BANGKOK FAVORITES

Seriously August, where did you go? It's kind of crazy to realize that there are only seven days left before we jump into the next month, and a few blinks more we're probably going around greeting each other Merry Christmas. Nuts.

There are a lot places and sights I wanted to share and talk about lately, I just can't find the voice to write it because sloth. Anyway, here are some of my personal favorite photos taken around Bangkok last January (wayyy long overdue!).

Happy end of the weekend to all! (Except for me, because it's National Heroes Day tomorrow hee)

DERAILED

An MRT train recently got derailed on its way to Taft, Manila, the route I ride in every day from the office. A lot of issues has been raised since then, which reminds me of a famous quote from Enrique Penalosa, Mayor of Bogota in Colombia: 

"An advanced city is not a place where poor move about in cars, rather it's where even the rich use public transportation."

Photos are from BTS in Thailand.

CAFE BRETON

During my 10-minute walk from the bus stop to our office building, I get to pass by Cafe Breton every morning. Each time I see a glimpse of this French-inspired coffee shop, I wonder how lovely it would be to sit inside and be served with those pretty porcelain china (or whatever is the proper term for those). I always tell myself, "one of these days."

And that one day came, gladly, right before my scheduled interview for a post-grad application. The pressure was getting into my head at this moment obviously, but the company and ambiance relaxed my uneasy nerves somehow. Their mango crepe has the perfect combination of light, tangy and delicious! Although their coffee was not served as hot as expected, I would not think twice on trying them again, one of these days :)

I did not make the cut, by the way.

Prior to the interview (and exam), I had a year to think about applying first. For a year it became this dark cloud hovering my sanity, and was one of those would I/should I things I had to decide for myself. I ridiculously spent months thinking and questioning my ability to commit into something I was so unsure of. Anyway, the bottom line is, I had to know. And I will not ever know if I never try.

I've tried, and although failed, I cannot explain the wave of relief this has brought me. I may or may not try again in the future. For now I rest my head on the thought that, failure cannot humiliate someone who has tried.

Happy end of the weekend to you :)

PERSISTENT | GREENS

These are from roll 2 of the 3 rolls I've mentioned in the last post. Got a bit of luck on this one, though they're very grainy. 

PERSISTENT

I got a message from my office mate Ivan one day offering a few rolls of film which, as he said, have been resurrected from the burrows of their home while they were cleaning. I immediately felt excited of course, thinking my occasional posting of photos on Facebook must have tipped him off that I'm still using film. He handed me three rolls the next day, and I have probably got lightheaded from the excitement of receiving free stuff that I totally forgot to ask how the film were stored.

I have no problem using expired film; 90% of the photos on this space came from ones with 1 up to 3 years expiration. So one beautiful weekend, I ended up in Laguna for a nice, unwinding road trip. Also got a chance to circle U.P. Los Baños, and enjoyed getting lost on the way to the destination.

It was one of those trips that came out of nowhere, sort of unplanned, but ended up to be nothing short of great times. Imagine my disappointment when the film scans came back from the lab with almost all dark and grainy frames. It completely slipped off my mind that I was shooting with a very expired roll, and most probably one that was not properly stored. It took me some time to see and appreciate that there are still a few persistent colors which got picked up despite the darkness. Important moments stood still :)

I remember Katie posting some of her photos from a very expired roll too, which produced a more interesting rainbow tones because why else, she's Katie. And awesome. Enough said (Hi Katie!) :D You can check them out here.