chinese + portuguese

i didn’t mind walking around too much. the streets were clean. and everyone looked fabulous. went on a 1-hr ferry trip to macau and it was a lot colder than i expected. i always imagined macau to be sunny just like how i see it on tv. it was sunny alright but windy and lot more colder than hong kong. the streets were somewhat empty because of the grand prix. too many roads were closed. did some more shopping at the macau streets..as usual!

pashmina scarf – hongkok street
black blazer – thrifted
pinstripe shirt dress – thrifted
black tights | black belt – props
boots – janilyn
bag – maldita

glasses – thrifted

a little boho in a sea of black and grey

first day in hong kong. frantically searched for the bus stop to ocean park but ended up taking the train. in an ocean of black and greys, i wore blue and brown. sorry, didn’t get the memo. haha! coming from a very tropical city, we didn’t know it would be this cold! good thing we bumped into an old lady selling pashmina scarves on the street for $20 HK. we couldn’t understand what she was saying though..haha! ocean park adventure. lots of walking around. went shopping at mongkok ladies market afterwards.


pashmina scarf – hong kong street
jacket – bossini (thrifted)
dress – thrifted
boots – thrifted
bag – thrifted (c/o big sis)

angel wing necklace – sm dept store (redone)

driving blind-folded


it started with her daily deliverable and his helping hand. a roll of scotch tape. a few laughs. an interesting conversation. a pint of chocolate ice cream. heck, even a box of ham. he reminded her of someone. she was someone completely different from the girls in his life. it took off with lunch. and the next thing she knew, she was placing a blind-fold over her eyes, took the wheel, stepped on the gas and started driving blind-folded. her heart carefully tucked in his hands. a turning point. he made her believe in magic again. she made him believe magic still existed. inexplicable. unfathomable. questions of when and how they both stepped into the same moment when this roller coaster took off. smiles. unexpected tears. sudden pangs of jealousy. falling in love.

2007 | the year that was

like all the year – ender blogs, i will attempt to write about 2007 and how it was for me.

  • my year of new loves (and lusts..hahaha!), beach bummin’, crazy football practice drills, new found friends to treasure forever, heartaches, betrayal, out of the blue road trips at dawn, unexpected kisses, music surge from my ipod, drunken drunken nights, pizza overload, falling asleep while driving, believing in love again
  • the year i learned that when bad things happen to me or when the situation falls short from what i expected, it means that greater things are bound to happen
  • when i became a dark angel and it was a turning point from there on
  • i failed the trainer’s demo in etelecare but got accepted to QA which led to my promotion as TOIC
  • when i was infatuated with my best friend’s ex which led to a betrayal by my little sister but now my friendship with her is stronger than ever
  • the first time a camped out in a tent for 2 nights and 3 days with nothing to depend on but the water we can buy from the stores outside the resort and rubber-chicken — a 2007 holy week in bantayan with canence!
  • when i dated a long time friend which led to another heart ache but one which i don’t regret because now we are still very good friends
  • when i celebrated my 23rd birthday with more friends that i could ever imagine and had the longest birthday at work — people were greeting me all week
  • when i was at the prime of my football career and was awarded best defensive line in my team for having the most sacks and tackles for the 4 years i’ve been playing the sport
  • when i went on my first manila trip ever with four guys and felt so taken cared of
  • when my little sister graduated and i’ve never felt more old..hehe.
  • when i took my first ferry boat ride to mactan island — one of the most amazing 15 mins i’ve had in my life
  • the year when i sold my most-loved vintage volkswagen which i named “stacey”
  • had the most trips to the beach in a year — malapascua, daanbantayan, moalboal, bantayan, el salvador in danao and even the small beaches in liloan
  • the year when i had to let go of a long time love because nature failed me and i had my ligament torn on my right knee — the year i had to stop playing football after 4 years
  • the year when i traded vudu or loft to more chillout places like sizzling buddha, crib, baseline, cheavers, handuraw, friends’ house — marianne’s, tessa’s, gammy’s
  • growing up to be a more responsible adult when i took the responsibility of paying for house bills and giving allowances to my mom and dad
  • when i established a bank account which i could call my own back-up plan
  • tried being awake for more than 30 hours and still survived
  • first over-night stay at marriot with long-time friends — tha’ thugs
  • just when i almost stopped believing that magic can happen to me, i found a boy who made me feel happy and loved
  • the year when 12 people made me feel stressed, cared for, angry and mad all at the same time — i handled my very first team in etelecare
  • multiple drives to home where i find myself thinking about my life and the lives of others
  • the year i was closest to God when i finally accepted that everything not only happens for a reason but for a purpose
  • the year when i forgave myself for letting go of my first love
  • the first christmas and new year where i felt so at peace, i was almost complete

park my cleats | hang my jersey

flag football was introduced to me 4 years ago when i had nothing else to do with my life but mope about my broken heart, go clubbing or partying and study every once in a while. the chargers became my first flag football family. we started out with 14 guys and 3 girls and on our first season, we only had 1 win. that was when we had red horse instead of water while we were playing…haha! a year after, i experienced my first semis with the chargers — it was against the flamingos. that 8 on 8 season was the craziest season i had — waking up at 4am to practice, fighting with the coach, the team captains and myself. that season was filled with tears, heartaches and triumphs.

