Christmas 2012

Arbitrary Mind Picks #103

1. I quite like it, re-reading past posts.
(Written and to be read with a British accent due to the voice of my current audio book that refuses to leave my head and a current novel i am reading which supposedly takes place somewhere in England.)

2. I have less than half the amount of posts this year as compared to the year before.
That, in itself, is a story.

3. If Insomnia was a person, i would drop kick it in the face.

4. I miss writing. Openly. Without hesitation.
This could possibly be the sole reason for starting an entirely new blog. Secretly.

5. I'm still thinking with a British accent.

Running on 6 hours of sleep in 48 hours.
At least i got to jot some things in. *shrugs*

I'm off to sit in a cab to faraway place out of Makati and brave the Holiday traffic. Which, by the way, feels nothing like a Holiday. 

So they say.

Me Tienes.

Goodbye Outlook Drive.

Freshness this Weekend.

Friday at Rocket Room

Saturday at White Space

See ya!

prosthesis

Everything is better with bacon.

I would like to start off by saying that i am not turning into one of those people that constantly take photos of their food and post about it all day. No. Definitely not. But i do, however, love my food and will revel in triumphant glory on experiments that conclude with a happy ending. Yes, i dance around and clap my hands and sing a happy tune when i make something from scratch and it turns out better than i expected. Key word- MAKE.

With that said- i present to you my very own homemade spinach-broccoli-mushroom-bacon and cheese, egg white quiche.

BAM!


The photo doesn't even do it justice.

I have always been a quiche lover. If i see it on a menu, most likely it'll be part of my order. But it's actually quite hard to find a good quiche around here. Definitely not the ones that i really like. I got sick of the hunt and decided that i would take it upon myself to build the perfect quiche... with EVERYTHING that i like in it.

And that's exactly what i did.

Hunt- over.

Make it your MONDAY NIGHT habit

It's a throwback, feel-good kinda night.

Just like how it used to be.

Margaritas?!?!??! I'm there.

Arbitrary Mind Picks #102

1. Is there a worse feeling than having a turtle-sized cockroach crawl on your face?

I didn't think so.

Yes, that really did happen. At the club.

2. I'm having a serious hair dilemma. I don't know if it's mid-life crisis, mercury in retrograde (or is it pluto?), PMS, or just plain, simple fickleness... i can't seem to be satisfied with my locks.

I have had 6 different colors since June. And the only reason it was able to span 3 months was because it's deemed "bad" to color it "too often".

I need help.

3. Have i mentioned that Dylan is the proud owner of a hermit crab?

It's been living with us since my mom's birthday (July 20). It's still alive.

Shocking, i know.

4. PMS is a sure-shot way to kill your effin diet.

5. Nothing drives me more insane than misplacing something i need/of importance.

In this case, it's my medical prescription.

No pun intended.

Yes, this is my life.

Today, i think of you.

A decade has passed. I'm a different person now. I feel the years on my shoulder and the wisdom crowding in my head. It's amazing what time does to a person and how "growing up" affects the heart. When you stop to think about every single thing that life has hit you with and realize that you were able to come out of it unscathed and beaming... pat yourself on the back. You were stronger than you thought.

Remember that the next time you feel like crying on the floor because your worries have rendered you helpless.

Today, my life is not plight-free. But i am alive and well, and i'm living and surviving. I get to laugh and cry and experience every emotion available to every human being on the planet. I am blessed, although i tend to forget that every now and then.

Anything is better than ceasing to exist.

So soak it up. Live well.

Choose life.

You owe yourself all of that.

Discuss.

"No matter how careful you are, there’s going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn’t experience it all. There’s that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should’ve been paying attention.
Well, get used to that feeling. That’s how your whole life will feel some day.
This is all practice.
None of this matters."

- Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

Breath & Stop. Foreal.

After coming out of a week-long flu, i made my way into the outside world and danced for just about 7 hours straight. It's one thing to hear music that you love played out loud... it's another to hear it dropped by the artists themselves, who you've admired and respected- for years.

Their music brought me back to a time in my life I will never forget. The feelings are very much alive and I am grateful for these moments.

I would especially like to thank Maseo for dropping one of my personal favorites to end the night... and even though i was the only person singing along to the song, the energy was consuming.

The song? Ice King by Res (look it up). Which i detected within 0.7 seconds of the tune being played. Boom.

I guess i have my fan girl moments after all.

Politics, Religion... and the damn Weather.

Salamat, Batman.

[Photo courtesy of Instagram by way of @rayumali from @ianini]

Just Don't.

As The Old Saying Goes...

Darn it.

Moonlight & Monsoon Stroll

"There’s nothing worse than waiting
and not knowing what’ll happen to you.
Your own imagination
can be crueler than any captor."
Richelle Mead, Frostbite

Any Given Sunday

time flies

The view from my balcony. Taken at sunrise, mid-day, and sunset.

Time to work.

Wanna kick it at the Tree House? Stay tuned.

"I bet you didn't wake up this morning thinking, 'Hey, i'm gonna get a tattoo today...'".

