Keep this in mind

I was back reading Patty Laurel's blog last night and look what I found! It's called the Holstee Manifesto. It encourages and inspires us to live our life to the fullest. It reminds us that life is short so we should start doing the things we love, opening our hearts and minds to new things/possibilities, and living our dream.

I could not have said it any better. :)

The Name Game

*April 24, 2012*

 Apparently, I have a new name. I find it odd why some coffee or milk tea baristas misspell the name of their customers most of the time. I always make it a point to say my name clearly whenever they ask for it. But I usually end up with a variety of names such as "Danah", "Dhana", "Dhanah", "Danna", "Donna", "Nana", and just today, "Dala".

I wonder what my new name will be next. :p

The Morning Reflection

I woke up early today, for some odd reason. I don't usually wake up early on a weekend because it is the only time I get to have enough sleep. I think I surprised everyone at home because they're not used to seeing me up and about before 10am and eating breakfast.

I'm still thinking about something that has been bothering me recently. If only I have the power to change it, I would, but unfortunately it is beyond my control. I called my bestfriend to enlighten me and told her that maybe I got the signs that I'm looking for. But I haven't stopped hoping and praying. I wonder why I don't get tired of getting my hopes up for things that I know and feel will never happen.  

The Volcano in the Lake

*April 15, 2012*

After several failed attempts, I finally had a better shot of the Taal Volcano. ;) My family and I went to Tagaytay last weekend and we ate lunch in a restaurant overlooking the volcano. I can't help but admire its beauty.

Taal Volcano is one of the famous attractions in the Philippines. It is known as the "smallest volcano" in the world and it is one of the active volcanoes in the country. It is also a part of the "Pacific Ring of Fire", an area in the Pacific Ocean where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. Taal Volcano's eruptions before have caused why it is now located within a lake. If only this volcano could talk, I'm sure it has a lot of interesting stories to tell. :)

On a Sunday Morning

Exactly what's on my mind right now. :)

That One Saturday

March 31, 2012- I have no idea how to describe this day. All I know is that I felt extremely happy and I didn't want it to end. I spent the last day of March with my friends from grade school, Margaret and James.  We invaded Alabang Town Center and made the mall an extension of our own homes. ;) We were supposed to watch The Hunger Games to see what the fuss is all about. But unfortunately James had to attend to something really important at 2pm in Makati so we changed our plan. We went to Timezone instead. 

The first thing we did after Margaret had her Timezone card checked was to go to the karaoke booth (I don't know what it's called haha!) because they are naturally blessed with golden voices. ;) For some reason, Margaret was in the mood to sing. She chose to sing Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing (Just a little trivia: This was Aerosmith's biggest hit and it's included in the 1998 movie, Armageddon) while James sang a really heartfelt Just Once. Unlike my talented friends, I didn't get to sing solo because I was "shy" at that time. #excuses :p
 

Our short trip to Timezone won't be complete if we didn't play. We all had the adrenaline rush thanks to the games' action-packed features. We took the games very seriously (just look at the photos hahaha!) because we're really determined to win. :p

 

It was James' first time to eat at Pepper Lunch. Glad that he liked the food. :)

Candid | Busy with our food ;)

We ate lunch at Pepper Lunch. We had a lot of catching up while filling our tummies with good food. It was nice to hear from James whom we haven't seen for ages. Four years have passed since the last time the three of us ate out and had fun.  

Sometimes, it is really wonderful to be able to have some quality time with the people you grew up with. Being with your childhood friends keeps you grounded as they remind you of the simple, happy things in life. Childhood friends are such a blessing. :) And on a random note, the feeling you get when you see them after a gazillion years... priceless.

It was such a great day and I'm glad I spent it with these two. I'm looking forward to having more good times with them.:)

The Late Night Post

Love and Other Drugs is a movie that I never got to finish watching. I might haven't seen the entire movie yet but there's this one line that totally struck me:

"... and then you meet one person and your life is changed forever."

Oh sweet potato. It's so true! And then there's one person comes to mind. Okay, quesoooo! Before this blog gets corrupted by the "cheesy bug", I bid you all good night. :)

The Rainy Summer

On the way to Alabang Town Center yesterday, we got stuck in traffic and then it rained for a while. Because I had nothing better to do, I got my phone and took photos of the raindrops. And did I mention that I was listening to Sugarfree too? Emo moment right there. Haha! :p But seriously, I miss this band and I'm really hoping that they'll also have a reunion concert (just like what the Eraserheads did some years ago) in the near future. :)

The 96th Page of 366 Days

Credits to Cheska del Rosario

This was posted by Cheska, a blockmate, on Facebook the other day and it inspired me. Since our trip to Baler last month, I've been thirsty for more adventures. ;) Having said this, I will make the most of my 20's and I'm going to fill it with fun, exciting, and noteworthy events and learning experiences. Travel, explore, love a lot, love a little... :)

Stoked for the Sun

Besides surfing, here are the other things we did in Baler. :)

Baler is a must-see for all tourists

While everyone's sleeping (they got tired of surfing), here we are taking photos...

