With having your first camera, you can't really resist the urge to take a picture of something, whether it be the most irrelevant thing at home or just anything you find colorful that definitely would look on a photo.
Here are some snapshots from my Canon EOS 550D :)
my iPod nano splattered with mud
while dancing in the rain
in painting, the first stroke is always the hardest
an unfinished business at home
I miss playing the piano
sister took a picture of her phone while i'm sleeping. caught you
my sister's abstract painting using poster colors
my overflowing luggage for Korea x_x
my lip balms for winter. sissy took this photo
ballerinas, angels and little girls
a good book I found in Fully Booked
The last photo is a book titled Lonely Planet's Guide to TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY by Richard I'anson. Ever since the JTA application and our spontaneous Palawan trip, I'm having this feeling my future income will allot a big chunk for travelling since I really love doing it and I'm itching to go to other places and take pictures myself :)) Of course I'm aware that such an activity's pricey that's why I'm determined to make my first millions in my 20's hahaha wild dreams :)). And to link travel to photography, whoah this really makes much more sense, especially since I already have my first ever camera. Aside from taking my barkada's vanity photos (haha), I would really like to try out something more than just pressing the shutter a gazillion times. And my flight to Korea (which is in three days) would be a great opportunity to practice. Creative juice, please!
And I always wanted to create my own photo blog with photos decent enough to be shown in public :)
As for the choice of book, I guess that investing on this kind of book would be more practical and worth it rather than buying a travel guide for Korea. At least I'll get to learn something. Aside from native Koreans that I bet would be happy to tour me around their country, I'm sure there are a lot of websites in the internet that will help me spot Korea's most anticipated events and festivals. In addition, the internet's more updated and I bet the published travel books for Korea will have little to say about Korean Pop Culture like the artists BigBang or SuperJunior (concert dates!) or even shooting places for some of Korea's television series :P
And I'm not expecting to apply and remember all the techniques and tips I will get from this book as soon as I'm done reading. Photography is just like swimming where you'll learn by doing it and not just by reading a book. I'm reading this book out of leisure and not out of pressure. :)
Hello to my newfound hobby and cheers to more photos and memories!
I did this for several times already. After almost 3 years of leaving CDO for Manila, I guess my flight 5 hours ago would be the same as usual.
But oh well. so much for frequent flyers.
Today is just like any ordinary day until my sister said goodbye to me twice and even kissed me on the cheek (of course with saying "eew" after). So today might be something not ordinary since my sister doesn't normally do that. Nevertheless, I feel sleepy yet I still managed to drag myself to the showers to prepare for my 10am flight. After the shower, I proceeded with re-fixing my stuff to include newly-laundered undies and some clothes. Then I sat on my favorite dining chair to grab some spam and eggs for breakfast. See, it's just another ordinary day.
By 8:30am I said goodbye to my brother which is so not me, then to our pet dog Kimmy (who's a German Sheperd btw) which was whining a little -could this be the dog's counterpart of crying? Then I got on the car and as usual, closed my eyes, ready to take a mini-nap while on our way to the airport.
On ordinary days, I sleep. I always sleep on our car rides.
But this time, I can't since I happen to feel tears rolling down my face. WHUT THE F---. And before I could figure out how to wipe my tears and breathe properly without my parents noticing, let's just say my dad (who was driving) looked at me and my mommy gave me her hanky.
Caught in the act. O__O
Every female lead character in all the television series I've watched are always so good in crying without others noticing that I can't help but think why wasn't I able to hide mine. Ohh yeah, television series are scripted. Mine's not. But still I can't believe I cried in front of my parents (actually my mom's beside me at the backseat while dad's in front driving, but you get it right?). If there's one thing that I find it hard to express, it's will be missing someone. Well for me it's easy to say you miss someone -write on their Facebook wall, text them or tell them. Maybe it's because the separation's already there, and all you need to do is just to acknowledge it by saying you miss the other party. But in this case -expressing that you will miss the other party - the separation's not yet there, yet you have to acknowledge it because whether you like it or not both parties are going to that direction of parting ways sooner or later.
And in my case,crying is synonymous to me taking off that mask and showing them what I really feel.
At first I really felt shy about it, but 5 hours after my flight, I felt better knowing that I showed (or assured? haha) my parents that I will miss them.