-PSFX

"Girl Talk"

Save it for a rainy day

8 years

1 stash

5,000 individual pisos

"My mom gets a bit mad when... she's a little angry."

-Dylan, 8 years old

Keeping me in check since 2004.

"I'm fairly certain YOLO is just Carpe Diem for stupid people."

-Jack Black

Magic

It happens in an instant. You feel it in your skin, the very core of your body. It's undeniable, it's unexplainable. There's a change in your life. Colors are brighter, food tastes better, the air feels cleaner and life is just, overall, pleasant. More than pleasant even- amazing. It happens instantaneously and you can't put a finger on when exactly it all began to unravel. It just is.

Magic.

And so the story goes as you meet that one person you're destined to spend eternity and beyond with. Your actions are so fluid, it's almost unbelievable. You meet someone, and you're convinced this being was designed specifically for you. Mind reading is enabled. Laughter is constant. Decisions are in sync. Happiness is administered far beyond the recommended daily dosage. Who knew this was possible?

Frowns are turned into smiles in the blink of an eye. A simple touch is enough to lift even the heaviest of spirits. A simple gesture strikes a nerve so hard, you'd think everyday was your birthday. Anger is turned into comedy without the slightest effort. Comfort is readily available in an undemanding embrace. Their image has the power to stop the hands of time. There's no other way to put it... it's magic, you see.

And then, in the flip of a card, the wave of a wand, or the snap of a finger, just like that- *Poof*

It's gone.

Magic.

Reminder: Now.

"I think that one of these days you're going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you've got to start going there."

-J.D. Salinger

I mess up. I mess up a lot. And it eats away at me for days until my stubborn self pulls it together and attempt to pacify the monster in my head. I try not to. But it happens to me a lot.

Eventually, i correct whatever mishap was blown my way and the earth continues to spin on its axis and life goes on like i was never run over by an 18 wheeler truck.

Dylan is my saving grace. But he is not aware of the purpose he fulfills as a tender youngling sent to me during a time i used to think was "too early".

"Dylan" is a male given name in Welsh meaning "the great sea".

Universally (and i once read somewhere), the sea is known to wash away the pain and sorrow of the world.

Now you know.

Book & Paper Art by John Martin

"Hombre Leyendo en una Librería"

("Man reading in a library")

Sad. and True.

Back to Basics

Dylan and i cleaned the entire apartment today. I even managed to talk him into giving away some of his stuff... to be loved by another who will appreciate his good will. He's quite proud of himself and extremely happy knowing he can put a smile on a stranger's face.

He's on summer vacation. This means that, when i'm not galavanting about, we spend an awful lot of time together. I mean, like, A LOT. To put it simply- 24 hours a day.

Yes, we are together all the time.

It means proper meals at the right time. Bed time before i'm even tired. Awake when my body wills more sleep. Secret cuddles when he's knocked out because he won't allow it when he's awake. The basics.

It sounds lame. But when i stop to think about it... basic will always be dope.

And after days and weeks straight, in and out of chaos- i welcome the simplicity of life as a duo accompanied by my 8 year old firecracker.

PS: There's a stench coming from my bathroom and i don't know how to get rid of it. I don't even know what it is...

I need a pick-me-up.

and these are the days of my life

My Hero

Arbitrary Mind Picks #101

1. Sunsets are gorgeous... but there's something about the sunrise that just takes my breath away. Some of my greatest memories are tied to a beautiful sunrise.

2. I love dancing in the rain.

3. I'm too old to be pulling all-nighters.

But being a "trooper" is my glorious curse.

4. The best way to reconnect with your youth is to reunite with good, old, solid friends. It does wonders for your psyche but your body will beg to differ.

I <3 my Tarts.

Here's to the Summer of 2012

5. I have an 8 year old.

I had to write that down to believe it.

Relax Yourself

The 1st Manila Music Festival

Falling in love with music, art, and creativity [in general] all over again.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest taking the stage.

Hearing him drop some of my most favorite tunes of all time was well worth

the heat and exhaustion.

Music makes me high.

Aint No Party Like a STYLES Party

The "early" crowd

The walking billboard

Smart x Nokia x Vans x Styles

A huge thank you to Smart x Nokia x Vans for one of the wildest weekends of my life.

Definitely gonna be in recovery/hibernation well into next week.

ZZzzzz...

"I actually attack the concept of happiness. I don’t mind people being happy - but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It’s a really odd thing that we’re now seeing people saying “write down 3 things that made you happy today before you go to sleep”, and “cheer up” and “happiness is our birthright” and so on. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position - it’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don’t teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say “Quick! Move on! Cheer up!” I’d like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word “happiness” and to replace it with the word “wholeness”. Ask yourself “is this contributing to my wholeness?” and if you’re having a bad day, it is."

Hugh Mackay

Sick.

... and that, ladies and gentlemen, is talent.

Sunrise. Day 5.

Rage & Recover

A Boracay Vacation.

One of THOSE Days

In recovery.

Yup.

*fingers crossed*