CREATIVITY:
"I feel strong when I ABSORB and UNLEASH creativity."-Craft stores, art galleries, book stores and etc are heaven for me.
-I get high when I get art inspiration/idea.
-I love it when I write.
-I love it when I take photographs.
-I love it when I draw/illustrate.
-I love it when I get crafty, DIY or sew my own clothes.
-I love it when I create alternatives.
-I enjoy it when I stop and take time to appreciate.
(Patati, patata!)
ALL IN ALL, I ENJOY AESTHETICS.LIBERTY:
"I feel strong when I'm being INDEPENDENT."-I love it when I step-up and be responsible.-I love it when I voluntarily do things.-I hate it when I'm being too dependent.-I love it when I surprise people with my ability.-I love it when I am unique.-I love it when I help other people.-I love it when I discover places, find directions, commute.(And so on and so forth!)As long as I'm LONESOME!PLANNING:
"I feel strong when I am MAXIMIZING my time and have high PRODUCTIVITY."
-I love it when I plan.
-I love it when I'm being time conscious.
-I love it when for me I'm running late but for others I'm still early.
-I love it when I get up and make things happen.
-I love it when I allocate my money well.
-I love it when I remind myself what to do, have a checklist or a planner.
-I love it when I have a productive routine that can build myself.
(Et cetera, et cetera!)
posted by: mars @ 6:03 AM
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Do I really feel strong?
I lieu of my writing absences here's one I did today. Too busy these days.
*I feel the urge of planning and taking control of my life. -I feel strong when I am maximizing my time and productivity.*I like doing things voluntarily. Sometimes I don't feel good if people knows what I'm doing because they will expect. -I feel strong when I surprise people and exceed their expectation.*When I read, learn or discover. -I feel good when I'm learning and the idea of making a routine to build myself.
posted by: mars @ 6:31 AM
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Getting Busy.
I'm not using my time well again and I really hate it when it happens. Since, I promised myself a routine, I will still blog. But actually I spent like 4 or 3 hours already making this article. Really hope that I get to pass it tomorrow or on monday. I still have no idea what I will do with their photo. So much more work for that.
After this I have to work on my speech about PET (polyethlyne theraphblahblah) See, I super duper need improvement for it. I must do a well researched speech. I just remembered I have to make a ppt. Oh well, to make up for the crappy posts I've been making. I will post my speech here. Then hopefully the article I was talking about when it get published. For now I will end this with a photo I took this morning.
Here. And a
video I haven't really watched yet.
posted by: mars @ 6:44 AM
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Be Stronger.
It's FRIDAY!! No. This is not about Rebecca Black. Another long day today. Interview for executive board position. Interview in Katipunan.
I thought I would never say this but I'm maturing. BIG TIME. This year, I got to stop and think, who am I? That 3 word question is so hard to answer. This days I'm just really trying to figure things out. Or get more confused and frustrated than ever. I'm the type of person who's always thinking a lot. But this time, my thinking has depth. It's on a search for answer. I remember, I'm in the car with my dad. He was asking this question about how will he die. That what's the purpose of life here on earth and why do we have to die? It was something like that. Instead of trying to give an answer or even having that question sink in my mind, I laughed. Because I realized, I'm just in the stage where I am just trying to figure who I am. Because I don't. Another moment of realization was last night when I read the write up in my yearbook. I saw how young and shallow I was. I looked back and asked myself, that's all? I was expecting more from it. But I guess what people saw was what I like or what I was obsessing at the moment. I found it sad because the wasn't something there about my personality. It was more of what I do and not exactly who I am. Also, some of it are not relevant anymore. Like I no longer want to be remembered that way. 2 years have passed by. Change happened. I grew up. I grew up. It makes me want to go to Neverland and be with Peter Pan. But this is a good thing. A great thing actually. It was just recently that I told myself that "This year is not about achievements but self-fulfillment." Feeding my mind. My soul. My Heart. I need to warm up and give love. I've been receiving love from friends and it's time for me to give it back.
Well, I'm currently a confused person. As you can see from above, so is it.
posted by: mars @ 6:54 AM
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Today was great.
Once again, sadly I missed a day. I was too tired to blog yesterday. But today, I dedicate it for another me, me, me.
I had a great start, woke up earlier than usual. Ate this sharksfin that my friend sells. MMMmmm.. Nice school outfit. Got to school earlier. Was able to understand Management Science class. Free cut in Literature.
