Hello Tonichi

I love Sundays. It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and it's quiet. No mailman at the door, no delivery truck, just the gentle hum of the blades of the electric fan as I try to take a nap. Only today, I can't.

With the film adaptation of The Little Prince having recently come out, I wanted to share something I wrote about the book a while back. But first, a backstory:  A couple of months ago, one of my favorite writers,  Regina , was giving away the complete boxed set of Sandman by Neil Gaiman for her birthday to a reader (which turned out to be me. Holla at yo boy! Hahaha) Anyway, I read the first three Sandman graphic novels back in college, and instantly felt connected to the world of Dreams. But life got in the way, and I graduated before I could borrow the rest of the series from the school library. So when Regina posted on her blog that she was going to give away a complete set, who was I to say no to Lord Morpheus? All we had to do was answer: what book has changed your life? The question was simple enough, but not quite; she didn't ask for my favorite book. We often come across books, films, and songs that easily make it to our favorites list, but...

This trip was anything but spontaneous. With four pets to bring (and having recently lost one), you can't really leave any room to chance. People always talk about the beauty of spontaneity and last-minute decisions but there is an under appreciated quality to the most carefully laid out plans. All too often, plans get lost and forgotten along the way so the ones that do make it past the variety of 'Let's Have Lunch Sometime' and 'Catch Up Soon' are pretty special. It's actually been a really long time since we went on vacation and it wasn't easy to decide on a place that had everything we needed. And so we kept calling, researching, asking friends and friends of friends -  the first question always being: Are pets allowed? Eventually we found this private little place in Laiya, but I guess you could say she found us.

It's graduation season again and with people posting throwbacks left and right, I can't help but think about my own college graduation last year, and the (supposed) grand gate of adulthood that one passes thereafter.  So much has been said about reluctant adulthood and Generation Y constantly thinking that by their twenties, they'd know exactly what it was they wanted to do. Like we thought that age 21 was the promised land of Having Everything Figured Out.

whiskey loaded beats and lyrical feats all between these wrinkled sheets

Give me afternoon sunlight and even the slightest hint of "yes, alright, you may, er, photograph me" and in five minutes I'm already emptying the SD card, switching lenses, and getting my photographer gear on - which includes an old orange house shirt with holes and a tangled, frizzy excuse for a hairstyle. Frolicking around the neighborhood looking like I ran a 5K while being devoured by mosquitoes.. I think this what they call, "suffer for your craft?" 

I'm the most nostalgic person I know so naturally, I found these photos from one of our Hong Kong trips back in 2010 while I was memory hunting. I can't remember the specifics of the weather but it was cold enough for fog to come out of my mouth when I'd breathe! Unfortunately, I overestimated my innate body-warming abilities and turned into a White Walker. Ha. Logic being: I perspire easily, deep down, I must be such a hot person! Oooohyeahh)  

If I could write a definition for summer in the dictionary, it'd be good food, good people, and good places.  Which is why I'm typing this from my quaint little apartment in Italy!.. not. Okay so I'm not exactly vacationing in the summer isles, or roaming around the cobblestoned steps of Rome on a Vespa with Paolo Valisari ala Lizzie McGuire, I'm channelling my inner Italian by inventing summer-inspired dishes. I mean, if I can't go to Europe, might as well bring the idyllic Sicilian summer to Manila.  

December so far has been messy - quite literally, as we've been doing a lot of spring (or winter?) cleaning at home. Being the huge sentimentalist that I am, you can imagine that letting go of old memorabilia - post it notes, movie tickets, and whathaveyou - would be like pulling teeth, but not this time. I'm of the belief that there ain't nothin' like the sound of a digital trash can being emptied out, so I just applied the cold ruthlessness in deleting files on my computer to real life. Quit with all the unnecessary nostalgia and attachment to clutter; it's the memories that count, at the end of the day.  Now that we're on the topic of memories and because I have no visuals to accompany this post, here's a dump of some of the photos I've posted on Instagram over the past few months.  When my family went to Calatagan / Pizza. Every single day.  Beef brisket noodles from Shi Lin (great now I'm hungry) / ice cream happiness / and Bianca...

