My so-called Hiatus.

So, I took a 4-day hiatus from Facebook due to some glitches it had on my system hence I was going to write about "being unsafe and all" but then again, I could just sum all of it up to one paragraph: Wherever you may be, the factor of being unsafe always lurk around. Be it in private or in public, heck even on the social network where you are at the comfort of your home, all these viruses get you. Call it a glitch or whatever it still implies a breach of your privacy. 


There, done. Now, let me focus on the lighter side of things.


My 4-day off the hook from this pool of virtual his hellos and thumbs ups was quite(if not)a nerdy one. I didn't break a sweat resisting the temptation of "taking a peek" on FB as, I got me a few CD's from HMV's closing out sale! (ohhh sale, I love the sound of that. It's like music to my ears, no pun intended).


Music just automatically took over everything. I also started a new project. It's a vector graphic inspired pen art, I don't know how will this end up but what the heck right? So, with art and music minus Facebook, what can possibly go wrong?

Going back to music, I have added 5 new CD's to my collection I always wanted to get them but I simply just wasn't able to over the years. Here are my newest must-haves:

Music is life!

#5. Counting Crows' "Films About Ghosts-- The Best of..."

When I was in highschool, I'd always compare them to Hootie and the Blowfish though overtime, I became more attached to Counting Crows after their remake of "Big Yellow Taxi feat. Vanessa Carlton". Hence here they are on my collection. 

#4. Janet J "Number Ones". All of her hit songs from the 80's to the early 2000's. I was only into few songs on disc 1 but disc 2? Man, I could loop it on my player the whole day! It sort of took me back to my radio days. 

#3. John Mayer's "Room for Squares". If you don't know this album and haven't heared just one bit from this album then I don't know what entertainment means to you. That's all I have to say. 

#2. Moulin Rouge OST. This is my 2nd Moulin Rouge CD. The first one is sitting in utter and dusty silence at home with its older sibling we call the *drum rolls please* cassette tape! I love broadways! Take that aside, Baz Luhrman's overflowing talent made him produce both the movie and the album. The Elephant Love Medley is just genius!

Finally, this what I consider the greatest collection of all time. 

#1. U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". All the songs on this album is just playable. Anytime. Working, driving, party, sulking, celebrating. Anything. Like I said anytime. If this is so, what's not to be number one about?

My 5 new friends just made my day and I hope you did too. 


Have a Beautiful Day, Beautiful People! Don't get Stuck in a Moment, otherwise you don't know what you've Got Till its Gone. Go ahead and take the Big Yellow taxi as There's No Such Thing as Come What May!

Deceitful thing called...TV

As I am writing this, my eyes are surrendering to the tranquil world of slumber while my brain on the other hand, just won't budge. Well, let's see how far will this go....

The previous week was quite interesting for me. I was caught in the middle of a hail, I was able to get 3 items on my vintage collection and most of all I was in "Boston". Well,  the picture I posted says Boston Police so I should be in Boston right?

Here's the skinny: I happen to pass by an actual shooting of the TV series Fringe Season 4 in downtown Vancouver.

So, Boston huh? 

My Trail Tale....

I updated my tripadvisor account and this is by far my "trudging" stats:

 
   

     

1. Bohol Island, Philippines

     

2. Ayutthaya, Thailand

     

3. Hanoi, Vietnam

   

 

             

• View my profile

           

• Create your own travel map or travel blog.

         

• Great holiday rentals at TripAdvisor

 

I travel because of the childhood nostalgia it gives me. The hot summers, the sore, aching and blistery sunburns, the aqua blue-green-brown-white pallet of the beach, the dusty and bumpy dirt roads of Negros and the foggy mornings of the highlands.

Though, eventually the nostalgia has evolved into the thrill of seeing new places and the exclusivity it has which sets it apart from other towns and countries I have seen. There's just more to  what can pictures capture.  The mystery of it -- I guess? 

Hence I make it a point that I take my time to drop the camera and just savor what's in front of me without snapping a shot. I linger at the positive conundrum of the moment which obviously need not be answered. What's right behind that limestone formation or where will the dolphins appear or is there a trail to follow? or how hot really is the desert, once I stepped out of the Airport?

68 cities and 9 countries. Maybe a little too few for some, quite a lot for the others. As for me, that's why I termed this  "trudging" as I take it one step at a time.  Before you know it you are somewhere you aren't expecting you'll be at. As long as its clear to you why you're doing what you're doing.


I mean, I wasn't expecting to come and live in North America before this year ends...surprise surprise!