and now, playing for the dark angels…welp, i can’t describe the experience with them to the core. just this, the angels keep me motivated amidst my busy and routine day. saturday is angels + flag football day.

but last october 27, during our game against the bombshells, i endured an accident on my right knee. after 4 years of playing, i mistakenly placed all the force on my right knee when i stopped for my run to grab the flag. it hurt like hell and i couldn’t walk for one whole day. my knee would hurt when i moved. so just imagine how i stank when i couldn’t shower until sunday. haha! seriously, i had to contemplate and worry to death whether i could walk again. fortunately, i still could. i found out i had a tear on my meniscus. The menisci are two pads of cartilaginous tissue which serve to disperse friction in the knee joint between the lower leg (tibia) and the thigh (femur). with the tear, i can hardly straighten my leg nor bend it.

november 5th is the day i had to decide with a heavy heart to give up the sport i loved so much — even in my sleep. it’s ironic how i’ve always lived by “everything happens for a reason” yet i can’t fathom the reason for my injury. i realized that this is the end of football for me yet it’s really hard to let it go. football kept me alive. it kept me young. but sadly, i would have to park my cleats and hang my jersey. i would have to grow up.

hoping this reaches you


on my 15th birthday, i wrote you my wishes. on my party, i was led into our house blind-folded. i opened my eyes to find all my friends there. and the most special person at that time of my life in front of me, holding my birthday cake. my best friend made my wishes come true. i don’t know how you found all our childhood friends, but they were all there. and the rest if history.

i know we’ve grown to be different people 7 years later. with the distance between us, we’ve been through rough times on our own. with people so different from us. when you left, i always thought the distance would drift us apart. but it only made our friendship stronger. distance cannot cause rifts in friendships, selfishness can. i wasn unhappy for so long that when i found hope in being alive again, i selfishly forgot how i can hurt people’s feelings with it. i tried to forget that i will be hurting you. you always said i deserved to be selfish. that was one shitty advice i never should have done to you.

my birthday is nearing and yet i go by the days feeling like i’ve lost a piece of my puzzle. i lost my soulmate. the only person who understood me. the only person who wouldn’t laugh at my dreams. i’ve always dwelled that maybe time will heal everything. it’s comforting to think that it does. but sometimes, time only makes you numb. but still, i’m hoping that someday you would understand. things can never be the same again, i know that. but it wouldn’t hurt to start over right?

we lose friends along the way. meet new acquaintances, only to forget them after a couple of weeks. but family can’t be lost just like that. best friends cannot be lost in just a whim.

and i’m hoping this gets to you somehow. i don’t know how. just know that i’m still here.

10 years ago vs NOW

went to karla’s apartment yesterday to buy some stuff. only bought one dress- which was cute by the way – if only i’ll have somewhere to wear it. i stayed there for 2 hrs. we were just catching up on what’s been going on in our lives. and reminiscing about the old days. wishing we can have a reunion. damn it’s been 10 years.

and so karla and i realized that the things happening to us now, have happened to us back in elementary. but the only difference is, the elemenraty days didn’t have as much drama as now. we could easily let go of things. like if the guy we liked, liked somebody else all of a sudden, it’s really okay. i guess age comes with drama. and drama becomes bigger when we’ve gone through so much shit.

back in the day, when a boy throws stuff at you, we’d be oblivious that it was just a sign of him liking us. when your crush turns out to like your friend, we hurt but then we move on. there are more crushes. when he gets your number, he really calls. even if it’s after a month since he can’t muster up the courage to actually say anything on the other line. when we fall in love, it’s the happiest thing.

right now, when a boy suddenly throws stuff at you, we have 2nd thoughts. because we’re not sure if he does like us. or he was just kidding around. when a guy we like turns out to like your friend, it hurts deep. and we’d feel rejected. we actually shed tears for this. when a guy gets your number, we instantly think that he just wants to be a friend. and yes, you send text messages back and forth but it suddenly stops. and then we move on. and today, when we fall in love, it’s a rollercoaster ride. it’s not all giggles and butterflies in the stomach. it’s also dizziness. confusion. doubts.