Why bother living when you're bound to hide your feelings?
uhm, it's just that some words are better left unsaid? :))
Bottom line: All of this is just a rehearsal for my August 28 flight to Korea, from the way I pack my luggage to fit in all my clothes, from drafting my checklist, from spending each day as if it's an ordinary day rather than preparing for your own despedida, from carrying all my bags (2 luggages, 1 backpack and 1 camera bag), and from saying goodbyes.
I guess I would never be able to perfect the last part. So much for rehearsing. Let's settle with spontaneity then! That would be much easier :))
CDO, see you this December 30!
PS: Crying has its benefits you know.It helps in cleansing out impurities from the eyes and it also helps out in releasing stress hormones which have negative effects on our bodies. No wonder we felt relieved after crying, right? :)
The the day I knew I was accepted into the program, my thoughts were full the happy fact that dude, I'm going to study abroad. I'm excited at the idea of THE hell semester looming ahead, where I'm going to be struggling with 5 subjects with requirements that seem to have the same deadline. And I'm also excited of the idea of having my hell semester while I'm part of the core team of one of Ateneo's biggest events.
"If I could pull this off, God what an ego booster!". Hahaha JK.
The month of April was all about eagerness and anticipation. I'm excited to do my first homework. I'm excited to go to the first organization meeting. I'm excited to meet my fellow JTA coursemates. I'm treasuring every single moment of my JTA sem because I know that at moments like these, time just seems to be flying really fast.
May is the gloomier one, and this is also the time where I start to panic a little because June's near ahead. The thought of turning 19 -Wow. Seems like yesterday I was just 18! But on the academics stuff, May is where we're starting to work on the first part of our group projects -and this was hard because we still got that not-really-doing-anything-much-yet hangover from April. And what delights bothers me is going to school when the regular semester has already ended -which means no human traffic HAHAHA especially in the SEC walk. :))
June. Before I knew it, we're already halfway through the semester. @.@ And this is the first time in my entire life where I studied on the eve of my birthday! How cool is that. Really, when you're studying and too preoccupied with all those org and academic stuff, you can't help it but feel less excited than usual for your birthday. One year older? Ok, no big deal *back to philo readings*. BTW, at first I found it odd to be going to school with people around already. Hahaha May hangover :))
July. THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. HELL. This is the month where I'm almost already near to tears out of frustration. July is when I'm already expecting myself to breakdown any moment. July is the month when I bummed with Korean series the night before our final marketing pass because I seriously needed a break or else. Imagine going to the extent of telling yourself "This will all be worth it in the end" just to keep yourself going on and away from the thoughts of giving up. :)
If I've started the sem with anticipation, I think I'm ending this one with hesitation. The day a friend of mine contacted me regarding joining this year's dance competition in September was the day I was forced to acknowledge the things/PEOPLE I will badly miss while I'm out there braving the Jang Geun Suk's homeland. Now I understand why some friends of mine prefer to forgo this opportunity despite being a once-in-your-college-life opportunity. Because in place of this you will also miss moments and people which could also happen once in your college life.
Am I talking about backing out or regretting joining the program? No, and I really hope this would still be my answer by the time I get back in December. When I get there, I may be scared of opening my Facebook homepage and seeing tagged photos of my friends who are also having the time of their life with each other. I am also scared of losing my close friends: what if we will not be as close as before? Lastly, I'm scared of being homesick. No matter how many times our lecturer tell us that homesickness can now be cured with Skype and Facebook, I beg to disagree. Facebook, YM! and Skype, prove me wrong then! :)
Go online [always while you can]. Write on their walls. BUZZ them. Send them emails. Give effort. Or else you might get used to the momentary life without them [which is not cool btw]. And they will get used to the few days without you.
(cliche ahead) Seems like yesterday when my first day of JTA sem started and now here I am, struggling with the requirements from papers to presentations to long exams. Now I understand why JTA sem can be such a hell -juggling with four major subjects and one tough core subject! That's for the record. Yet as for my situation, pairing up JTA with Recruitment Week, well you could imagine fusing a week-long school event with your academics O.O But that's another story! I'll share it here next time [when I will finally have my free time back again, after this sem ends!]
