friday's 10 happy things

What a tough, tough week it was for me. I was spiraling down with the blues again, and it has gotten worse because I have a tendency to sulk even more and bathe myself in my own misery. The last time I made FTHT was still October of last year. When 2015 ended, I thought I was just going to leave it at that because I honestly did not see the need anymore to be as committed to this blog as I was before.

If you know me, you'd also know how often I cut my presence from social media, come back, and then do it all again – I'm admittedly notorious at it. My friends know this too much of me. Some understand, some don't. But my true friends have never taken it against me – this I know. After all, real friends don't worry about following or not following each other in social media because there's much more in real-life interactions.

But I digress.

My anxiety was off the charts this week that I'm compelled to share happy things just to knock the foggy mood away.

1. The shoes that I've been eyeing on for months had a 40% off the tag. I thought it was too good to be true and anticipated that the store wouldn't have my size. But they did. Oh, luck!
2. After all the hassle in preparing the requirements, inducing unnecessary worries and waiting at the edge of my life for a week, I've finally got my Korean visa!! God. I can't remember the last time I've wanted something so bad as I've wanted this.
3. New pens :)
4. I haven't lost my streak in committing to filling up my 2016 planner! I'm usually just good at the start, and then eventually losing my way even before a month is finished, but this year looks promising (I hope this does not jinx it though).
5. Leona's Banana Nut Cake from Cebu
6. Writing.
7. Cutting and designing letter envelopes :)
8. Stumbled upon some decent tops that I'm comfortable with, for only Php200 each ($5). I'm so cheap when it comes to clothing because they have never been a priority. Most of my clothes now were still bought 3-5 years ago. I'm that cheap, I know. I hardly bat an eyelash when buying film, but I could never say the same to clothes. I can't stomach buying a $20 blouse. Hahaha.
9. Watched The Intern and loved it. It's funny to see how Meryll Streep's assistant before, in The Devil Wears Prada, is now the CEO 10 years later. 
10. My obsession, as you know.

Friday's 10 Happy Things Blog Link-up

walking in singapore pt. ii

i always go back

I'm sitting here for 5 minutes now just scrolling back and forth at these photos and wondering what to say. It's not that I don't have something to say ― I just don't know how to say them because things always lose their sense when I try to take them out of my head. You've heard me say this a million times.

What I'm basically trying to do here is do a throwback of this travel in Cambodia just like how I did last year. It will be two years, 14 days from now, and every time I think of it I always consider my photos from Cambodia as the best photos I have ever taken in my short time of documenting life. I deem them as the best not because of the technicalities it bring to photography like composition, proper exposure, etc., but because when I look at them, they consistently bring me pure, peaceful memories and sensory.

The perfect combination of cool breeze and warm light.
Rich, clay-pot–colored soil covered by a carpet of dry leaves that crackle as you walk on.
Striking rays of light and patches of patterned shades.
Hearing distant conversations in languages I'll never decipher.

So happy that I've convinced myself it's okay to take a selfie (s/o to the man at the end of ramp whoever, wherever you are)

Please ignore my poor sense in fashion.

I have not taken out my Superheadz UWS after using it in this travel because the rubbery finish has turned sticky already. No thanks to my poor storage and maintenance (or lack thereof). Anyone has the same laziness as I do who could give me a tip on how to wipe it off completely?

You can view my previous posts about Cambodia here.

walking in singapore pt. i

you do you 2016

I'm usually not particularly giddy about new year's events because if I take away the idea of the calendar, all that's left in my head are yesterday, today and tomorrow. What I like about categorizing events though is it sort of creates an illusion of a fresh start, a new year, another beginning. Who doesn't want a try for a do-over?

I drafted a year-in-review post yesterday because it's what people do at the end of the year ― summarize, recall, reminisce ― but I left it undone in the morning, and when I came back to finish it in the afternoon, the whole lot seemed absurd already.

So I'm starting this year with these photos of random things that can be typically seen here in our area. For months, I've been thinking of committing to a project that I can pull out from my Neighbor Walk series ― shooting the neighborhoods here, if possible every street, within Cavite City. Doing the Neighbor Walk made me unexpectedly appreciate the look of a typical neighborhood here in the Philippines. Also, I want to tap more in to the realities of my life that is far from the high-end, touristy, manicured spots. I want to learn to embrace the grunge, the rust and the old-looking ― basically, the mess. I'm honestly not sure if I will pull this off, because taking photos in public streets here is very difficult and alienating. I usually get the strange looks from people because nobody thinks a public street or someone's garage/gate here is worth taking a photo of.

So there goes the challenge.

Ah, but for the sake of year-end summaries, here's a quick look-back at my 2015:

• Acquired two new-old film cameras
• Shot 30 rolls of film
• Visited two countries
• Met Lea Salonga!
• A promotion
• Quit some of my social media accounts
• Hoped for a chemistry, failed
• Sold my Canon AE-1 Program and gave away my Holga 120N
• Read 10 books
• Met Bea of Little Film Blog
• Joined an art workshop
• Revamped this blog 287632 times
• Cared less (about social status)
• Surprisingly got interested with makeup

This year, I'm keeping it simple to:

• Keep/update a daily planner/journal
• Care much less (about social status)
• Maintain only one credit card
• Approach people to be photographed
• Buy less

I guess that's it. I wish you a great 2016, friend :)