But what made it great was a lunch date with good old high school friends! We ate at this not fancy but famous restaurant called "Patpat's KANSI". Where their specialty is Bulalo and my friend's favorite barbeque. We ordered bulalo laman (beef) at P115 we only ordered a serving good for 1 but the 3 of us got so full. The beef wasn't hard to chew and the soup was very tasty. Each one of us had barbeque too. I really enjoyed that meal. Since we shared the bulalo, our total bill was just P309! Way to go!! They had cheesecake there but we decided to walk a few blocks for Cheesecake Melliza. I got disappointed because the size wasn't as big as what I eat in their mall branch. Another was that I ordered blueberry but it seemed like it was strawberry. I'm not grudging but maybe it's better at malls of simply because of inflation. I had my lomocam with me. I haven't used it for quite sometime. I felt so relaxed today. Bonding with so many different friends. I enjoy it because sometimes I miss out a lot by going home early or because of French.
Speaking of French, my classmate and I went to Alliance Francaise de Manille for "Les Printemps des Poetes". It was for my lit's alternative class. The people there were quite inspiring. Most of them speak French which I truly admire. Then there were several artist who really gets to express themselves through appearance. Lastly, foreigners aren't my type. But I saw this hot guy! Prolly a French. He had this Adam Levine aura. Wearing a plain white shirt, tatooed biceps, great spiky hair and maintained facial hair. Adam. Levine.
To end my day, my loving (wth) brother diligently got my yearbook for me. The yearbook is fantastic. I guess a lot has changed. After two years, it wasn't me in there anymore. The face, well I looked better, less pimples and stress. I saw that my interest shifted a bit. Still inclined but went to a different lane. Well, the goal is to build myself up and be the best me!
posted by: mars @ 7:13 AM
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Quick Blog
I've been very busy lately but that shouldn't stop me from doing my routine! It has been a week since I started. More power to me. This will surely result to a better me.
Now for the quick post, I just finished watching Project Runway. I really admire Irina Shabayeva's skills. She has the eye for fashion and the gift of creating something luxurious. But there's a question in her personality. Sometimes what's important is inner beauty. I think it's hard to have that these days. I myself try to achieve that warm and loving personality. Beauty can be just skin deep. It may get us somewhere however inner beauty will get us farther.
Going back to Irina, well PR on ETC hasn't finished yet but since season 6 has ended 2 years ago, I found out that she won. And above is I believe a part of her Marie Claire spread.
posted by: mars @ 7:04 AM
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Bonjour tout le monde!
Gone are the days where the only French I know are “oui” or “non”. Or the notorious chorus of the hit remake song “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim Mya and Pink. “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?” I don't think so.
Sometimes it's the New Year hype which inspires a person to become better or to try and reach for one’s dream. There’s simply this feeling to go for it and make things happen. So while the motivation is still there, why not learn a new language which typically appears in bucket lists. You may want to try one of the three so called romantic languages: French, Italian and Spanish. Otherwise, study the dead language Latin where the three originated from. It is fascinating how languages are inter-related. In fact they share words such as “bien” meaning good in both Spanish (bi-ehn) and French (bi-ahn). Well it may be too late for Valentine’s but you sure do have time for next year’s to practice it.
Lesson #1: In case you don't know yet, there are no French fries in France! This is because they call it “pom frittes” or simply “frittes” and it really originated from Belgium.
Lesson #2: Paris, France is well-known for being the “City of Love” maybe that is why French is considered the most romantic of language. Although I think none of the three would let one of them officially win. On a still related note, it is quite funny that according to my teacher they don’t really know why the “French kiss” is attributed to them. He said maybe because they are amazing kissers.
On the other hand, I didn’t take a class in Alliance Française de Manille to study fun facts. I was there to learn this beautiful language and lucky me, I got a real French to teach me. My teacher named Charlélie forewarned us that French can be very fun at start; I think everything is anyway. It started with learning how to say different nationalities and how to introduce ourselves of course! We felt like we were going too slow paced but foundation is important. Later on, we found ourselves dealing with numerous ways of saying hellos and good byes. While conjugating words are a necessity but there's that tempting I-couldn’t-care-less feeling. It might be a bit complicated but patience is the key. None of us want to embarrass ourselves by having the wrong grammar. I'm pretty sure the sweat will pay off. The French also have their own numbers which stop at soixante-neuf (sixty-nine) and from there you have to either add or multiply like quatre·vingt (4 x 20) for eighty.
With regards to understanding, sometimes you feel like you do. Otherwise you could consult your handy dandy French pocket dictionary. As for the way you pronounce the words; just listen carefully, let the sound linger and you will get it. No need to pressure yourself. It will suddenly become natural. You'll find out when and which words are being pronounced silently. If your tone is going up or done.
