June 03 2012
I have long ago devoted myself to showcase the beauty of nature. It’s just my true love, nothing could ever be more beautiful and more powerful than nature. Agree or agree? And what’s the best way to showcase the beauty of nature? Photography! Nature and photography, two of my life’s great loves, perfect combination! My life’s mission, a meaning of my existence. 
I was at Quezon Memorial Circle for the Mango Festival 2012, I wandered off for a while to take photos of the trees, a few flowers, and the Quezon Memorial monument itself. Again, please forgive my bias on Fire Trees, which you may see in most of the photos. 
8am
June 01 2012
Hello! Good morning! 
It’s June first today. It’s June already! My birthday month! I shall be extra happy and optimistic this whole month. The best birthday gift I have for myself so far is on its way to coming true. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed! Don’t forget your birthday gifts for me! Hehehehe! 
9am
May 31 2012
A break from the trip entries I’ve been posting lately.
It’s actually my first time to dine at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I’ve always just went to Starbucks, merely because it’s the most accessible. It’s the coffee shop with the most abundant branches, there seems to be one in every corner. Anyway, I had Matcha Green Tea Frozen Swirl, it’s supposed to be a low calorie, 99% fat free frozen yogurt. Just had to cut down on the excess calories and fat since prior to that I ate at Taco Bell and I had more than what it would usually take me to feel full.
And because I just started following an illustration blog, I felt a whole new rush of inspiration. I’ve never been good with sketches and drawing but art had always been one of my interests. I’ve always liked artsy-fartsy things. Therefore, after what seemed like months of abandonment, I reached out for my journals again and hopefully I could start writing there as often as before. And after I run out of pages, I’m thinking of just making my own journal next time. The more personalized and the more environmental-friendly, the better.
Sometime in the immediate past, these journals had been once on the edge of being burnt, all journals of mine where I documented years of my life. I tend to do impulsive things when I’m overcome with negative emotions. The good thing was I kept oversleeping at that time that I kept putting off burning these, and days passed by that I’ve just gotten lazy in doing it and eventually I’ve felt better too. So I scraped off the idea totally. I’m just really glad I didn’t burn them. It would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Good or bad, no matter what’s written there it is still my life.
I’ve also been obsessing about homemade smoothies lately. I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables which ought to last me for about a week. I realized that instead of draining my money on overrated expensive coffee shops, why not just make my own ones. This way, I’d have more control of what I’m drinking, the calories, the fats, the cleanliness, and when you made your drink (or food) yourself, it automatically becomes twice more delicious! Hahahaha! Hopefully I could post about the smoothie recipes that I make some time soon. I have so many planned blog posts, and the books I’ve read over the past months have been piling up without being posted here. I just can’t execute all, most of the time I’d rather just spend my nights sleeping than blogging. Hehehehe! Laziness, I know. 
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Postscript:
I take back everything I wrote about just smiling through bad days, I just had a bad morning and I can’t smile through it. Cry through it, yes. 
I’m just a kid and life is a NIGHTMARE! ♪♫
Postpostscript:
At the end of the day, I received a news which made me really happy! Though this news was totally unrelated to the reason I was sad in the morning, a good news is a happy news! 
10am
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I wasn’t able to photograph the church there, too bad because it looked beautiful. Hopefully I could come back next time, and that next time could permit me to photograph more things in the province.
Lots of travelling since two weeks ago, I barely have enough time to sort out and post the photos. I’m happy. I thank God for all the blessings. 
6am
May 30 2012
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Mango Festival 2012 day one and day two held at Quezon Memorial Circle.
Sunrise. Had to be there at 4AM, though I arrived at 5AM, because the local morning show would be there to cover the event and they wanted us to all be there.
Once again, I got to see media in actual work and my heart skipped a beat! I’ve always been fascinated with watching how media works, especially behind the camera. Seeing how they shoot and what and how their pieces of equipment work including lighting, angles, etc. somehow gives me a better grasp of how photography and photo shoots go. Photography enthusiast forever! 
Anyway, here are random photos I took.
Correction, it was “Prima Mango” and not “Haiden Mango”.
Random passersby had cute dogs!
Madam Imelda Marcos was there on the second day!
Day two lunch. Hahahaha!
The end! 
I’ll have a nature photography post after this. I still have two more pending nature photography posts, one from this and one from Zambales. Life is amazing, I’m getting close to nature these past weeks.
