Glory Days

Part of the infamous Asian Institute of Tourism’s vintage...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:25:00 -0400

Part of the infamous Asian Institute of Tourism’s vintage bus which is still in use.

It’s been a long time, I know. I’m not quite sure...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:59:26 -0400

It’s been a long time, I know. I’m not quite sure how to break this drought of posts so I’m relying on this picture to do it for me. It’s been waiting to be posted for quite some time now.

It’s a polaroid of my older sister while she was attending college in the States. Decided to tape it to a Manila envelope for a picture within a picture. Go figure.

It’s all just carefree.

2012: The End and the Beginning

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:31:00 -0500

Happy New Year everybody!

2012 has arrived and whether or not it’s our last year on earth, I intend to make the most out of it. This brand-spanking new year has also brought about the feeling of a new beginning. A blank page.

Speaking of blank pages, I have vowed to be better at preserving memories, ideas, or areas of interests in an attempt to better document my life and my growth as a person. I want to possess a treasure trove of good memories that I can look back at one day. I am doing this for myself and not for anyone else. In line with this, I will attempt to post on my blog frequently. After all, I did name my blog Glory Days and these ARE my glory days so I might as well document them here.

Every year I am guilty of being one of those people who comes up with resolutions and forgets about them a month later or doesn’t keep them. This is because my heart was never really in it. They were more of ideas at the top of my head of things I wanted to change rather than a commitment of changing those things. With rumors that this year might be the last year, I have scared myself enough to finally commit to my resolutions! Instead of coming up with resolutions such as “go to the gym more”, I have come up with guidelines or general rules of HOW I should live this 2012 - my 12 Commandments for 2012.

1) Move

2) Now

3) Lighten the load

4) Only what is needed

5) Gratitude

6) Enjoy Now

7) Remember love

8) Change what you don’t like

9) Act the way you want to feel and be

10) God at the center

11) Grow spherically

12) Change the world – one day at a time

The commandments is a compilation of things I’ve read from books, such as the Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben, movies, and quotes from things as random as cards. Some of course were of my own creation, from what I believe I needed to work on in my own life. Each commandment has a number of concrete actions under them such as “run more” for Move, but they are not limited to these listed concrete actions alone. I hope I can stick to it!

Something tells me 2012 will be a great year!

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Caviar cake, crackers, and wine to welcome the new year

Celebrating the 1st day of 2012 in a sandwich full of love, between my sister and cousin

Every Christmas season my group of friends from High School come...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:26:00 -0500

Every Christmas season my group of friends from High School come together for a themed dinner. This year our theme was Greek - from decorations, to costumes and food.

We also had a twist on our gift giving this year by vowing to spend zero pesos. So there was a lot of singing, dancing, hand-made things, poems and speeches.

I look forward to our dinners every year because it’s one of the few times that we’re complete. Plus, its another excuse to dress up and take silly pictures like this one!

From my big fat Greek family to yours, HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Let the festivities begin!

Currently stuck in my head. I ended up downloading the entire...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:44:00 -0500

Currently stuck in my head.

I ended up downloading the entire Locksley album!

I’m officially back to school this week. Of course my...

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:40:00 -0500

I’m officially back to school this week.

Of course my break wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the beach!

Despite jellyfish stings, I can’t wait to go back.

Missing the beach! Took this picture earlier this year, in a...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:13:00 -0400

Missing the beach!

Took this picture earlier this year, in a surf roadtrip with some friends to La Union. Really want to start surfing more this coming semester!

Marching on: Hong Kong and Macau

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:03:00 -0400

I realized that I’ve made a lot of promises in the past, of blog entries about whats been going on. Here’s my attempt to finally deliver. I will however, be relying heavily on pictures to do most of the updating.

Last September 30 - October 3, I went on a Hong Kong-Macau field trip for school. It’s trips like this that make me love being a Tourism major. Let’s just say the trip involved A LOT of walking, heavy amounts of noodle soup in Hong Kong, Egg Tart and Milk Tea in Macau, and great company while roaming and commuting the streets of this foreign country.

Let’s start off with Hong Kong:

Peanut noodle soup: The first of many noodle soups

Commuting around Hong Kong

View from Avenue of the Stars

Cable car to Ngong Ping and the Tian Tan Buddha, the world’s tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha

View of Hong Kong on a rainy day from Victoria Peak

Rednaxela Terrace, where our national hero, Jose Rizal, stayed while in Hong Kong

Let’s move on to Macau and its beautiful churches, amazing casinos, and mix of Chinese and Portuguese architecture.

The Venetian

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Macau Tower

Pockets of Portuguese architecture around Macau

I never realized how much I could walk. I guess when you’re enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of a new place you keep marching on, hoping you can absorb as much as you can in what little time you have. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of things didn’t really go according to plan…for me most especially. But when I woke up in a different country, I decided to just go with it.

A few more days till semester break and freedom! I saw this bird...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:58:00 -0400

A few more days till semester break and freedom!

I saw this bird flying while I was in Hong Kong last weekend. It was so beautiful and free. It looked so easy.

Coming Soon: Post about my Hong Kong-Macau trip

In Fear of Allergies and Lung Problems

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 07:39:55 -0400

As I attempt to scrape out the molds that have slowly started growing on my Tumblr, I will use the sharp edge tool known as “an update on what has been happening”. With this tool, there is a risk of leaving scratches depending on what I say, but an equal chance of cleaning it of molds. Since I fear allergies and lung problems I have decided to remove the molds with whatever tool I can, interesting or not.