What I loved the most about alliance is that it is a school but it didn't feel like one! For our class, there were no assignments. No peer pressure and that anxious feeling that you might fail. Mistakes were acceptable. You are in a small group where everyone gets a chance to participate. The teacher isn't intimidating, he's goal there is to teach and not to grade. You're studying because you want to; not because you have to. There's that willingness to learn.
It was a breather for school life. I'm used to being in a classroom with more or less 40 people and everyone is my age. Age is just a number, true that! It was fun being around with adults for a change. People coming from different professions; artist, journalists, teacher, doctors, yuppies, students and etc. It made me wonder what and where would I be when the time comes. It makes you think of your own future, if you'll be doing something you love and God knows what else was on my mind.
Alliance is not all about learning French. I also don't have to go all the way to Musée du Louvre to see art. The school itself hosts art exhibits of Filipino artists such as Arturo Luz and Ambie Abano.
But only in Alliance where you'll see a Chanel book in the religion section. It was right beside a book about Moses and several bibles. I know Chanel's life work is worthy to become a fashion bible and a religion for fashionista, however; it is still weird to locate it there.
Since I enjoyed learning, I seek help online from Google Translate and Babel Fish. And if a French talks to me more than I could understand, there's “je ne sais pas” meaning I don't know to back me up. See, that was just four magical syllables as easy as A, B and C.
There's nothing better than feeding yourself with new knowledge. Together with the learning experience throughout the journey that creates self-fulfillment. Whatever reason you have. It can be something you've always wanted, maybe for work or simply because it's romantic! If you can, go for it! Coming from a famous French saying, “C'est La Vie!”
posted by: mars @ 3:20 AM
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Dream House
Oops! I forgot to blog yesterday but as a consolation. I spent the whole afternoon creating my dream house. This was just for a class; however, I decided to take it seriously so that I actually know what my dream house is.
When I was a kid, I wanted to live in Ayala Alabang. I have two favorite houses there and both of them a big and white. One is with a blue roof and accents. For some reason, it had horses like from a carousel posted in the vast land beside it. According to my grandfather, an ambassador lives there. The other one is like the White House or the house from Sweet Home Alabama. It had two to four Greek columns in front. I also enjoyed scanning through the coffee table book “Tropical Living”. The houses there are all suprisingly from the Philippines. There were tropical houses that looks even better than a resort. A variety of Asian, Hispanic, Latin and Mediterranean inspired abodes. Also a few minimalist homes. Most of the furnitures featured in the book were handicrafts made of abaca, bamboo and others. I could say these were my dream houses.
For this activity, I didn't know if I should go overboard and be very creative. Or should I be true to myself and go for something what I really want as of now. I decided to go for the more practical one but if ever I become filthy rich, I can always go back to “Tropical Living” or a different coffee table book for extravagant reference. A few years back, I wanted my house to be like this model house in between Greenbelt 1 and 2. Today, that's the yogurt place named Qoola. It's small probably 60 to 100 square meters only. It's rectangular and the style is very modern and sleek. The whole front is made of glass so you could really see what's inside. The living room was near the stairs on the left while the dining and kitchen together at the right. When you go upstairs I believe it's already the bedroom and probably bath. I love the idea of having a balcony inside the house and you could look down and see what is happening down stairs. If I were to grow up alone or with a husband yet childless, I'd be happy to settle in that small place. However, I don't really want that. I want to get married and have at most three kids. But I prefer two, one girl and one boy.
My dream house would be a modern rectangular house facing the road horizontally. Painted in white with mahogany panels as accent. This would be in a village so that it will be peaceful. There's a two to three meters front yard with healthy green grass and various flowers. At the left most of the house is a small porch with a wrought-iron park bench. Enter the house via the 7 feet tall locally made Acacia dark Acacia double-door. Inside a simple,Victorian mirror will greet you. On the right is the L-shaped floating staircase. The first floor is divided into two by a massive wall-mounted bookshelves. In the front half is the office/den (with a powder room) where I keep my sewing and art materials There's also the sunny yellow kitchen with white cabinets and a breakfast table. While the back half is shared by the living room and dining room that has a fusion theme of sleek modern Victorian. The outside can be seen through the four tall French windows and a French double-door. Outside, is the rectangular pool in the middle. At the left is the lanai, maid's quarter and laundry area. Then at the right is small garden with bamboo trees and money plants. Upstairs is the master's bedroom with a master's bathroom and walk-in-closet. There's also four other rooms and two bathrooms to be shared. These are for my kids then the spare can be a study, family room or guestroom for my and husband's parents. Our garage houses three cars. A Montesport for the whole family, a Volvo for my husband and a Mazda 3 for me (sample only). I guess I have a dream house after all.
posted by: mars @ 7:10 PM
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Stop and Pray.
