Nature Tripping: Albay

will a change do me good?

for the first time in my life, i feel as if i can just raise my hand and touch it, and grab it, and hang on to it. that special "something" i knew i'd know when i found it. i thought i would be much more afraid when i encountered it. but i'm excited. always excited.
however, i have to say, i realize, being with him every day...i realize, bilib ako sa mga matagal magka-relasyon. maybe it's because i'm so used to being on my own. to just keeping silent and staring into space or getting lost in the universe of my thoughts. i have never really had to consider someone else's needs and feelings before. not to this degree. not in this capacity. and, forgive me for saying it, but it's darn tiring. when i don't feel like talking, but he wants to talk, how can i not give him my full attention. it would be easier for me to just not be there if i didn't feel like it at a particular day or time. but how can i not? my regard for him burns every day. but there are just some days when i would rather stay still. very still. i don't like him any less...i just don't feel up to it. not on that day. but how can i not be there for him?
i am thankful. because i have become this person. that he has become who he is. that we have met at this juncture in our lives. because in truth, considering our degree/s of separation--how come we didn't meet sooner? i know: because it's the perfect timing. the perfect space in time.
now i know, despite what they say, love really is a lot of work! but i don't really mind.:)

i am...

i am super-busy with this and that, all important activities on different levels and different stages.
i am incredulous at a development that i never expected at this point in my life (i say life because writing is not simply a career for me), but for which i am very very thankful to God.
i am appreciative that someone actually makes me smile at how happy he always is to see me--i'm not quite sure why. i mean, i know my worth as a person, but how does he value me exactly, i don't know. but going back to the first statement...
i am so busy with so many things, so many ideas, so many to-dos...but i am also happy because i am doing things that i love and working towards goals that i have set for myself, without hesitation. i just ask for energy, focus, and emotional maturity to face each and every aspect of my life head-on. the close of this year is looking very very good indeed.

North Asian Adventure 1

For my trip to China, I took care of practically everything: getting my visa, booking my flight, arranging to stay over at my friend Lesley's in Beijing. When I got there, my feeling overall was: it felt strange but familiar at the same time. The roads were just wider and there were more cars and bikes and people. I daresay, maybe Beijing (or China in general?) is the Texas of this part of the world--everything is bigger!
I went to Wudaokou (the university district), Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City. And yes, finally bought myself my own Red Guard cap. (Abby bought me one before, but it made more sense to buy one on this, my first visit to China. I couldn't stop taking photos to share with everyone. And really, the reason it took so long to make this entry is because I couldn't figure out which photos to include and which not to. Finally, I decided I had to skip the toilet photos!--all but one, that is!:P

I liked riding the buses and trains--beats sitting in the taxi fidgeting over the traffic!

unfortunately, i wasn't able to ride a bike through the streets of beijing. sayang, i wanted to try following the "bike stoplight"! it's so cool that they even have a lane on the overpass for bikes and other "wheeled" items.:D

had to try the streetfood, of course. not such a fan of the "boiled in broth" ones. but the griddled ones were ok.

can you imagine how excited i was approaching this???

some parts of the forbidden city are under renovation.

cute! kids getting a "high-tech guided tour" of the forbidden city. i was too kuripot to try that!

tiananmen, here i come!!!

because of the stretches of land, practically everything grows in china! loved the pears!

most of the people now live in high-rise apartment buildings like these. i want huttongs!!!

pretty much everywhere, this is how it looks when you have to "go". and really, i'm doing you a favor, this is one of the nicer looking ones (no smell!).

reflections on my travels...so far

traveling is so inspiring and opens up your mind.
it was interesting to actually touch the great wall of china, to ride a beijing bus, to haggle for cheap stuff, to navigate through the streets among thousands of people, to eat beijing duck. it was an adventure to ride a horse and carriage, to ride a galloping stallion, to build a fire, to live in a ger, to eat mutton, to listen to monks chanting.
along the way, i met interesting people. a swiss who loves the philippines, a dane who embraces asian cultures, an american learning mongolian, another american helping the reindeer people, a frenchman traveling through most of asia, a british family who loves adventure traveling.
the most precious and unique encounters however were with people who did not speak english nor filipino: a mongolian woman who, by signalling and pointing, directed me to the train ticket station; vendors at the last south tower at the great wall who i joked around with, i gave them candy, they gave us apples, and let me sit on a stack of books to rest; the mongolian girl who's in charge of the guesthouse where we stayed, who i talked to about TV shows and korean celebrities; the chinese girl at the cafe who gave me a cute souvenir and asked me when i would return to china. maybe soon. definitely, next time, to see more of the "probinsiya".
this trip could not have come at a better time in my life. it widened my horizons and opened my eyes, and despite the exhaustion, rejuvenated me.
pictures to come soon.

senti-mental journey

you make a smile fly to my lips
you make a giggle rise in my throat
you make my hair feel glossy
you make me write a love poem!
GOSH!:P

packing!

