it's been too long

:)
annie's working in manilerr na! hurray!
si pie na lang kulang.
x)

sunday with my peeps

haha peeps. :)
spent sunday morning and early afternoon with two lovely girls.
charisse had to go home that day, sayang since we had a reunion dinner that night. oh well.

aheehee. in retrospect, lookie at our old selves! taken in 2005.


this is four years later. :)

reunion ng mga GT girls 06

chars, xai, and rome together again.

random thoughts at 12:47am

This is mild, believe me.

Yesterday-- wait-- on Tuesday, I was going through the streets of the UP Diliman campus, trying to look for my sister who was supposed to meet me. As I looked out the cab window, I noticed how entirely plain the student body is. Jeans, shirts and slippers is THE look. It doesn't matter if they match or if they flatter the body or if the color complements anything. Of course I get that it's more comfortable especially at this weather and it's practical, really, to dress down.

My sense of aesthetics was violated needless to say. But that's just me and my rewired brain. I can understand how practical works. Sure. I don't ask that people dress up for the catwalk, I just ask that they at least adhere to Tim Gunn's Guide To Style at the bare minimum. Then again, I ask for much.

I saw my sister walking and the first thing that caught my attention was her deep purple shirt and pink headband. I heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of color. Drab outifts on a gloomy day make me sad.

everything looks easy on paper

Just when I start painting a pretty picture in my head about how lovely the future would look, everything gets lost in translation when I make an attempt to articulate it with words.

On the rare occasions the words do come out, I get all psyched believing that's the first step and again somewhere between the written word and the action failure seeps in.

The world spoiled me for the last 22 years and now, it's about done giving me perks. Oh well.

so as not to crowd fezbook with quizzes

You Are Highly Expressive

You are dramatic, expressive, and even a bit temperamental. You are artistic and creative. You're always dabbling in something. You are very self-aware and introspective. You understand yourself well. You are on a constant journey in life, and you change frequently. You're a shapeshifter of sorts.

hurray i'm a shape-shifter!

Your Pop Star Name Is Cleo Stardust

You're Gonna Be a Star!

i'd like to thank blogthings for believing in me. *waves at crowd*

Your Favorite Color Says You're Gifted

Intuitive --- Seeking --- Creative Kind --- Self-Sacrificing --- Growth Oriented Strong --- Very Wise --- Rare

Intutive-maybe. seeking- sometimes.
kind- so not. self-sacrificing- i have yet to find out.
strong- erm. very wise- omit very. rare- well done.

Your Outfit Says You're Spirited

You are flirtatious, attractive, and even sexy. You are vivacious and lively. People feel happier being around you. You have a deep inner beauty, and it just makes you even more beautiful on the outside. It's like you wrote the book on how to be charming. Your high end fashion designer match: BCBG Max Azria Your must have accessory: A beaded necklace

accessory: check.
i told you i was charming. :P

like i needed a quiz to tell me

You Are Bitter

You aren't bitter at the world, even though you have a strong personality. Instead, you are sophisticated and cultured. You appreciate acquired tastes. You are very powerful. You have the ability to change a room's energy. While some may find you disagreeable, your points of view are intelligent and interesting.

these personality quizzes are godsend. LOL.

History Tweak

*I am re-arranging my history as a person.*


Since my fall from the sky and survival in the mortal world...

I was home schooled in high school. I know Cindy, Kathy and Gel from being imaginary friends to successfully crossing to the unimagined world.

sleep pattern erratic, kill me now

Oh how cute, multiply is on the way to preservation. If it were entirely up to me, I wouldn't change anything about any of my online pages. Why, you ask. These social networking sites have their own reason for existing and it is beautiful if they keep their uniqueness. I'm just saying.

I suppose there is some good to be had in keeping the status quo as far as websites go. Then again, there aren't too many loyal followers who have all the time in their hands to maintain multiple web pages. Who knows, someday, Conan O'Brien's words will ring true... how yet another social networking will arise in the year 3000-- YOUTWITFACE. Looking forward to that.

This rambling is brought on by the weird sense-- so damagingly overpowering-- that things are slowly changing. I am so caught up in the abruptness of things that I forget to step back to take it in. I have never been in the place I am now. Why can't the universe cut me some slack and stop ganging up on me?

Not that I'm complaining, though. It's just that this newness is so, well, new that I'm afraid (yes, there you have an admission of fear) I'd get too used to it and stay stuck here for the next three years, which I think is the proper amount of time to call an era.

