AFRICA

Let us take a moment to sit back, bask in the hot hot summer heat, listen to the steady drone of the electric fan no doubt trained on you or the hum of the air conditioning unit and appreciate the beauty of the Dark Continent otherwise known as Africa. 

Colored pencils on an index card hehe I went on a spontaneous room cleaning spree last night and decided to let my paints rest by keeping them inside a box underneath my desk. Since I had the urge to do something fartsy earlier, instead of creating a huge mess, I made a smaller mess by using colored pencils. It's been such a long time since I last used them and it feels weird but at the same time oh so nice, I'll surely use them more often now!
On another note.................................
Did you know that African elephants are the largest living land animals? Now you know! 

Africa has been dubbed as the Dark Continent since at the time that the dubbing was taking place, it had yet to be explored thoroughly by..explorers. I was planning on bombarding you guys with a buttload of facts but then after wracking my brain for anything juicy that I learned from my Social Studies class, I couldn't come up with anything hehe.

I love Africa; the wildlife, the culture, the people and especially their music. I am such a sucker for songs that have strong drum beats or whatever you call them. I actually cannot bring myself to call the music from that continent, songs because the word 'song' seems so flimsy and that it's simply not enough to name such wonderful sounds. I'm really having a hard time translating what I feel whenever I hear something African-y into words, all I know is that for me it is pure eargasm especially when I hear the very low bass notes being hit and then all of a sudden a chorus of girl voices go on top and then LALALA I'm drowning in warmth because of the sounds hehehe. 

Here are just the gems I unearthed on youtube that urged me to write (and draw) about Africa! I hope you guys like them :D







imgsrc

Semana Santa

semana santa is a Spanish term for Holy Week which is the English term for Mahal na Araw;

basically we Roman Catholics drag our families (optional, you can go alone) to a) 7 different churches wherein we go through 2 stations at each church b) 14 different churches with only 1 station allotted  for each church c) 14 churches while completing the Way of the Cross in every church 

We do it every year and the last time, it was so hot that we had to text our maid right away to turn up the AC so we could suck in the cool air and my dad had to leave the car running so we wouldn't be cooked once we got back. So, when my dad stood by the doorway in my room and said, 'Dadalhin mo ba camera?' (Will you bring the camera?) flashes of sticky and sweaty scenarios specifically images of me lifting a camera strap off my sweaty neck came to my mind, he then added, 'Wag na lang may ipad naman' (Never mind, we have the ipad). My mind was set before I knew it. 

Family picture: a staple

So we did our usual Visita Iglesia thang. In our first church which was very close to our house, after 2 stations (because we always go for option A), we bought food from the vendors. My sister and I each got a cup of corn; hers was buttered and mine was cheese flavored and booooooy did we crack a LOT of Chiz/Heart jokes inside the car hehehehe. But after 2 churches that's when things shifted and my boycotting of the camera proved to be a wrong decision...ooh suspense...

Hehe just some road I took a picture of and edited to be all hipstery

Me in this super pretty church hehe

POPS AND HIS 'RUSSET' HAHAHA so cute!!!!

After visiting our 3rd church, we spotted the row of super cutesy and nicely colored houses on the side of the road and since we weren't in a hurry and the weather was so nice earlier, we drove around inside the village and had a looksy! The houses in Marina ____ (I forgot the second part of the village's name I am quite dumb) were so nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear I wanted to buy one hehe as if I could but still I couldn't help but fall in love with the very Westernized as in white-picket fence/no-gate-at-all-complete-with-a-front-lawn-that-kids-in-movies-never-want-to-lawn houses.

Bidding the houses farewell, we found ourselves in Manila oh Manila. We went to the Malate Church and got sidetracked by the heaps of paintings just scattered in front of a statue all sun bathing. They reminded me of all the youtube videos of street painters that I've seen and it had me taking 'see a live street painter in action' to my bucket list.

I don't usually wear sunglasses because I have a weird fascination with squinting like it makes me feel.......good and thankful that I live in a place where it's sunny and not gloomy hehe

We looked for a restaurant called David's Tea House which was supposedly beside the church but then after a bit of walking and asking we found out it got renovated and so we trudged on like tiny soldiers in the valley of towering buildings. We formed a single file with my dad in front, me next, my sister and my mum covering up the rear and so I was walking walking walking when I saw a familiar scene above my dad's shoulder. WE WERE IN REMEDIOS CIRCLE!!! It was so weird to see it NOT through the glass windows of our car hahahaha. We ALWAYS ALWAYS as in everyday we pass through that place and I've never been it sans the solace of our vehicles hehe so I was all ecstatic and shocked especially when we saw this seedy KTV thing called Bedrock that I always find amusing and lo and behold David's Tea House was right in front of it!!

We ate and bonded and visited Feliz and Kuya Ipe and had merienda and visited our last church and prayed and when I got home I finished watching Silver Linings and I have been talking to my friends and I feel good hehe. I may not be THE most religious person, but being this happy and contented with my friends, my family, myself, my hobbies basically my life, I feel all spiritual and I thank God for giving me all this and I hope that you feel good too. And I hope you be happy hehe. 