gosh, i'm running around putting things together, trying to find one thing or the other, like a headless chicken i'm running...
but i know that in 3 days--count 'em, 3. it will all settle down and i will be ready for another adventure that i know i will love from the get-go. china, here i come!
i don't care how, but i will absolutely make the most of my stay.

places i MUST see:
tiananmen square
yellow river
yangtze river
great wall
forbidden palace

things i MUST do:
eat authentic peking duck
ride an authentic bike like in the movies
touch the historic ground from which at least some of my ancestors came

i'm super happy! now to go on packing!

captures it EXACTLY

my friend cely sent me the mp3 of this, saying it's exactly, precisely what i want to say to you. she's right. and one of these days, when i have time, i might just get around to it...unless you
beat me to it. that would be ok too.:)

"Can I Walk With You"
I woke up this morning
you were the first thing on my mind
I don't know were it came from
all I know is I need you in my life, yeah
You make me feel like
I can be a better woman
If you just say you wanna
take this friendship to another place

Chorus
Can I walk with you through your life
Can I lay with you as your wife
Can I be your friend 'till the end
Can I walk with you through your life
(fades away)

You've got me wondering
if you know that I am wondering about you
This feeling is so strong
that I can't imagine you're not feeling it too
You've known me long enough
to trust that I want what's best for you
f you want to be happy
then I am the one that you should
give your heart to.
[Chorus]

Now everyday ain't gonna be
like the summers day
Being in love it really ain't like
the movies screen
But I can tell you all the drama aside
you and I can find
what the world's been looking for forever
Friendship and love together
[Chorus]

Can I walk with you in your life?
Till the day that the world stops spinning
Can I walk with you in your life?
Till the day that my heart stops beating
Can I walk with you in your life?
Can I walk with you
Till the day that the birds no longer take flight
Till the moon is underwater
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you
This is the moment I've been waiting for
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you
You are everything I've been looking for
Can I walk with you
Creative intellectual
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you as your wife

just strolling

last night, my friend, pam's short films were showing at mag:net cafe in katipunan. since i hadn't seen her in a while, her birthday's coming up, and i wanted to watch her award-winning film which i was involved in making but hadn't ever seen, i decided to go.
i never spent a lot of time in katipunan in college, despite its proximity. it just wasn't my "scene". but last night, after the rains had washed away the dirt and heat, i walked the stretch of katipunan to the LRT station, and it was a pleasant experience. it was dark but presko. such a distance, i don't usually walk--except in baguio. but last night, i felt good and ok. everything was peaceful and right with the world.
when i got home, i had a good night's sleep.

falling in love with baguio all over again

just came from a weekend of taking a few friends to some of my favorite places in baguio (and nearby areas). i'm always happy to "convert" more people to absolutely loving the lifestyle, the foliage, the cool fresh air.
to be sure, the 2 days (less than 48 hrs) that shine, francis, bubbles, a, and mems spent here was in no way enough to appreciate all that baguio has to offer beyond the mines view-good shepeher-burnham park route (and no, i didn't take them there), i'm pretty sure i converted them to my side. LOL!
saturday, we spent a wonderful, animated lunch withe bangaoets at tomay farms. got rained in at arko ni apo, but were entertained by bumbo and his kids baguio, ash, and fang. of course, went ukay shopping. appreciated the art at vocas--though there were more than a few moans saying "gulay na naman?!" or, to be more appropriate to the setting: "oh my gulay!" come one, people, this is the best place to eat and eat veggies because they're so fresh! (*sigh of exasperation here*) of course, despite my initial objections, i was prevailed upon to go to SM, "for the view". it was a pleasant surprise though, because bayo was on sale and i got a great pair of shorts! fabulous! we were supposed to have some inantigong adobo and veggie pizza ("yes, but you can't tell there's no meat!" i said) at ayuyang, bubbles convinced only to come because piolo was there once upon a time...but there was a gig, too many people, and a hefty cover charge. it turned out ok because we headed to the newly renovated cafe by the ruins. we took photos of each and every (seriously!) dish, then ate heartily. glad t know that there's more on the ruins menu, but i still had my fave fried chicken and fries (kamote, according to a). then it was nighty-night. exhausted, we were ready for deep sleep.
sunday is always lazy, and of course, we had a late start. a and bubbles went off....somewhere--ahem! but the rest of us took photos at the igorot stairs, where i met these cute kids who, btw, approached me first! then, we went to sky and they enjoyed hearing shiila's stories about mountaineering. and they forgot the bitching and moaning about the "minor trek". we wanted to stay longer in the huts--who doesn't?--but decided to go to lunch, as our rumbling stomachs directed us to mile hi to have fondue at little john's. sadly, they had no strawberries nor bananas, so we ended up just having lunch. i did a bit of PX goods-shopping. then, palengke--the eternal last stop of every tired traveler, to buy pasalubongs.
nabitin si shine kasi walang fondue, and i know each one of them never wants to leave baguio, or at least to come back for a longer time. my work here is done. LOL!
i'm blessed to be living here. the place i love, that i call home, where i have also made friends and "foster families". so my love affair with baguio continues.