I can't seriously be unhirable, can I? There you go again, a glimpse on my fallibility (LOL come on laugh with me!) and insecurity bouts. I thought I planned on it. I alotted a certain amount of time for me to do things. I have ticked off my list perfectly until now.

There has to be something I can do to pass time without feeling so worthless. Any suggestions?

Oh. For the record, this is the lunatic talking. The full moon is waning or waxing, I do not know, I lost track of the lunar cycle. And no, I am not crazy. Yet.

I guess I just need somebody to talk to. My brain cells are dying each day and I get dumber by the minute. Maybe that's what's bothering me. I have been less intelligent than (I thought) I was a month, possibly years, ago. That's a tough change I have to accept if I were going anywhere. And then again, maybe I am more afraid to get anywhere. Ugh. Baby steps are taking too abnormally unbearable.

ooh what is this?

karma

After a while, I was back in the social scene. Social meaning there were plenty of people and scene meaning I had to command their attention. Being the very boring person that I am, my social scenes usually just involve weddings and church-related activities.

I forget how it is in public. How it is elementary knowledge never to leave your things unattended. How basic it is NOT to stash stuff just anywhere. How it is a no-brainer to leave your cell phone in bags that are easy to pick up and carry off.

That's how I lost my jurassic cell phone. Fortunately, I got a replacement sim within 24 hours so I haven't really felt the effects of being phoneless. My problem is that the phone I'm using now is more patapon than you can imagine.

I had been trying niceness all week as penance for the mildly-- fine, extremely-- horrid thing I did and this is what I get. Karma sucks.

***
My number's still the same. Please send a message and don't forget to leave your name.

this is why alice owes me a movie date

i have pictures, alice. you cannot deny.
x)

aaack! who are you people?!

this is random as random is gonna get.

it was just the twins (kath and alex), alice and the xaris (aka xai) off to a night of hoping for the flowers and merriment on a monday night. LOL. mogwai played the venue and bottles of san mig light and red horse the beverage.

and then there was lonely boy spotted, drinking by himself, when alice had a blast from the past. lonely boy was familiar as he was the entourage of alice's once-upon-a-horror-tale of scorned love, mapapamura ka sa alaala.

and then the cast expanded. and then connect the dots. and then who do you know that i know facebook connection talk.

and then it was almost 2am.

who says you can't have a UP Baguio reunion in a snap? x)

josiah's summah outing

naki-summer outing with my josiah's family. :)

may 21 two-oh-nine.
sierra madre.

more bicol

~ spent two days with my lovely tita (future BIR commissioner, ehem, ehem) Eli and cousin Nikki. it was tita's official birthday.

~ on the same day we were to fly back to maniler, diether ocampo and star friends arrived. we stayed in the hotel within the airport grounds (do not go there, eep!) so we were like *just there* when the celebs landed. buti na lang wala si john lloyd kundi... nakupoh.

~ ang ganda ng mayon this far, pano na lang kung upclose na.

~ and first time at naia 3! weee! :)

spot the difference

starbucks. star wars. star trek. star world. star movies. star mall. star girl. stargazer. starstruck. star gate. star search. star patrol. star city. starla. starscream. stardust. star trooper. the xaris.

x)

hello, masbate

from our house to the airport= 1 hour
from naia to legazpi= 45 minutes
from legazpi to pilar= 1 and a half hour
pilar port tambay= 3 hours (to wait for the fast craft)
pilar to masbate port= 2 hours
masbate city to nabangig, palanas= 2 hours
plus three hours worth of waiting and boarding and stuff.
equals 12 hours. :)

4 days in masbate.
day one. hello folks
day two. samson family reunion
day three. high school alumni homecoming
day four. fiesta part one

met my relatives from my dad's family.

back from masbate with love

Going to Masbate requires all modes of transportation and a whole lot of patience. First, you get a flight to Legazpi in Bicol then ride a tricycle to the terminal where vans to Pilar are available. You then board a van to Pilar, wait for the next ‘fast craft’ (which is a boat) to Masbate Port. When you get to the port, you ride a tricycle again to a terminal to ride a van to Nabangig (where my father’s family lives).

View from my plane window. <3 Mayon.

Whew equals 12 hours. Fortunately, my hosts’ place is almost along the highway so we were dropped off where we can walk to their house.

