Ilocos Hangover

Am I the only one that finds photos like this beautiful? 

Nothing extraordinary, I know.

But, I can't explain what it is about it that lights my heart up and stuff.

Maybe, it's how blue the sky is.

Or how smooth and vast the ocean seems.

Maybe, it's the sand or the railing on the left.

Or that little patch of green that balances it all out.

OR

Perhaps it's how that entire scene looks in comparison to what surrounds us everyday.

In contrast our daily destinations, it's so beautiful and special.

So much that it hurts.

Well...

At least, it does when you remember that it had already passed and that you're back to the routine that is your life.

HAHAHA

Okay, this is too dramatic.

I'm exaggerating a bit.

Well, that was Ilocos for me, I guess.

A weekend of amazing architecture, awesome people, and just super good vibes.

From Friday night to Monday morning, we practically lived in our bus - where we all got more sleep than we did the entire week, which was pretty obvious in everyone's candid sleeping shots. Hahaha!

We visited a billion old churches over the duration of the trip and in every single one, I thanked God for orchestrating each and every step that led me there.

(I'm trying not to be cheesy right now...)

But, yeah. I was pretty happy.

Still am.

Taken by Giselle Sta Anna

Tourist shot at the Paoay Church

One of my favorite photos by the Ilocos Windmills

Pa-cool at Pagudpod

At our bus - home for the weekend, haha.

Just new friends and good vibes!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So much has been happening that I rarely find the time to blog but, this trip was worth blogging about, I guess. To be honest, I was actually quite surprised at how it turned out. As opposed to what I heard from upperclassmen, everyone behaved like sweet little angels on the last night, despite all the uhm.... water. Hahaha! Good friends, good conversations, good vibes. It couldn't have been better.

Now, that that's over... it's time for me to get my head out of the past and into the now!!

Because right now, I have to pack.

And prepare well for tomorrow's long awaited adventure. <3

Oh, life is good. :)

Because It's Been Too Long

Polaroids from this new life, haha!

Wow. I can't believe how long it's been since my last entry. More than a month! The reason being that I haven't had any time to write since I entered UP - where I am simultaneously suffering and having the time of life!

Too much has happened in the past month. Let me just speed through it all....

• I met so many new people whom I learned to love in such a short period of time!
• I attended several seminars - for one, we had to wear corporate attire, which was pretty cool.
• The number of members of our youth group nearly doubled!
• I'm a much better and a much more legit driver now!!
• I've subtly injected a few girly items into my wardrobe. HAHA And I wear girly tops without getting forced now. What a miracle!
• I now understand that there's a lot more to UP JMA that just the parties. I'm happy I decided to apply for it cause I've been meeting great people and learning so much.
• ASAPHIL - UP is another highlight. I'm loving their app process so far!

ASAPHIL - UP Apps Team Building

• Already, I had two weeks with just 2-3 hours of sleep each night. Legit. There were even one or two nights where I worked straight from the afternoon till school time the next day, with a couple of 15 minute naps every few hours. The work load is crazy!
• Consequently, I fell asleep in 3 parties..... because, you know, it's not really my thing? Sleeping, on the other hand, is.

At URBN :(
(At least my friends didn't leave me! HAHAHA)

• It dawned on me that my stress level is directly proportional to my weight loss. In the last four weeks, I lost weight, gained it back then, lost and gained again. It's scary. 
• Also, I lost count of how many times I've gone through the stress cycle wherein you have no idea how you're gonna pull something off at first and then you feel like you're on top of the world once you actually do.

Basically...... I love UP. Haha! Every week is so filled with ups and downs, moments of ultimate chill vibes and moments of over the top STRESS! Remind me never to pray for a challenge again because God totally answered my prayer this time. With every week, comes a new challenge. It's overwhelming and scary and tiring and horrible and... great.

#WhatIsWrongWithMe

Maybe, I missed this feeling? Maybe, I'm only so happy about everything because it's just the start? I'm a hundred percent sure I'm gonna be crying about all these challenges some time in the hopefully - not - so - near future. Just saying. Forgive my half asleep thoughts.

Anyway, I just want to share one of the lessons I learned from all this.

Things pass. That's the lesson. No matter how stressed you are RIGHT NOW, it's going to pass. Your horrible schedule will only last for one semester and so will the reign of your terror prof. Haha! The tension you feel over an exam will vanish after you've taken it and it will be replaced by the best calmness in the world - which will also vanish when the next challenge arrives.