Narwhals Narwhals

This is not how I look like right now because as I speak (type) my left jaw is swollen and my eyes are just starting to lose their puffiness hehe. I had my surgery last Saturday and I took the wrong painkillers hence the puffy eyes and as for the swollen jaw, it is because of the operation hihi 

Anyhoo, I would like to share with you guys my latest revelations. I swear I have them all the time. Some of these are from a month ago and some are from like 10 minutes ago hehe. Also, besides my revelations and epiphanies, here are some of my thoughts.

1. Yakisoba cups have drain holes. They make life easier and I had the pleasure of discovering them just recently like this school year hehehe.
2. Strawberry has got to be the best flavor in the world. Everything should have the option to be strawberry flavored. But even though I love strawberry donuts, strawberry ice cream and other strawberry stuff, I cannot for the life of me enjoy the actual fruit.
3. I can feel something dripping down the side of my throat. It may be blood because I have been talking all night and I may have been upsetting my stitches or it might be saliva. Lettuce hope for the latter.
4. I'm starting to really like shoes right now.
5. I love people. It feels like I am in a certain funk wherein I'm overflowing with care and love for everyone and I cannot and will not and should not stop my true colors from seeping out of every crevice in my body and just spread out to every single one of you.
6. I just had to use the word crevice.
7. I have so much plans and itty bitty projects in mind for this summer and I hope I can do them all.
8. I love India so much. I don't really know where this lovin' came from but I seriously cannot stop it. I am in love with the people, the culture, the religion, the history, the food, the festivals! Someone should stuff me inside a box and ship me to India.
9. People should enjoy this summer break hehe. People should unwind. People should forget their problems for a while and enjoy life. Enjoy the intense heat, even! Kasi, imagine you're in the middle of your living room and you're sweating like there is no more tomorrow, instead of whining about it (I am guilty of this hehe), why not stick your tongue out at the humidity and work out? You not only benefit from it because you become fitter, but you're making do with what you're being dealt with hehe. This is as deep and philosophical as I can get hehe.

Summer Giveaway Winner!!!!!!!!!!

The Summer Giveaway has finally ended and I wish to congratulate and extend my unperverted love to all of you who joined and succumbed to the temptation that is rafflecopter! I was actually supposed to post the winner last night but then I had my impacted teeth taken out and I had an allergic reaction to the painkillers and I was just so swollen and over-all sucky so I wasn't able to focus my attention to it but anyhoo.........

DRUM ROLL PLEASE EVEN THOUGH I THINK YOU GUYS CAN ALREADY SEE THE NAME HAHAHA...............

WELL..........

IT REALLY DOES DEPEND ON THE SIZE OF YOUR SCREEN SO....................................

FOR THOSE WHO WEREN'T ENDOWED WITH A BIG LAPTOP SCREEN LIKE MOI..............................................

MORE DOTS................................................................

SUSPENSE...............................

PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THE SUSPENSE..............................................

OH YEAH,......................................................

HMMMMMMM.................................

Let's talk first........................

Or not................................................................

HEHEHEHEHEHE..............................

MY FONT JUST GOT BIGGER........

And now.....

It is.....

Slowly but surely................................

Shrinking hihihihi............................

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...............................................................

AND THE WINNER OF THE SUMMER GIVEAWAY IS......................................

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY.....................

CONGRATULATIONS HEHEHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Trip to the North

My family and I finallyyyyyy had the time to explore the uncharted territory that is the north. We tend to just have our nights out inside BF and so last Saturday was definitely a stretch for us haha.  

I brought Paeng and Bogart with me since I couldn't say goodbye to their adorableness just yet

Our first stop for that day was SM Cubao since it was near Cubao X (which is a place that I really really was dying to visit) and plus my sister had to go look for clothes. Even while we were still at the parking lot, my sister was regaling a tale of when she and her friends went up north for an ukay spree. She mentioned something about feeling and looking like tourists and that's what happened to us upon setting foot in the mall. 

No department store raid is complete without me paying a visit to the toys section...

....and going gaga over toys. I remember I used to dream of owning those humongous Bratz heads that were made for make-overs. Every Christmas and birthday, whenever I'd receive a huge semi-heavy box, I'd get my hopes up and think it was that but it usually ended up being something else entirely less glamorous 

While my sister tried on clothes, I just sat on the floor and waited. I find it really cool when patient people just sit there and let their minds run blank and simply...wait. Life is short and all but it's really nice to see people take the time to pluck themselves from all the hubbubs and the chaos and just sit and be peaceful hihi. I also loike this photo because I love the shoes Nath gave me and my socks huhu.

After my sister bought her clothes, we walked to Cubao X!!!! Huhuhu I was so stoked to finally go there. Ever since I first heard about it, I've been meaning to visit. When I went through my film camera/lomography addiction phase and found out this was the place to go to..I died one more time. 