Neng, first time? :P

We left our house in Manila at 4am and arrived in our hosts’ house at 4pm. Until the Masbate airport gets fixed, this is going to be the way we roll.

Masbate is an island along the Bicol region. The land is rich in coconut fields and is surrounded by a body of water. Despite its richness, Masbate is the third poorest province in the Philippines. My dad says that the classic political structure contribute much to its present economic status.

The Masbatenos in Nabangig are mostly my relatives at some degree or another. My dad’s cousin, Tita Ling and her family, welcomed us into their home, which is one of the nicest houses in their block. Most of the people there were teachers by profession that’s why they call the place teachers’ village. On other parts of the town, some houses need serious repair as they were smacked right in the middle of modern-looking homes. As far as historical houses go, there were none left because apparently, the descendants of the older families disregarded the importance of keeping landmarks.

People here are very conscious of titles even when their jobs do not require having one. They call my dad CPA Asser Tamayo as if CPA is a tag like engineer, doctor or attorney. If I were to pick up the culture, I would be known as Superstar Xaris Tamayo or Xaris Tamayo, Superstar. Hahaha. That would be a hoot. I also noticed that some of the homes here display placards of the residents’ names attached with the profession they are in. There are homes that say (Name) (Last Name), Dentist even when the clinic is fifty miles away.

The people in town were relatively friendly but extremely tactless as if I do not understand what they were saying. It's pretty funny, actually when everyone who was introduced to me would remark how dako I am.  Para namang dili ako makasabot ng Bisaya. I thought it was cute rather than offensive. And anyway, they make up for it by saying they can't wait to see me on TV (somehow, they got the notion that I was pining for celebrity status).

In our family reunion the second day I was there, I met titos and titas who are my relatives twice over. I suppose intermarriage in the past was prevalent and I only had to juggle several surnames to figure out who are my relatives. Jerry Springer much.

My dad prodded me to host the reunion even when I had trouble speaking the language despite the crash course he gave me on the trip. Masbate language is a mix of Bisaya, Bicolano, and Spanish and I only had to catch a few words like baligya to know whether any one had plans of selling me. That was their usual joke even when I was little. Diri ka na mabaligya karuon sa Masbate.

I learned so many things about my dad’s side of the family. All I knew before the reunion was that my titos in Manila are my dad’s cousins and only recently has it sunk in that their mothers were siblings. My late grandmother had nine siblings and they all had families. Hardcore na family forest.

One common thing I discovered about my family is that we all love to sing! In fairness, despite the regional defect (e and i as well as o and u are interchangeable), they modulated pretty well and they definitely can carry a tune. I especially loved the videoke machine in our venue; I got 3 100's hahaha. I almost took the machine home! Hahaha.

On my third night, I had a first-hand experience with their local fiesta (I forgot which saint this is in honor of) and their folk dance, the Pantomina. The steps are very basic but I'd die before I dance it in front of those people. The dancing is also their way of fund-raising. As in required mag-abot ng moneys.

Pantomina time. :P

There were also so many stories about my dad's childhood that were told, istoryahon all day long. It's really good to know how crazy and childlike my daday had been. I shall now refer to those tales for future blackmail.

And I also found out were sorta kinda related to Kristine Hermosa. I do not wish to be associated with her as I firmly believe that members of my clan were smart. Harhar, buti na lang maganda!

My trip to Masbate was really meaningful. I think I'd go back there... as soon as the airport is in full operation.

Photos to be album-ized soon. :P

my mother is a superhero

one, because she gave birth to four weird children normal section.
second, because she raised said children while working as a counselor and a grammar nazi.
and because she is the ultimate grammar nazi (for which my sister and I thank her).
also because she learned to cook just for us.
and then because she always took us to enroll even until day one in college.
and hers is the name we cry in the middle of a burning fever as a baby and as an adult (in my case).
mostly because even if i can tell she's tired, she always comes to our rescue.


i do not understand most of the things she does. why she wakes up early to prepare breakfast for grown-ups. why she stays up late until we got home. why she'd go see me in baguio within a 24-hour clock (aka balikan). why she married my dad. LOL.

my mother rocks beyond reason. i praise God for her.

SBCC's DVBS09

The last time I participated in any vacation Bible school was in 2001.
It was different then. I think. I wasn't tired.
Or maybe I was younger then with more energy to spare.
Ack. I'm an old woman.

9 and 10 year olds, huh? Hurray for my Primary 2 class. :)

pichoors from day 0 and 1.