The sad truth is

What's on my mind (right now)

Another year has come and in 8 months I will be a quarter of a century old.
"So far, so good", I can say.
My life's not perfect but I love every single craziness, wildness, unpredictability (and women!) in it. Haha!
I have realized the last 8 years of my life was like a whirlwind.
I explored the world when I can barely compose one simple email.
I kinda miss the old person that I am - always on her toes and excited of every day.
Hey don't get me wrong, not that I am being ungrateful of what I have.
Sometimes, getting all what you want is not everything at all.
Whatever it is, I'll eventually figure this out.
So I will keep walking baby! ;D
Happy New Year everyone!

First Timers

Its one boring Thursday afternoon back here in my hometown. Everybody's got their own business -- working, studying or God-knows-what-they-are-up-to. I was scanning for some old photos earlier as I promise to Iris a childhood picture of me when I get back to Cebu.

I came accross my old scrapbook way back in college (don't ask how many years that was). I was this sentimental person who would keep everything imaginable and keep-able. In short, I am a HOARDER.

Saw a couple of studio pics taken using a film camera. I couldn't contain my laughter, humiliation and nostalgia that I have to share some of it over Facebook. 

Then I came accross these pages.

Yes. I did it. I was, like, dumbfounded. Did I really list down all the drinking hot spots I used to go to before? Is my life then really that boring that I did nothing but drink? Haha.

I remember the first time I was drunk was like my 16th birthday. How could I forget that day? It was the night of August 22, 2003. I urge my roomate to buy us 2 Red Horse Grande. If I remember correctly, eight of us (7 freshmen and a sophomore) were crowding inside Room 4 that night. We were like having hot chocolate as we poured our beer into our bright-colored mugs while Mickey Mouse and Winnie The Pooh was beaming at us. We didn't know what "tagay" was. We had the corn snack Safari as our pulutan. It only took a mug of beer and we were all drunk for the first time. We were slump on the floor -- laughing, howling and murmuring.

The next day, of course, having started the incident, my landlady talked to me about the rules and all. But I was numb and all I could do was nod and nod and nod. Hell, what do you expect from a teenager? :)

So much has changed since that day and I, eventually develop this love-hate relationship with alcohol. Bottles and bottles of liqour have poured and with every drunken moment another lesson is learned, moments to remember and friendship is strengthen or tested. So yeah, I'll keep drinking because life is short and Imma live it long baby! :D

My Birthday Wish List

Seventeen days and I will be another year older. Done with partying and travelling as I am running broke these days. However, that doesn't stop me to want to buy a lil treat for myself especially that August is my birthday month. I have laid out my financial status for the rest of the year and to my dismay this recession will be over by the last quarter of the year. That being the case I am extending my birthday wish list till Chistmas since I won't be able to buy everything this month. So here are a few things I have always wanted and is planning to buy this year. You see I am not so into expensive things, as long as that makes me happy then I am on it.

• My BB. I have always been a fan of this RIMarkable line of mobile phones. Since the "death" of my second BB phone, I couldn't get pass a day without thinking and mourning about it. Crazy I know but that has upset me so much. Got so attached to my BB that when I lost it I felt like I've lost someone close to me. So when I finally got a chance to get a new phone (just 5 days after its death) I didn't waste any time and immediately grabbed one. I am now loving my new BB and swear to take care of it like a baby.
• Books. Yeah, I know, I'm like building a lil library at home! Haha. A few of my books are now in good hands while I can get no space for them here. I am eyeing the second installation of Carrie Bradshaw's adventure: Summer and the City, Aaron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place, a memoir book by Nando Parrado based on his real-life experience on a plane crash in the Andes mountains, Miracle in the Andes and all other adventure books I might chance upon a bookstore. I'm still looking for that life-changing book that would make me see things again in a different perspective.
• Reading lamp. I wanted the one where I can just clip anywhere because I don't stay long in a certain position when reading.
• A bookmark. I prefer the metal ones. 
• Sleeve for my notebook. I'm planning to raid CD-R king for that or SM department store.
• A silicon case for my BB. I have to say this was very useful and its worth investing. It could be pricey but the benefits are just priceless. The silicon case for my old BB helped it survived (for about two weeks) the 5-minute water submergence before it died on the 3rd week. 
• iPod. I wanted something to store my music. I don't wanna overload my BB too so at least I have a back-up.  Also I hated it that Iris and I have to fight every now and then over this stupid iPod so I'm getting my own. ;)
• Journal. Although my BB serves as my on-the-go journal I still want to write using my hands. Also I am the type who would keep any memorabilia (movie tickets, reciepts) so that way I can just post it in my journal.

As they say there are things money can't buy so I am creating a separate list for those intangible things I already have and I am most thankful for. 
 

• Queerness. I know this ain't going away so another season of The Real L Word would make me very happy.
•  Friends. I am not a very friendly person and most people would find me a snob because I am not the type who is nice-to-everyone so if I cannot have new friends this year at least I get to keep the ones that are already with me.
• Family. As much as I wanted to, I cant celebrate my birthday with them this year so that would mean another homecoming in the future months. 
• My Job. I know sometimes I rant and complain about it. Hey can they blame me? Hehe. But at the end of the day I am thankful I have a job and I am able to work with amazing people for the last 4 years, who inspire me, annoy me, irritate me and amazes me all at the same time. 
• My life with her. It gets better. I am finding myself falling in love all over again. Cheesy I know. 

Lunar Eclipse

I first read on  Twitter yesterday about an upcoming Lunar eclipse and since my BB Social subscription have limited access to the internet I didn't get the chance to know as what exact date it is happening.

I set my phone to its usual alarm time (at 3am) before dozing off at 8pm last night. Upon the first note of the alarm I suddenly woke up and reached for my Samsung phone and surprised to see a text message. I read it and I couldn’t believe my luck. It was a GM from Alex saying that a lunar eclipse is happening. It usually takes me a couple of snoozes to drag me out of bed but I got up and found my way up to the rooftop. It was a chilly dawn as it rained the night before. I first search the eastern part of the sky. I was surprised to see that the sky was clear and a lot of stars were visible. However, I couldn’t find the moon. I was about to give up when I decided to finally give the west side a try and there it was – a reddish Luna about to be summoned by the Earth’s shadow.

I thought of getting a camera to capture this rare celestial happening but I hesitated. For awhile, I stared at it and decided to go back to our unit to prepare for work (I got an hour left before my shift starts but I cant risk it).  I even posted this status on Facebook.

I checked the time and thought I still got plenty to spare so without hesitation I took out the camera, swapped the camera’s lens with a Canon 55-250mm EFS lens. I hurdled the steps up and started taking pictures of the Mars-look-alike Moon. I didn’t take that much decent picture though as I forgot to bring a tripod with me and my glasses started to become foggy. I have to do with resting my arms on the ledge and that served as a tripod.

Here are a few shots. Fair enough for a rookie like me. This is my second attempt of capturing the Moon.



This one is kind of the "edited" version. I have to adjust the contrast to emphasize it. Original one is here at the bottom.



I was supposed to experiment more of the shutter speed and exposure but since I don't have a tripod with me, that experimentation turned out useless. And oh, before I forgot I have captured two stars which I am guessing part of the constellation Ophiuchus.

But I am not really in dismay as another constellation is on its way this December. So I have already marked my calendar ;). By then, I surely would tag along a tripod.