6am
May 28 2012
I have always fallen in love with old things; books, songs, movies, TV series, etc. I remember my old favorites were Bewitched (1969), Wonder Woman (1975), I Dream of Jeanie (1965), Beetlejuice (1988), and Batman (1966). I finally downloaded Batman: The Movie, a movie version of the famous Batman TV series in 1966. I don’t care if the effects were really lousy and obvious fake. I still love it, and any other original and old version of anything. No matter how advanced and cool the latest version is, I’ll always have a special spot in my heart for the old ones. 
Plus, I’ve always had the biggest crush on Burt Ward as Robin (though reading how it really was behind the camera at the height of their fame left me really disappointed). I was talking to Pau days ago and she and our other friends have always known I love the old Batman series but I wasn’t really aware until she reminded me of how much I was pestering them of my Burt Ward as Robin obsession back in college. Hahahaha! 
Anyway, here goes screen shots of the movie. But please be reminded of my Burt Ward bias therefore, you might see him in most of the screen shots. Hehehehehe! 
6am
May 27 2012
I went to Quezon Memorial Circle, (haven’t been there for years!) then ate at Coconut House. I had Coco Calamari and Buko Sherbet.
Coco Calamari. It was the dip and the flour coating which contained coconut.
Buko Sherbet.
8pm
May 22 2012
My heart beats to the sound of your name, because it has long ago been yours.
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Jeez. Yet another cheezy .gif. My .gifs are so monotonous. Hahahaha. I’m too lazy to explore. One short post before I go home because I felt like blogging but I don’t know what to blog about. So I just leave you with this. Hehehehe. I made it in Ps CS3 in about five to ten minutes. 
[Related posts: 1, 2, 3]
6pm
May 21 2012
It has always been somehow a ritual already for Mama Sita, a premier global Filipino food brand, to invite members of the press to food trips to showcase not only their products, but also the Philippine’s own beautiful places and delicacies.
As for their most recent food trip last May 17, 2012, it was tagged “Piknikan sa Manggahan ala Mama Sita” and it was held in Rosa Farms, a mango orchard in San Marcelino, Zambales.
And now, shall we start we how the event went? *drumroll*
So, the day and night before the actual event, Mama Sita and Rosa Farms already prepared everything. Mama Sita staffs were setting up their booths, and preparing food ingredients to be cooked the next day.
Rosa Farms’ booth which showcased their processed products; fruit wines, organic soaps, bagoong, souvenir items, etc. They’ll be opening an online store soon where you can order these stuff, and fresh mangoes too. Watch out for that!
These mangoes were flawless! Not to mention the ripe ones were really sweet! Had lots of the sweet ones for dessert when we were there. I swear I could eat them alone, no need for rice and viands. They are enough for me!
Mama Sita products.
And the guests finally arrived! They were media people from different publications; newspapers, magazines, bloggers, there were even restaurateurs.
They were all greeted by these high school kids dancing our folk dances….
…to the beat these musicians were playing.
They were immediately served this fresh mango juice.
I got to taste fresh mango shake too, and it was really delicious and refreshing. Those fruit shakes made from powdered juices we have here in the city were nothing to compared to it!
Opening remarks.
Then, there was a mini-farm tour lead by farm owner Mr. Zulueta.
First, there was the Material Recovery Facility where they process and mill things to turn them into organic fertilizers.
They let things decompose here beneath the leaves.
And eventually, after some time, they would be ready fertilizers and used for the plants. They also sell these organic fertilizers per sack.
It’s a pretty familiar thing for me, since I came from a school who values caring for the environment so much. And we had to do vermiculture hands-on on our Botany class. Weirdly, though, the time when were fixing our bin to spread the worms at the school’s composting area, there came people from the local morning news who were doing a segment on vermiculture and they were taking footages of us at work. Suddenly, Jam and I were on tv (though only for a very short time)! Hahahaha! 
Mr. Zulueta was showing everyone how to properly pick a mango.
Like this, there has to be a little stem left on the fruit or else the acid in it would spill. I think it would ripe better with the stem still intact.
These media people, their DSLRs, their lenses! Oh, gosh! I’m envious! (Note to self: if you want one, save!!!!)
Okay, why did they had to explain how to properly pick a mango aside for mere knowledge and mere trivia? Because they had a mango-picking game! They were divided into two groups and they had to pick mangoes weighing at least ninety kilos. And if they picked mangoes without the stem, it won’t be considered. And I tell you, ninety kilos of mangoes were a lot! It would be a waste to disqualify even just one mango.
Because the mango trees were several meters from the starting point, plus the sun was scorching hot, and for the province-feel of it all, there was a karomata, a wagon usually drawn by a carabao or cow, to carry those who didn’t want to run.