so i’m thinking. at 22 years old, maybe we should learn to treat things like we were still 12 or 15 years old. uncomplicated. innocent. and maybe, we won’t be hurting this much.

it HAS to go on

life that is..

it was only last week that i realized how life went on for me without me knowing it. people are asking if i’m okay. i guess i am. but then again, maybe i just ignored the drama. after all, there’s nothing i can do about it really. good things have to come to an end. it was fun. at one point, i smiled about it throughout my day. there WAS a point when the mere thought of ‘us’ pulled me out of my bed.

so now, i’m back to waiting. i’m not sure if i’m ready. ready to put myself in the same situation again. so i wake up at 10pm, go to work. busy myself with evaluations, and meetings. go home at 9am. eat breakfast. watch a little bit of TV. then sleep. pretty much routine. and i wait for something to surprise me. make me fall. make me smile. whatever happens, is bound to happen at some point.

on believing again

when a guy will tell her that he will not do the same things the other guys did to hurt her, she hopes she can still believe him..

when a guy will tell her he’s sure about what he feels, she hopes she can still believe him..

when a guy will tell her that she makes him smile, she hops she can still believe him..

when a guy will tell her he wants her..
when a guy will tell her he’d defy the consequences..
when a guy will tell her he won’t fail her..

she hopes she can still believe him..

Oo | Up Dharma Down

‘Di mo lang alam
Naiiisip kita
Baka sakali lang maisip mo ako
‘di mo lang alam
Hanggang sa aking inaasam makita kang muli
Nagtapos ang lahat sa di inaasahang pahanon
At ngayon ako ay iyong iniwan
Luhaan, sugatan, ‘di mapakinabangan
Sana nagtanong ka lang
Kung ‘di mo lang alam
Sana’y nagtanong ka lang
Kung ‘di mo lang alam
Ako’y iyong nasaktan
Baka sakali lang maisip mo naman
Hindi mo lang alam
Kay tagal na panahon
Ako’y nandirito pa rin hanggang ngayon para sa’yo
Lumipas mga araw na ubod ng saya
‘di pa rin nagbabago ang aking pagsinta
Kung ako’y nagkasala patawad na sana
Puso kong pagal ngayon lang nagmahal
‘di mo lang alam
Ako’y iyong nasaktan
Baka sakali lang maisip mo naman
Puro s’ya na lang
Sana’y ako naman
‘di mo lang alam
Ika’y minamasdan
Sana’y iyong mamalayang hindi mo lang pala alam
‘di mo lang alam
Kahit tayo’y magkaibigan lang
Napapaligaya lang sa tuwing nagkukulitan
Baka sakali lang maisip mo naman
Ako’y nandito lang
Hindi mo lang alam
Matalino ka naman
Kung ikaw at ako
Ay tunay na bigo sa laro na ito
Ay dapat bang sumuko
Sana hindi ka lang pala aking nakilala
Kung alam ko lang ako’y masasaktan ng ganito

Sana’y nakinig na lang ako sa nanay ko
‘di mo lang alam
Ako’y iyong nasaktan
Baka sakali lang maisip mo naman
Puro s’ya na lang
Sana’y ako naman

Isang kindat man lang
‘di mo lang alam
O, ika’y minamasdan
Sana iyo’y mamalayang di mo lang pala alam
Oooooooo
Malas mo
Ikaw ang natipuhan ko
Di mo lang alam
Ako’y iyong nasaktan

trust | hard lessons learned at 22

2 months ago, i dug a hole that i very well knew i might not get out of. but i continued digging because my selfishness blinded me from seeing that i’m hurting others in the process of pursuiting happiness. i ignored the fact that i’ll be hurting people closest to me. i somehow managed to get out of the hole. good thing. i thought i was completely out of it. until it came back to me several days ago. i started slipping. but i was only at the brink. last night, i found out another person was swimming in my own hole. swimming in the shit that i filled it. and by the person i trusted the most.

it all fell into place. i lost restlessness because i knew the answers now. but i never thought the answers would hurt me in the worst possible way. my heart didn’t beat. it didn’t break when i found out about it. i have come to the worst part of myself, i have become indifferent. and numb.

“i’m not upset that you lied to me. i’m upset that from now on i can’t believe you.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

when it starts to creep in

we always want what other people have. OR we think we have what we want — something we think others don’t have. BUT it turns out, what we have is nothing special — it’s just the same as everybody else’s. THEN we begin to re-think things. and start to want more.

and it starts to creep in. jealousy. insecurity. anger. the pride gets hurt. and no matter how i shut my eyes, i can’t go back to sleep.