With one term left before I graduate and the million and one chips making themselves comfortable on my shoulder, I am thisclose to melting into a puddle of feelings (freshly squeezed from fresh tears). 

s p a c e there is a silence that suffocates to wash down the noise a balance of self destruction  between crisp white sheets and pretentious choices

Here's a visual diary of our most recent trip to Hong Kong.

My sister is the best. I was sick with fever and tonsillitis last week, and naturally, she got sick as well (we're clingy like that, haha!), but she still obliged when I casually asked her to model for my Creative Photography class midterms. I was actually only too happy to have her as my subject again, but she was apologetic about how her short hair wasn't dreamy / surreal / ethereal enough for my concept! GUUURL, did we or did we not watch more seasons of ANTM than we'd like to admit?! In the words of philosopher, modeling queen, and professional narcissist, Tyra Banks: WERK IT.  

I don't know what it is about school lately but every week's more dull than the last. Maybe I'm just exhausted from the everyday grind. 

Summer is upon us! Or rather, upon me, because a lot of my batchmates are working this summer for their internship/OJT. I'm not taking mine yet because I have a handful of minors (prerequisites to going on an internship) left. Praise the Lord, hallelujah! I'm off the internship hook for this summer. Thank you, useless minors for being useful for once. :D Anyway, the first thing on our summer itinerary was to go to the beach, as always. My family went resort hopping in Bataan for a few days, and the first stop was Anvaya Cove. Apparently it's an exclusive resort or something because you can't spend the night there unless you're a member or know somebody who's a member. Luckily, my dad's good friend is one, so pack our bags we did, and off to Bataan we went! :D

Portraits I took of my sisters and myself. Self-timer of course, because I still have yet to be comfortable with someone else taking my photo :| :)) For some strange reason, I was waaay more at home with posing or smiling at a camera back in high school. I have more photos from 4th year high school than my whole college life. Is that sad?! Or maybe I just got more awkward. Orrrrr I guess I just got so used to being behind a lens. Yup, that must be it. *convinces self* Ehh, I gotta practice soon because graduation photos are coming up. Heh. heh. P.S. my hair color is edited, I don't think my hair is healthy enough to go through bleaching... yet. Hahaha XD Soon, dream hair. Very soon..

I hate birthdays. Like many others, I do find it awkward to be sung to, (although I not-so-secretly enjoy it when people sing "Happy Birthday" to me - is that odd?) but the primary reason why I dislike March 3rd is because it's a testament to just how quick time is passing.. and my biggest fear is that it is passing me by.  My hypersentimental nature keeps me stuck in the past, and all too often I find myself flipping through old photographs and "meaningless" knick knacks - movie tickets, candy wrappers, old letters and notes - of ordinary days that are now memories. But I look back too much and relish today so little, and I realized that living in the past is a one way ticket to not living at all.  The thing with time is that it's one of those things that just  is;  it's consistently unchanging, always moving. We have no power or control over time, but we do have the power to choose how to use it. 

When I was younger, my summers were spent in the backseat of the family Nissan with my mama blasting Billy Joel (greatest hits album on cassette, of course!) on the radio and my papa behind the wheel. My sisters and I used to swim way past pruny fingers and toes, during high noon, grumpily complaining when our parents would tell us to get out of the water.  I guess in a few ways, we've grown up a little bit because our road trips now aren't for coming back to the city seven shades darker, but for some good ol' R & R. :D

By some stroke of good luck (and a lot of coaxing from everyone), my sister finally agreed to be my subject for one of my personal shoots. She's a reluctant model and doesn't particularly enjoy being photographed, but oh woe is she - the camera loves her! She was such a trooper, lying down on the itchy grass, and kneeling on the sand without any complaints. Since she's pretty shy, we were really lucky that we had the beach all to ourselves. (Some Koreans arrived 10 minutes after we wrapped up, so the gods of photography must've been on my side that day haha!) There were so many more pictures I wanted to include but I didn't want to be overzealous, so these will have to do.. for now! XD As always, it's a challenge for me to shoot outdoors with the constantly shifting sun. I wonder, what is the maximum allowable time for a photographer to figure out the best settings when changing locations? Ack, I still have much to learn... I've been slacking of...