These bags weren’t even ninety kilos yet. Told you, ninety kilos were a lot! With more than ten people on each team, they still had to make two trips.
And finally, lunch.
The unprepared buffet table, which when was already prepared, everyone was gathered around, no, not even with their plates in hand, but their cameras in hand first, taking photos of the food served.
This was the best I could take halfway through lunch when I could make way to the buffet table already and the long line had died down.
The best part: my lunch!
I had rice, bagoong, kare-kareng gulay, fish, and I forgot the other dish. Hehehehehe~
And the better part of my lunch, the big shrimps! I love seafood!
And the BEST part of my lunch, the dessert! Mango sherbet with really big mango bits. It was so delicious, I think I got five servings or so. Seriously. Everyone just kept coming back for it!
After lunch there was a short food demonstration on how to make Kinilaw na Puso ng Saging.
After which was the siesta time. And it was time for the winning group to claim their prize from the mango picking game. Their price was free massage! How relaxing! By the way, the ladies refused to be photographed.
These kids spent the idle hours playing around and climbing the trees. I’m envious. I have never ever climbed a tree in my whole life. I have no childhood. Hahahaha! My father grew up in the province and always told me stories how they used to climb trees and ride on carabaos. I spent my childhood in front of the television. Why oh why.
Anyway, they decided to play Pinoy Henyo.
And farm owners Mr. and Mrs. Zulueta won with the shortest time of seven seconds! How fast! Their prize was this basket.
Okay, see how big that mango Mr. Zulueta was holding?! This is the Golden Queen mango variety.
There was also a kite-flying contest. And this was one of the kites, a very prettily-done one. They called it charing-gola.
Group shot first before trying to fly the kites.
Kite flying! Sorry, I couldn’t fit in the frame the flying kites. Anyway, instead these were people running around trying to fly their kites. Hehehehehe.
Next activity, one of our beloved folk dance: Tinikling!
After the Tinikling performance, they also asked the audience to dance with them. There were a lot of volunteers!
The kite flying and Tinikling were tiring, right? Therefore, it’s time for some merienda! And it was no simple merienda, it was another cooking demonstration. A really fun one!
My merienda; Arroz Caldo with lots of garlic!
and banana flambéed in rum with muscovado sugar.
Yes, you heard that, flambé. Such an elite and gourmet sounding word. For me, it was putting food on fire using rum. Hahahaha!
Mama Sita’s chef made an actual demonstration on flambéing the bananas.
See? Fire!
And the best part, I got to try it, twice! Wheeeeee! Though when I tried it the fire wasn’t as big but it was fine. And chef gave me some pointers that instead of banana, I could try flambéing ripe mangoes, just make sure it’s hot enough before I put in the rum or it won’t fire up. Now, that’s something I have to try at home!
Finally, and sadly, it was time to wrap everything up. Closing remarks.
Before going home, though, everyone was asked to share their day’s experiences and what it reminded them of. Most said it reminded them of their home province and their childhood. With all the technology and gadgets we have now, kids surely are missing a lot of these fun outdoor activities.
It’s a wrap!
Don’t forget to like Rosa Farms on their Facebook page.
And since I was there for three days, could I skip photographing the nature around it? Of course not! The frustrated nature photographer in me is always in search of pretty pieces of nature to photograph and preserve in photos. I shall put all the nature photos in another post. Watch out for it!
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8pm
May 18 2012
I had my hair re-dyed. After six months! *sigh* The roots were growing black, almost one-third of my hair was black already. Terrible. My initial choice was to go lighter but I got talked into dyeing it darker. Oh, well, at least it’s not as orange-y as before. They said they mixed mahogany and ash blonde to get this hue. It kinda looks like dark chocolate in person and the color is much nicer when light hits it, and you can see it has a very subtle greenish undertone. But I have a plan, after a month or two I would buy one of those over-the-counter hair bleach and I would bleach my hair. Hopefully, my hair would get the creamy ash brown/blonde that I want. That is if I would still remember it after a month or two, or if I still feel like doing so. Hey, whatever happened to my original desire from summer of last year to dye my hair red? Hahahahaha!
6am
May 17 2012
Umbrella of love.
It is a Japanese connotation that when both people under the umbrella are in love or going out, they call it 相合傘 (aiaigasa) or the umbrella of love.
It’s been raining often lately. Hey, there is still space in my umbrella, wanna share? I saved it especially for you! 
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Sorry if it looks crappy and lacks originality, I haven’t had practice in doing this kind of things for almost a year already! I’m still stuck in Ps CS3. 
