every table, checking if everyone still had some food, chatting with them and making them feel welcome. My cousin on the other hand, didn’t move as much. She usually stayed in one table most of the time, I understood her, the heat was really intense and she didn’t want the baby getting all sweaty and be passed around as much. But still she allowed everyone to carry the baby, take pictures and have fun with them because it is after all a party!

After a few hours, the event slowly calmed down, me and a few of my other cousins (these ones are the brothers of my cousin who had the baby) decided to look around SUBIC a bit. We said goodbye for the time being and went on our way. Subic was an old air base built by the Americans a long time ago because of some war (Hey, I’m not good with history!). Nowadays, it is used as a tourist spot and has new buildings in it like a Duty Free, a Cineplex, lots of bars and food establishments. I didn’t know this place and we only had a few more hours before I had to go home, so we only got to visit a few sites.

As we were driving in the Base, One of the first things that caught my eye was this insanely huge flag of the Philippines! What amazed me even more was that despite its size, it was swaying enthusiastically! Sorry, but I couldn’t help but be amazed. lol! The photo I took doesn’t give it justice because it looks like a normal flag, but I guess this would have to do. I also saw a whole heap of yachts docked near the bay, I haven’t been into one, anyone out there wanna grant me my wish?! LOL!



The first place we checked out was the Royal duty free shopping mall here. Knowing a lot about duty free malls (it’s because there are more than five duty free malls in clark!), I wasn’t surprised about how it look. A duty free mall is usually a combination of a supermarket and a department store. The difference is, it is cheaper and they also sell in bulk. I bought a few things as a “pasalubong” (sorry, I don’t know the English word for that) for my siblings at home and we went on our short and speedy excursion.


Our next stop wasn’t really something new for me because I’ve had this quite a few times and it’s my favorite so we just had to eat here. Yellowcab pizzas are the best I’ve ever had (and I’m not exaggerating), and as a plus, it is a Filipino company! We had two types, New York’s Finest and the Hawaiian. Personally, Manhattan Meatlovers is my favorite but my cousins wanted to try something different. I always crave for this! If Yellow Cab is around, don’t even try to tempt me with Pizza Hut or even Sbarro, because there’s no question where I want my pizza. And after almost an hour of chatting and eating this is all that remains…

Since I can’t stay for the night, we had one last stop. The broadwalk is another attraction at Subic which comes to life at night. There were kids playing with the sand (which I think has a mixture of lahar, lol!) and some adults who were boating and having fun with jetskis. There are a few vendors selling ice cream and native bracelets. The boardwalk has this beach side ambiance which is perfect for drinking and revelry. I only got to see the beach, it’s not the best one I’ve seen but it was great since I didn’t get to go to the beach this summer. Smelling the salty air and hearing the waves crash was good enough for now. LOL!



Too bad I can’t stay longer. I had sooo much fun though… My cousins kept telling me to come back. I said I will, and next time I will make sure that I get to experience everything Subic, AND Olongapo had to offer. :)

Am I an Adult now?

My family is very important to me. I treat my close cousins as the brothers and sisters that got mislaid by the drunk stork and mistakenly given to my aunt or uncle. LOL! Anyway, my close cousin asked me to become the godfather of her child. Without any hesitation and wonder why she picked me, I said yes, thus solidifying the fact that we are no longer the young people who romp around and just have fun. We are ever so slowly and painfully surely growing up. I can’t believe it, I’m a godfather! Gosh! Can I feel any older right now?!

I went to Olongapo this Saturday. It was her baby’s christening. At first I didn’t want to go, maybe subconsciously I didn’t want to accept the fact that I am becoming an important part of somebody else’s life (tulad ng pasko at birthdays!). I was maturing faster than I had planned (which is never, LOL!). Nevertheless, I decided to go, I knew that that day was important for her, as much as it was for her child. So the day went on, the baptism was great and I went home…I wish…

Saturday Morning, 3:00 a.m., Woke up too early, I was only planning to wake up around 6 a.m. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I decided to gather the stuff I needed to go to Olongapo. Around 6 a.m., I took a shower and got ready. 9:00 a.m., I left home and went on my journey to Olongapo with our car and with a driver. My other cousin accompanied me too, because I didn’t exactly know where in Olongapo the baptism was going to be held. The journey itself was a nightmare. The roads we used were full of potholes and covered with dust and ashfall or “lahar” (because of the great eruption of Mt. Pinatubo near the region). When we finally were nearing the road leading to Olongapo, the potholes, and dust layers ended. As the dust settled I started to feel better, and as a plus, may bago nang kulay ang car namin! I call the color shade, Lahar Grey!

As we proceeded with our journey, the road wasn’t as bad, but as you might know if you’ve ever been to Olongapo or Baguio, the roads are literally LONG and WINDING! It had lots of sharp turns, and had steep ups and downs. I’m not used to this. I started to feel dizzy and sooo sick. It seems that the roads never ended! Gosh!!! Just kill me now!!!

At last the road ended. We are in Olongapo City, Finally! The time it took to get here was almost 2 hours... Two long agonizing hours! Whew! The church wasn’t far… When we got there the heat really got to me! It was piercing my skin! Now I know what it feels to be a vampire out in the sun! If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m such a whiner! LOL! Not to worry, I’m always like this, ask any of my friends! Oh, wait, you can't... well, just take my word for it! lol! But when I saw my cousin and her baby, nothing else mattered. The heat was barely discernible and the stress and pangs I was feeling from the trip going here was unnoticeable because I can see my cousin was happy… The Baptism went on without a hitch. We have welcomed a new baby into the Christian life. He will have lots of things to face in this life. Surely, he won’t face it alone. I am now officially an adult… Responsible for everything I do… I already knew this fact, but this event made me realize how serious that statement is… He's really cute... He looks like his mother... I made this picture of the two of them which i took at the reception after the baptism.

I must say, this trip was not full of privations. After the baptism (which is NOT part of the said privations! Lol!), I got to go around and do some sight seeing… But that’s for another blog post! Till next time!

P.S.: I almost forgot! I have to go home later and face the same journey I had going here! Damn!