In my case, I lost a lot of weight... freaked out about it.... and then, gained it all back. I worried so much about the first plate we had 1 week to work on... and now we're already doing our 3rd one. There are a lot of things on my mind now: things due this week, my Math 17 exam on Friday, all the tasks for the orgs I'm applying for, what I'm doing next weekend, what my game plan for our current Arch 21 plan is and basically, how I'll freakin survive this sem.... All that's going on in my head and I'm trying to remind myself that IT. WILL. PASS. And I'll pull through. :(

This is one of my favorite quotes and my forever - note to self:
It always seems impossible until it is done.

Here's to the challenging week ahead!

On Conquering Mt. Pulag

These are some of the photos taken by my brother
During one of those times we played the game:
Let's - Pretend - We're - Photographers & Models

. . . .

The photos above bear absolutely no relation to the text that follows. 

Heehee.

. . . . 

A month ago, I discovered how easy it is to book a vacation online. (Don't laugh at me, I'm not a tech girl.) I've always known that it was something people did all the time but, I've never gotten around to actually trying it out for myself until then. It's the type of thing that repels people by disguising itself as something difficult - and as Filipinos say it, masyadong matrabaho - but life recently taught me that you can make great things happen, if you're patient with the paperwork.

After a few texts, calls, e-mails, registration forms and bank deposits, our mini vacation was all set!

When: 05/17/13 - 9PM to 05/20/13 - 3AM

Where: Mt. Pulag National Park, Benguet

Why: Family Time/ Bucket List/ Why not?

Via ClubTravelNow

You should totally book with them!

Everyone's goal is to reach the top.

I vaguely remember what was running through my mind during the four hour hike. At one point, I was thinking about the people I wanted to climb my next mountain with... The weird - looking wild plants were also the subject of my thoughts for a while, as well as the logs on the ground that resembled octopus legs... Water, food, sleep, the sky, the cold, the heat, my cousins, Dora the Explorer... those things came across my mind too.

But 90% of the time, I just wanted to get to the top. IT WAS SO FREAKIN TIRING. There I was, somewhere along the trail, in between my two siblings who were way ahead of me and my parents who were far behind, wondering if we were anywhere near the summit and breathing in and out like it was my sole purpose in life to do so.

You sort of forget all the other things in life that stress you out because for the time being, the goal is to make it to the top.

And oh my gosh, words cannot express how great it felt to have been able to get there - in one piece and just in time for sunrise too!

I probably overuse the world beautiful - the same way I abuse the words love and hate and favorite... but, it's probably just my underdeveloped vocabulary because sometimes, I really struggle to find an alternative word to describe something that's so... beautiful!

BECAUSE IT WAS BEAUTIFUL UP THERE. I LOVED IT AND IT IS  NOW ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES IN LIFE.

. . . 

As I was taking everything in, I noticed that the mountains were as vast as the ones in New Zealand and that the air was as cold as the air in Japan. Distracted by those comparisons, I sort of had to remind myself that I was neither in New Zealand nor Japan.

I was here.

In the Philippines.

And that made me a really proud Filipino.

:)

Because our country is beautiful and I love it here!

If You Could Do Anything

(Taken from tumblr)

If you could do anything...

without having to think about what everyone else would say,

with no one else's expectations to consider but your own,

without having to face the wrath of society's judgement after,

(Or anyone else's wrath, for that matter)

If you could do anything...

without worrying about how much you'd have to save,
or how hard you'd have to work,
or how much you'd eventually have to pay...

If you could do absolutely anything,

what would you do?

Kanlungan: A 2013 Priority

Last Saturday, I finally attended the Kanlungan bible study. (This was my something new for Week # 8 of The Adventure Project!) It's just a simple Sunday School set up where we teach less fortunate kids songs, play games, share Bible stories and really just spend time with them. You know, make them happy and stuff.

Instantly, I knew that it was something I wanted to make time for and invest myself in. The kids were adorable – as they always are – which made it impossible for that visit to be the last. No way.

So many ideas entered my head while watching them: fundraisers, workshops, sports fests, talent fests… there are a billion and one ways to help them. When I think of the Sunshine Club and how successful my tita was at making a difference in their lives, my heart tightens with excitement because I know that it’s doable and the same can be done at Kanlungan.

It’s my dream to start something like that.

For my 19^th birthday, I’ll do it again for sure like last year but, I wish I didn't have to wait for every birthday to make an event like that for kids. With all that being said, naturally, the next step would be... to commit to this ministry.

And so, I shall!

My brother, Timo, playing with one of the kids.

Some college friends came along!

Hopefully, this year will be good for them. As childish as it may sound, I still wanna change the world. But hey, big things start small, right? Hopefully, I'll be able to make a difference - one Saturday at a time.