...

...and admiring the beautiful waves.

"Rayban" girls :p

I wish I could surf like that. Effortless.

Hello Abby, Rina, and Hazel! :)

Blurred... but nonetheless I still love this shot. :)

Nice backdrop :p

Played uno while waiting for Abby, Hazel, and Rina. They got their henna tattoos. | There's a lost kid in the beach.

Hazel's henna

Also observed people ;)

Played "Pinoy Henyo" | Ate a sumptuous dinner. The sisig was really good!

Failed jumpshot attempts | One of the few decent photos we have :)) | Credits to Karla Labayen

Celebrated Serie's birthday | Gave her a very special birthday cake ;)

Before surfing | 2nd day

The sand princess

Hi Abby! :)

When we all got tired of surfing haha! | Credits to Karla Labayen

Got to see floating lanterns too. Tangled moment! :) No decent photo though. :(

"I see something special and show it to the camera. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs." - Sam Abell

We don't only surf the net

We arrived at Bay's Inn in Baler, Aurora at around nine in the morning, feeling sleepy and hungry. The weather was a little bit grumpy--- it was raining and chilly. We sat in one corner of the inn's restaurant and ordered breakfast. While my colleagues were talking to each other, I looked at the ocean and observed its waves. The waves were getting bigger and stronger. The sight gave me goosebumps and mixed emotions.

After an hour, Mr. Sun came out and the weather became fine. I think it's a sign that I should go surfing. ;)

Baler, Aurora is one of the places in the Philippines that surfers love to visit. Surfers from around the world go here because of its amazing waves. I remember someone (Hazel, is this you? Haha) who told me that surfers anticipate gigantic waves because they make surfing more fun.

Surfing 101

Before the actual surfing, a local surfer taught us the things that we should know like the proper way of standing up on the board. After some "practice" on the sand, we went to the sea for the hands-on experience. As soon as we stepped on the water, I told my kuya (surfing instructor) that I don't know how to swim. With my game face on, I got on the board and braved the big and strong waves of Baler. 

Getting there... I'm the one wearing pink. :p

Look at those waves!

We had to do this in preparation for the coming of the "perfect wave". The girl in the picture is Karla.  :)

It was not me... It's Mina! :)

I have never felt this adventurous in my entire life! I was scared yet excited at the same time. I was freaking out when the waves hit me. :)) Hindi biro talaga! And I freaked out even more when the waves became much bigger. I asked kuya why it was getting bigger and bigger and he said, "kasi po high tide ngayon kaya malaki ung alon". Kaya pala.

It was a brave move for me, considering that I'm not into sports and swimming. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would go surfing and it wasn't even in my bucket list! But this is something that I'm really proud of. Okay lang kahit hindi ako nakatayo sa board, at least I got to experience Baler's waves! At ang tapang ko kasi "high tide waves" pa ang hinarap ko. Yabang no? Hahaha! Kidding aside, I'm glad I took the risk. I have no regrets. ;)

(Thanks Karla and Serie for the photos | The last three photos from my camera | March 17-18, 2012)

The whole surfing experience was super duper fun! If given a chance, I would definitely go back to Baler and surf again. And when I get back, I will do my best to stand on the board. I promise. :p

The Second Day of April

It was one lazy Thursday afternoon and all I wanted to do was chill around the house. I came home early from work so the first thing I did was turn on the radio and tuned in to my favorite radio station. Andi Manzano was the disc jockey at that time and to my big surprise, Justin Quirino, a former classmate of mine in college, was there too. Jessica Mendoza (Andi's co-host) had a "special mission" so Justin hosted the show with Andi. It was so surreal to hear Justin's voice on the radio!

I was about to close my eyes when Andi played this cute song. I tried to keep myself awake by listening to the song lyrics. The only words I remembered were "Hush now, let's go quiet to the park... in your arms, in your arms I'll stay..." Just so you know, remembering the lyrics of a particular song and typing it on Google has become my hobby lately. I do it not because of boredom but for the sake of updating my iPod. :) Good thing, when the song ended, Andi mentioned its title so I took note of it. When I finally got my hands on my laptop, I searched the song on Youtube, watched its music video, and downloaded its mp3 version. 

In Your Arms by Kina Grannis

Here's a little trivia for you! Did you know that this music video took 22 months to finish? Can you guess how many jellybeans were used in this music video? 280, 000 lang naman. Hindi masyado marami. :p This is indeed a product of hardwork, creativity, and resourcefulness!

So it's officially summer! What are you all up to? Happy summer everyone! :)

P.S. Please watch out for my blog entries about our Baler trip and the fun weekend with my awesome friends from gradeschool... my best weekends so far. :D