6am
May 16 2012
*humming to SNSD’s Genie ♬♪*
I have three wishes.
- Y
- O
- U
Now, where do I get a lamp and a genie to grant it?
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Oh, jeez. How cheesy! I just haven’t been able to write any poetry or vignette lately that the hopeless romantic, cheesy, emo writer in me is trying so hard to break free already! I have no inspiration! I haven’t been reading any good books about love. I’m currently reading one that’s supposed to be a novel about love with some underlying science in the plot, but it’s pretty boring that for the third time, I’ve temporarily stopped reading it to start another novel, this time about a boy who can see little elves. Sounds more exciting as compared to people mooning over each other in love novels, right? No, I’m not bitter (hahahaha!) it’s just that the long dialogues and slow scenes over how much they love each other are getting pretty boring. I have a really short attention span. Though, I’m not really aware, is that also how I write? That would make me eat my word. Hahahaha! I don’t mind, I’m subject to change my mind. Plus, I’ve been watching more action movies lately. Not necessarily a surprise since I’ve always liked actions movies, though I only watch those which stars either Jackie Chan or Arnold Schwarzenegger (whose surname I still cannot spell without the help of Google). I have been greatly influenced by my father and grandfather. The martial arts, the fight scenes, especially those which don’t use guns, never fails to keep me glued to the screen, holding my breath, and sitting on the edge of my chair. The little of love movies I’ve watched lately proved to be a bit disappointing. I wasn’t inspired at all. Therefore, my hopeless romantic side has no outlet to release its amour to the world, just stuck there in my heart together with the blood that’s keeping me alive. Now, that’s literal.
Anyway, it’s not the real topic of this entry. I have mentioned about wishes, three wishes, specifically. I have been reading quite often about The Secret from this group of bloggers I follow. I’ve learned about it from school. Using the Law of Attraction, you attract the things that you want, envision it, and with the help of the universe, you will get it. Just a more complex version of Self-fulfilling Prophecy, if you’d ask me. I think this works better on the unconscious and subconscious level than on the conscious level. That you don’t have to actively pursue what you want, just keep a positive outlook, go with the flow of life, and eventually, at the right time you will get it.
Now looking back, I have had some wishes which came true. I don’t really know if it was because of it but these were just the small wishes which I thought would be nice if they happened. They were not really something I would kill for, they were just small little things which when you add up, make up genuine happiness, as compared to those big things which put you in euphoria for a while but quickly disappears after. So far, there were three wishes which came true. Not exactly how I envisioned them, but similar to it, thus, I cannot help thinking that perhaps it was the reality of my little wishes. And now, I’m in the process of making my fourth wish come true, though this one’s pretty big as compared to the other three I mentioned. *cross fingers*
Through positivity, and trusting God (or fate, or destiny, or whatever supreme force which you believe in), you’ll get what you want. Or if not, perhaps because something better than what you’ve wished for is in store for you. Just be patient and wait. You cannot force water to boil immediately; you’d have to wait until it reaches the right temperature at the right span of time. And with freshly boiled water, you can make the most delicious coffee. Though if you’re like me, you’d only put one-fourth of the hot coffee and fill the rest of the cup with ice and milk. Hahahaha! Random! 
6am
May 14 2012
I fell in love today.
I passed by Elliptical Road today, and I haven’t passed by there for quite some time already. Or perhaps I have, I just wasn’t aware and today’s the only time I paid enough attention to my surroundings and managed to look around with a present mind which wasn’t flying off somewhere far away, as it usually is.
And I noticed there were occasional red-orange trees lining the road, in between the usual green ones I remember to have been there long ago. Red-orange trees, red-orange leaves, red-orange blossoms, I don’t know exactly what made them red-orange. And there was one golden orange tree somewhere there too. They were all beautiful. Would it be wrong to stop in the middle of the road and just stare, in awe, at them against the blue sky, or to just photograph them? Would it be a crime? I don’t know their names. I wish I could find out so I can add them to my wish list of trees and buds I want to plant in my own mini-forest someday.
It’s no secret I have long ago fallen in love with Golden Showers. I have seen it bloom for eight years, in high school and in college. Why is it nowhere in sight now?
And today, I fell in love with two more trees. And with the millions out there I am yet to see.
4pm
May 10 2012
Don treated me to The Avengers last week even though it was already his second time to watch it. Wheeee! Thank you~! 
And it was our first time to meet again after five months. Hahaha! 
10am
May 09 2012
![[Manga: Female x Female = Love]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3qjvseIjJ1qbl8f8o1_500.jpg)
[Manga: Female x Female = Love]
11am