When I was a kid, the world felt safer. Hard rainfalls that create flood were still bearable. Mommy and daddy were there to be with me. If not, grandpa and yaya were to the rescue. I used to enjoy the wave we create when my grandpa drives through flood. I found it fun because I felt safe. I remember a strong wind during a typhoon whipped down our television antenna. To my horror, I thought it hit my grandpa's car which I love. Scary. Then one night, we suddenly felt an earthquake. My dad quickly picks me up and my mom waking up my brother. I saw the chandelier shaking. Once I was safe outside, I realized my grandparents are still up stair. It took a while for them to come out. Scary.
But all of those aren't as scary or dangerous compared to what are happening these days. As I grow up, the world feels less safer. Starting with the 911 World Trade Center bombing. We were happily watching Austin Powers when the TV was switched to CNN. Devastating. In 2004, tsunami in Phuket alarmed the world. Unbelievable. Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans. Bagyong Ondoy drowned the Philippines. I may have thought it was normal in the new place we moved in to have flood inside the house up to my waist. Lives were lost on that non-stop rainy day. Depressing. There's always a series of unfortunate events. Sometimes, there will be storm after storm creating floods in different countries. Killings/bombings created by ruthless people. Recently, infectious revolutions like in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Today, shocking intensities of earthquakes destroyed cities. Creating massive tsunamis.
To quote a Filipino actor "just when we think we have big problems, God never fails to show us that the world doesn't revolve around us and things could be much worse" True. To quote my friend "Why is it that when something bad happens that's the only time people pray?" Sad but true. You can't really tell when you're going to die. When will disasters hit. Let's not waste our time being evil. Let's do good all the time. Not for the fear to die but simply because that's what we are supposed to do. It's not just for your betterment but for the greater good.
posted by: mars @ 4:47 AM
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Today went unplanned.
My day started with waking up earlier than usual. 15 to 10 minutes maybe. There was this cheese stick ready to be eaten but my mom stops me because there's bagoong rice and barbeque coming. I'm supposed to dress up after breakfast however I stayed to catch a bit of "Closer". I got dressed but didn't like the look so I changed. That's how my unplanned day went.
I learned today in class, it is good to plan your day/week. Because you can only manipulate what will happen in the future. I think he meant that in a small way. I also learned, you don't have to be busy all the time trying to do work. Typically, people use up 80% of their day trying to be productive but at the end of the day the result is just 20%. So might as well, use up 20% of your time making something 80% of quality. Once again, he's correct. This is how my father works. He's usually at home, eating, sleeping, watching TV or reading a book. But before he starts his day, he checks his e-mail and does his job starting at 5 in the morning ending around 9am. He's doesn't work like the typical 9-5 person. He may seem like a bum spending his time at home, or at my grandmother's, or at malls most of the time but he works. Sometimes he will go to places where he works and relaxes at the same time. His job is to do what he loves. Most of all, he has time for leisure and enhancing himself in a day to day basis.
Getting back on the real topic I wanted to talk about. I loved how I got to hang out with my friends today. I usually go home early for some reason or for my French class. But since, I don't have French these days, I got to spend my time well. First off, lunch with my guy friends (the boys :)) and this girl I know too. After that we bought a litre of ice cream which we all shared. I found it fun coz' I've never done that! Then I saw my HS buddy and we hanged out for a whole hour and a half at the library talking non-stop! When she had to go, I saw my college friends on the way to a drinking place and they invited me. So I settled some errands for my organization then off I go to have Happy Thursday! Another quite unexpected is to see my friend, she got tipsy and sad which resulted to me comforting her. I contacted my HS buddy coz' that's her best friend. We ate green mango with bagoong and salt. Drank milk tea at Zen tea. It felt good having time for my friends again. It wasn't planned. It just happened.
I know I said I will try not to talk about myself but I liked this day. Maybe not super but I did.
BTW, I loved this
lookbook. It's too artsy for fashion but that's the point.
posted by: mars @ 5:33 AM
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Wandering Around
Second day of my routine-in-the-making. It's Ash Wednesday today so I went to mass and got my forehead ashed. This year, I will try to fast and abstain. I actually thought that this would be a good way to get fit again. But the priest got me guilty-as-charged as he lectured that there's more in Lent. It's time to cleanse not just physically, mentally and emotionally but most of all spiritually. He's right of course! And for that, I will cleanse myself holistically. I've noticed that I'm sometimes ok maybe almost always grumpy, bitter and not happy. I think there's something wrong with me. Maybe I have too much hatred in my heart. I should let it all go. Defrost my cold heart. Make it warm. Put on a smile. And if miracles do happen, be this sunshine! Just by writing those down already made me feel a bit light.
