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 :)

cedar hills garden center

life after breakfast's craft workshop

Life After Breakfast's Basic Watercolor Workshop

Not gonna lie, I was intimidated at first. But when the workshop began, and Alessa started to teach the different kinds of strokes and washes, and how to mix and match colors, the fun kicked in. Attending this workshop was one of my goals in 2015 (in an attempt to be creative) and I'm glad I pushed it through. Worth a try :)

She's got her schedule laid out until next year. Check http://www.lifeafterbreakfast.ph/ if you want to try one of her workshops. I'm tempted to try one again for her Botanical Watercolor Workshop!

neighbor walk