Back to JTA sem. I could still remember having a bet with my blockmate for whoever will breakdown first, loses. Haha. I personally pictured myself giving up on my requirements and just end up crying. But surprisingly, I haven't reached that level yet. Even during the Recruitment Week [which was my personal bet] when we would report to school 6am everyday (OMG that really was torture for me) and with all the piled-up quizzes and requirements which I temporarily neglected, I was still fine, I didn't breakdown. Good for me! :)
So here's a short list of what probably kept me sane these past few [hell yeah] months:
KOREAN STUFF. I know some people would roll their eyes at me, thinking that Korean stuff is crap, listening to songs and watching dramas in a language which you yourself don't understand. Yes but what can I do I don't mind listening to songs which I can only comprehend a very few words and definitely I don't mind watching Korean series -duh that's why there's such thing as subtitles! Watching series like these really keep you sane especially when serious school stuff are eating you up and taking most of your free time. Though I felt guilty watching these stuff knowing that there's so much to do and so little time, I feel happy squeezing these stuff in my free time and I still manage to do everything on my checklist. So for this JTA sem, I'm proud to finish THREE dramas! :D
Personal Preference
Another story with a gay theme haha
Full House
I love the Three Bears song! I shall learn it in Korean :D
My Girl
I think this is my favorite among the three :)
So if you wanna know more about Korean dramas, click here and for online series, MySoju and Dramafans are my bestfriends.
Also, Taeyang's smooth dance moves and sexy voice also did the trick and helped kept me sane -other way around? :). He's like Korea's Justin Timberlake, although he's short. Toinkz. And his performances tend to get a bit steamy to the level that one of his concerts was strictly off limits to minors :D
Here's the music video of one of his songs. And the dance version is really worth embedding here :))
--------------------------------------------
FOOD. I've been eating quite a lot so I won't be surprised if someone will say that I've gained weight. I can't spare an hour for jogging or any other exercise.Not to mention that I'm an emotional eater. TSK. So screw those test results that made me eat happy food which are basically Korean ice cream ,chocolates, bananaque, Hong Kong stir-fried noodles, Wicked Oreos, frozen yogurt, burger, seafood and etc. :)
FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I really think I'm screwing up my social life because of this semester and I'm pissed about it. I can't believe I'm postponing catching-up talks, hang-outs, whole day bonding 'till the 22nd! I'm such a bad friend and I really feel bad about it. Still, weekly dinners and lunchtimes with friends, texts from my dad and wake-up calls from my mom are also one of the things that kept me sane this semester. Yeah!
FACEBOOK. Of course.Seeing group photos where I'm tagged kind of comforts me from the screwing-up-my-social-life thing :D
MOVIES. I'm looking forward to so many movies that I really can't wait to say goodbye to this stressful sem!
SLEEP. Really I'm surprised that up to this time I'm still able to get enough sleep. I'm sure I'm not slacking off. Maybe sleepless nights was just an exaggeration? Or it could be overrated.. Or maybe I just couldn't hear my alarm no matter what. :))
KOREA. Though this may not be my first choice, yet I'm really excited to go abroad that we even already made a partial list of the things to do when we're there :D :D So please, South Korea, don't fail me. just make friends with the North and everything's good.
last but not the least ...
PAUL THE OCTOPUS. I keep seeing the word 'octopus' or 'pusit' in my FB news feed that I can't help but google what's the fuss all about. Oh, it's about a psychic octopus of the World Cup. Coincidence or not, funny how this Octopus managed to be 100% accurate in his world cup predictions. Some critics say he's just a lazy octopus going for the box nearest to him. Yet some even say that Paul, just like other sea creatures, is going for the box with the flag attached to it that has the brightest colors (red, yellow, shades of orange, etc). Still, Paul gets death/dinner threats. :))Whatever. His predictions are as accurate as J. K. Rowling's Professor Trelawney. Paul's the New Nostradamus, haha. In the finals, Paul predicted Spain, yes the one with the box nearest to him and the tank and the one with the most striking flag. And guess what, Spain won. And Spain's flag with Paul the King is a winner :)) Congratulations, Spaniards! and special mention to Andres Iniesta, the guy who kicked the ball towards Spain's victory :)
Paul, the Unofficial King of Spain
2 minutes 'till 3am and I still haven't started on my Final Philo paper which is due 3 days later. And I still haven't studied for my Orals too. And I still haven't touched my Finance book. Really, I should just click the 'Save Now' button and time to go back to reality. No use escaping from it, and I have to wake up 5 hours later for our mock presentation practice! For what it's worth, I think this year is gonna be a good one. *crossed fingers* I really can't wait to cross out all the days in my countdown till 22! So Ingrid, Basyah! Aja Aja! Korea here I come! :)
* photo credits to dramafans.org and koreandrama.org and Yahoo Sports