Today, I caught myself obsessing about trying this and that. I blame
Juice.ph for it! Hahaha! :D There's an article called
Juice 50, "the ultimate list of things to DO, EAT, BUY AND TRY in and out of the metro." I have this fascination with reading reviews about certain cool places. I love finding out what's new out there. Where is it cool to hangout. Good food. Chill spots. Shopping havens. Night outs. You name it! Sadly, I also have the tendency of just reading about them and not going to any of it. Last Christmas, I actually made this list of things I want to do. So far I haven't done any of it. I get so hyped up when I read something new but at the same time there's that sinking feeling because I haven't gone to it.
(I just realized now that maybe I should really become a writer. Go to these places. Be the one writing about them. Doing something I love for a living! Now, now, I've sidetracked a bit. ) On the other hand, it's actually very interesting to find out that the Philippines has this capability to produce awesome places. We're not just a small country full of malls. There's more here we have to discover. Places with character and have their own personality. They have lovely owners that will cater to you and make you feel comfortable. It's a breather from all the monotonous shops at malls. These not-so-much discovered places, can be your secret haven. A place you could tell your kids and grandkids. It will be something sentimental. A part of your life.
Now here's the list of things I want to do and places I want to go.
1. Beach with friends.
2. Camping with friends (bonfire, smores)
3.Foodtrip
4. Poledancing
5. Take photo of a sunset
6. Go to a concert (Maroon 5 pls.)
7. Write short stories
8. Drive thru in McDo using a bike
9. Wakeboarding
10. Surfboarding
11. Go to Maginhawa Street. Spend a day maybe.
12. Visit RONAC Art Center
13. Spend a day or half in a cafe with a book.
14. Ukay shopping at this mall in Aurora blvd.
15. Night out at B-Side/Saguijo
16. Fancy lunch/dinner with friends at Cafe 1771
That's already 16 of it. I must at least do half of it by summer. Or do it all!!
posted by: mars @ 1:47 AM
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Why don't you build me up.
Mar. 8 '11
Once again, I am reviving my blog. This is probably the 100th time already! Not really but I have had so many times before. My purpose this time around is to have a routine. In my entrepreneurial psychology class, we watched The Trombone Player Wanted. There, Marcus Buckingham, mentioned every week he keeps on finding opportunities to hone his strengths. Coincidentally, before the class started my teacher told me to try and have a routine that can build me up. So here it is. I will and I must do my best to blog everyday. Everyday, I will write about something that isn't about me. (Well, I will try.) I know that this will help me improve my writing skills. I have actually done this before. I used to diligently write every single day or every week. I believe in myself that I can write something of sense. Something smart. Something I would be proud of in a couple of years.
Last weekend, I found this interesting essay. I wasn't aware that it already created a buzz and another essay tried to rebut it. What I'm talking about is the essay from Though Catalog entitled "You Should Date An Illiterate Girl" by Charles Warnke. You may see the essay
here. I'm not good in making sensible analysis; all the more giving a constructive criticism. But I'm going to give this a shot and try to express my thoughts.
When I read the essay, I thought to myself, is this why "I'm single?" The answer could be maybe. I know the article wasn't written to be taken as it is. There's sarcasm and irony. And it's too harsh to say "illiterate". Another thing is that, it seems like in the story, the girl being described isn't illiterate at all. I found the message more of like "date a stupid girl and you're good to go". They don't care less if you know that Shakespeare's first name is William. That you can easily trick them by making them think you're actually smart. No need to stress you're mind understanding what on earth is she talking about and time will simply pass by. There's lots of room for failure because she doesn't care. She doesn't have this ideal guy of hers based from fiction. You don't have to compete with stories and have your ego hurt just because she's smarter than you. I actually thought the author have a deep grudge with women who reads. Although I agree that one should know the difference between fantasy and reality. Trying to live your life like a story is pathetic. You should live life to create your own story.
So far this is what I got. More practice for me. If you want to read the rebuttal version check it out
here. Also,
here is a good response/reaction to the essay. I believe, I did better than I thought I would. But I sure do have more space for improvement.
Bisou,
Mars
posted by: mars @ 1:27 AM
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