   

My Vintage Collection -- Finally!

All these years I've been wanting to collect something vintage and many things came to mind. 

A candelabra? 
Some of them are too "draculaish" and scary, so no. 
  

Old bottles? 
Way too rare and expensive, scratch that.


Antique Dolls?

What if "Chukie" does exist? Nevermind.

Old Tin Cans?
Didn't work out.

Books? 
I've had storage problems thrice, so I'll give this a pass. 

Figurines?
The old ones looked like they're just pretending to be inanimate and sneak out in the middle of the night and watch you sleep every full moon or holloween and again, what if  "Chuckie" is true? -- I'm not taking any chances. NO.

...and finally (which is right under my nose all this time as I grew up with Pyrex wares) this: 

vintage Pyrex and Corelle coordinates. Yes! These will be it.  In fact, these lovely darlings are the very first items on my collection. I got them yesterday (thank you craigslist!).  The pattern is called Crazy Daisy/Spring Blossom from 1970. 

Perfectly fits me well. My love for cooking, my favorite place in the house is the kitchen and most of all, I'd rather be on a flea market than be in a mall where everything is new, artificial and really expensive. 

I love good old stuff. So why not? 

Trick or Treat...

That's the husband...he was a zombie on their office holloween party. We were too desperate on choosing what character would he be and he finally decided to be a zombie.

With my little make-up skill, voila! I created a monster...rawr! I'm glad you guys love it! Till next holloween!

Holloween...Cauayanon Style: "Treat-and-more-Treats!"

"Kalag-Kalag" is how we Ilonggos call holloween. From the word "Kalag" which is the direct translation of soul or spirit.

As for the repeatition of the word, my guess is that our ancestors might have playfully repeated the word, to sugarcoat the "scare" that it implies and to make it sound more festive . (Somebody please enlighten me on this?)

In the Philippines we celebrate holloween every 1st of November otherwise known as the "All Soul's Day".(ohhhh, I smell wonderful chidlhood memories again)

When I was a kid, every "kalag-Kalag" my family used to visit my mother's hometown in Cauayan, Negros Occidental to pay a visit to my grandmother Consing's tomb and other relatives who passed-away.

A usual "November 1st" goes like this: In the morning, my titos (uncles) would go to the cementery to tidy-up the my grandmother's tomb for the visitors while my titas and my mother are at the kitchen making all these classic sticky rice menus that I would never trade for any gourmet meals in the world. It is a Filipino belief that these sticky rice delicacies will keep the family more closer for every year that comes.

In the afternoon, the neighborhood becomes quieter as everyone heads to the cementery. To light candles, say prayers and offer flowers to dead loved-ones and relatives and be back at home before dawn.

Until a few years back when I blogged about this on Friendster, I realized Cauayanons do have their own version of "trick or treat". However, it was more of a "Treat and more Treats!". My cousins, me with my parents, titas or older cousins would go to a relative's home and yell outside their doors "mangalag-kalag kami!" (we want to celebrate holloween).  Of course, being hospitable as we are, the host gladly let us in for the treats. However, those are not m&m's, hershey's, skittles nor any candy, nope!...it was waaayyy better!

We get warm milk, Taho (ginger tea),  suman, valenciana, ibos, bihon - except for the bihon, these are sticky rice cooked in different ways. (Ask Mr. Google, he knows a lot about this). Then laughters, stories -- ghost stories then fills the table until its time for you to visit another home. You could go to as much homes as you want, as long as you still have room to fill your stomach coz you have to eat once you went in someone's house. Indeed that's lotsa treats!

I hope that this is still being practiced today as this is one rare practice among Filipinos. Happy Holloween everyone! 

Renewed.

I am so into fall right now. 

I have been all over Vancouver and taking pictures everywhere as the city transforms into a beautiful red-yellow-orange-gold pallet. The greens are disappearing bit by bit.

Talking about green, I got my renewed passport last Tuesday. I am officially and finally sparing myself from the embarrassment of having a (still) handwritten and no chip passport (yey!). No more funny smiles and stares every time I present my country's "emblem".

Funny how this goes with the season....and so the green one shall go as it should. -- haha!

I'm just glad that before I let it go, it did served its one sole purpose why I dragged my a$$ off to DFA Manila about almost 5 years ago albeit it took a while to have it stamped with "that visa". It was all worth the detours during that dormant time of 4 years and 7 months. 

dirty pages of my old passport

 Well, to you my old green pal, this is not goodbye,  I just have these new blank pages to be stamped on.

indeed green is out, red is in.