Upon arriving, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. It resembled the streets of Vigan a bit but this made me almost cream my pants since everywhere I looked, thrift shops and collectible shops bombarded my vision 

We went to thrift shops and antique shops but sadly most of them did not allow picture taking and some of them were really a collector's wet dream. But among the shops we went in to, my favorite would have to be the bubbly and lively and super fantastic, UVLA.

UVLA or Unique Vintage and Lost Art is located in I must say the secluded corner of the strip. We almost passed by it but then the striking signage caught our eyes and so we went inside...and had our minds blown. At first sweeping glance, the store already packs a punch with its contrasting aura; it was cluttered but the entire place seemed very bright and so homey. 

I was busy looking at the keychains and sunglasses they had near the front door when my sister got all spazztic and excited. I looked at the source of her giddiness and found a big Polly Pocket play house thingy. Sometime last year, she somehow saw a photo of those old Polly Pocket toys and instantly missed her old toys! We tried looking for them on the internet but they were the sellers were a bit shady looking and she became preoccupied with other stuff ultimately pushing her cravings to the back of her mind. And now, after seeing the Polly Pocket thingy, she asked if they had more and died when the lovely owners showed her a trunk full of Polly Pockets!!!

The accessories that came with the Polly Pockets hehe they were all so cute!

I remember we used to have the one in the middle and the one in the right

Very very happy girl

While she drowned in the Polly Pockets, I went around and surveyed the stuff for sale. There were SOOOOO MANY cool stuff I couldn't believe it. They had vintage comics (a copy of Tale From The Crypt was there huhu), vintage post cards, vintage wallets (that were oh so purty), lots of vintage toys and other war memorabilia if I'm not mistaken. 

After my sister finally settled on buying the blue bubble Polly Pocket, I also bought three Polly Pocket watch straps that caught my eye hehe. Time really flew inside UVLA! After we paid for our purchases, we had our picture taken with the lovely mother-daughter tandem because they were so nice and so cute and so cool for coming up with a store like theirs.

If you love vintage stuff and well lost art (hehe) you most definitely should drop by UVLA! You will enjoy it for realsies and it's never a bad thing to let go once in a while and go back to your childhood.

After UVLA, we met up with our parents at Fred's Revolucion where they were finishing up a plate of Puerto Rican lechon and this super duper yummy sausage that I don't know the name of HAHA. It's a nice place to just chill out and catch up with friends and it was so adorable since they had a sign posted that said something like 'We might not have CCTV but Chuck Norris is watching' HEHE so cute!!!

Uknown yummy food at Fred's!

After filling our tummies a bit, we continued walking around the place.

My parents already looked around while we were at UVLA and so they told me about a place teeming with books and magazines and tapes and I just knew I had to check it out.

Feeling oh so scholarly

I went to Clark and thought that that would be the sole place that I'd find old film cameras....Cubao had them all along too...now I know hehehehehe

Bibliophile rearing its ugly heaaaaaaaad

Cubao X is such a nice place huhu. I will definitely pay it another visit preferably when my wallet would be fuller hihi. I bet going there with my friends would also be heaps of fun. Seriously, I promise this is not the first and last time I get to see this marvelous place.

After walking back to our car, we drove around and looked for a good place to eat dinner at. We saw this super lighted establishment and for a moment I understood how moths must feel whenever they'd see a flame. I get you, mr. moth, I get you. 

So heppeh

We settled on Mario's since my good friend Diana suggested it and it turned out that my dad knew about it as well having lived in Quezon in his younger years. All I can say about Mario's is the food is heavenly. I had the urge to either buy the chef so I'd have yummy food 24/7 or have like 10 extra mouths and digestive systems so I could eat as many as I want to or be a pig and not have a thalmus so I'd eat even tho I'm already full and not feel a thing!

After dinner, we were so full so we just drove around for a while looking for any restaurant or cafe that seemed nice. We contemplated going inside Zirkoh because Aljur Abrenica was there that night and gusto namin makita hotdog ni Aljur and Laffline had Chokoleit who is some sort of staple in my childhood already HAHA. But alas we did not go into any of those but instead we got comfy in Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee.

I had to take a picture because.....this is how Daniel Padilla would say my name

Their cookies looked so much like mine it was so cool

After getting all hyper and noisy in the car, my energy level seemed to drop at 0 once we got inside and it took all of my strength not to fall asleep while waiting for our cakes. 

The food was okay. The place was nice because of the very chill ambiance and the very nice staff hehe. We watched a couple of LC-Learns' videos while we were there and had a great time. It sort of felt like we were in the house in the show The Bear in the Big Blue House, that's how cozy and warm and fuzzy it felt inside!

It was closed when we got to the area huhu definitely promise to check this out next time 

Our time up north was just so fun and nice and amazing and stupendous and wonderful and all the other nice adjectives I cannot think of right now. It definitely was a change of scene for us but I can say that the north pretty much rules when it comes to fast-paced hang outs and thrift shop endeavors!