This weekend was pretty busy because of mid-terms. I am currently taking up BS Tourism Management in University of the Philippines Diliman and I am loving every minute of it! It’s the perfect combination of business and leisure, it satisfies my childlike wonder of the world and different cultures, and it brings me one step closer to my dream of traveling all around the world. I have a lot of interesting classes, for example I am currently taking a World Tourism class where we talk about tourist destinations all around the world. Of course being a management course I am also taking up accounting, which by the way is currently killing us all. The best part about being a Tourism major? We travel every semester. I am going to Hong Kong at the end of the month to retrace our national hero, Jose Rizal’s footsteps.

Saturday was a monumental day because I was finally allowed to drive at night to a place that was not my university. BAM! I am slowly gaining mileage. I had dinner and caught up with some high school friends at the Fort, then decided to pick up my cousin and have some drinks with her since it was her last weekend in Manila before flying back to the States for school. We ended up going home at 2am and having an even crazier time in the car. I always have fun when I’m with her! She’s pretty crazy…in a good way…i think. Hopefully I can visit her and my other cousins this summer and see what college life is like in the States.

Which brings us to today and my attempt to slowly scrape off the molds of this blog. You are slowly learning about me. Hopefully you’ll get to learn more about me in future posts and piece together just who I am and what type of person I am. Till then, over and out.

P.s. today was a…

had Dim Sum for lunch. I get excited…I’m still Asian.

Photo

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:38:00 -0400

Row Row Row Your Dragon Boat...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:53:00 -0400

Gently down Manila Bay…

With all the recent drama surrounding Philippine Dragon Boating, my sister and I decided to go to Manila Bay at 5am last August 14 to find out what Dragon Boating really is, and to learn the truth about the issues surrounding the sport. My sister was also able to interview the POC to get their side of the story.

As dutiful citizens, I believe it is our responsibility to see all sides of the issue and not just blindly follow popular belief.

Become Part of the Tipping Point

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 06:22:00 -0400

Feel like you spend too much time online? What if I told you, that you could help make a difference whenever you’re on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr?

Last Saturday, August 14,2011, my sister asked me to accompany her to the 6th ICCS Convention on Mass Communication held at the Ateneo de Manila- Henry Lee Irwin Theater to photograph and listen to veteran broadcast journalist, Maria Ressa, speak about the changing media landscape.

Maria Ressa highlighted the power of the internet and social networks, as well as our individual capacities to make a difference. She had likened it to Malcom Gladwell’s Tipping Point where the participation of individuals build up to a mass epidemic or until it reaches a “boiling point”. She encouraged the audience to harness the power of the internet and social networks to make a difference.

How? Start by liking Move.ph on Facebook and contribute to the discussions.

Read my sister’s article and learn more about it at: http://on.fb.me/riUaH5

You can also follow my sister on twitter: Go_Filipino

Truly inspirational in terms of how we can all contribute to the betterment of our society.

These are some of the Photos I contributed to my sister’s article. learn more at Move.ph

Scrapbooking: Learning something new everyday, and growing in...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:06:00 -0400

Scrapbooking: Learning something new everyday, and growing in every direction!

Smile.

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:49:00 -0400

An interesting lesson learned from an unusual encounter.

My older sister, Ashley, had been trying to sell her Blackberry for a couple of weeks and decided to post an ad on sulit.com. One of the first interested buyers that contacted her was Dax. Over the long (and I mean LONG) course of their exchange about the price and item details, my sister and I developed inside jokes about Dax. We made jokes about how he/she was very persistent in asking for a lower price no matter how many times my sister said no, or how he/she spelled out “Smile.” instead of the usual “:)”, or how his/her English was very formal but with a number of grammatical errors.

When Dax finally decided to buy the Blackberry, my sister asked me to text Dax with her phone to coordinate where they would meet. Instinctively, I texted Dax in Filipino along the lines of “masyadong malayo…mas malapit sana sa….”(that’s too far…can it be closer to…), Dax then replied “Text in English please, I don’t understand Tagalog.” Shocked, my sister and I came up with a couple of theories on how this could be so.

Theory 1: Dax is Korean

Theory 2: Dax is Japanese

Theory 3: Dax is European

~~Theory 4: Dax is Indian~~

Then we started to dissect the name “Dax”. Could be Korean. Could be Japanese. Then we thought what if it’s pronounced DA-H, silent X, then it could be European. No, we were not bored while stuck in traffic on our way to meet Dax (or is it Da(x)? )…evidently.

My sister was worried that Dax had not texted to confirm that they were meeting but I reassured her that unlike Filipinos, foreigners stick to prearranged plans without the drama of following up an hour before with “tuloy pa ba mamaya?” (are we pushing through later?). True enough, Dax only texted at exactly the time they agreed to meet saying that he/she was already there, supporting the theory that he/she must be foreign. We, on the other hand, stayed true to our Filipino roots and arrived 30min. late. (Actually, you can blame it on the traffic and my bad sense of direction.)

Meeting time. Dax texted that he/she was wearing a peach colored shirt. My sister went to meet Dax and I stayed in the car. A minute later my sister texted me to give her something she had left in the car, and I went to meet her. I was shocked to see that all our theories were wrong…Dax was a Filipina. I went back to the car because we left it at a no parking zone. Five minutes later my sister came back to the car and said that Dax was actually a deaf-mute. Guilt.

Who would have thought? I was convinced Dax was Korean. My sister was convinced Dax was Norwegian. We even went as far as saying her name was pronounced DA-H just to consider the possibility that she was European, but we never thought she would be deaf-mute. Dax was nothing we expected. She proved all our “theories” wrong. Our “theories” based on nothing but the way she texted.

Presume nothing and keep an open mind. Be open to infinite possibilities.

"Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of, but time slips away and..."

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:04:00 -0400

“Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of, but time slips away and leaves you with nothing mister but boring stories of glory days”

- Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen