...

here's my itinerary for my flight back home. im departing at 7am and will get to manila the following day, at around 11pm. im excited to go home to see my family and friends especially since it's christmas, but also sad to leave this place and the many opportunities within grasp for travel, meeting people and experiencing new things.

ang bilis ng mga araw...i can't believe it's been two months already. corny but it's true that time passes by so quickly when you're having fun. i know i've had my moments of homesickness and more than once wished i were waking up to my own bed and having breakfast with my mom or watching dvds with my father... sobrang daming times that i wished i were back home...especially when walking to and from the office and my fingers are starting to feel like popsicles :p pero pasko e. christmas is a time to be with family and loved ones. di ba. if it weren't for christmas, i still would want to stay longer -- as if it were all up to me! mga one or two months more, hehe. i still have in mind some places na gusto ko ma-visit and things i wish i could do... nothing important really, pero it would've been nice if ever :)

i wish i'd get to return here in the US one day, whether on another work assignment or as a tourist. or green-card holder. naks. hopefully during summer or spring naman, so i wouldn't have to worry about getting colds and i can go around and take pictures without hand gloves...and i can wear pants without the oh-so-itchy leg warmers. i really wouldn't miss those. hehe.

anyway, to my friends in manila...see you soon. it's been a really good two months. i feel very blessed. thank you for the prayers and the well wishes.

to the friends i'm not seeing for a while, take good care of yourselves. we will still see each other one day, di ba. i know that for sure.

autograph ito

Favorites...
Favorite Color: lumot green, black and white (lately)
Favorite Food: breakfast meals, desserts, Pinoy dishes esp. sinigang
Favorite Band: eraserheads, jars of clay, true faith, hale
Favorite Movie: madami. i love watching movies. the hours, sense and sensibility, ever after, fellowship of the ring, two towers, great expectations. sobrang dami.
Favorite Sport: wala, pero I've played badminton and volleyball.
Favorite Season: Christmas season. Hehe.
Favorite Day Of the Week: Friday to Sunday.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: coffee tapos may nuts. chocolate tapos may nuts.
Favorite Time of Day: 11AM siguro, i feel most alert around this time. and whenever light is good sa labas, so i can take nice pictures.

9 Currents...
Current Mood: hungry and a bit anxious.
Current Taste: same taste i've had for a while now. i don't think i've changed much, really.
Current Clothes: leggings, jacket, socks, t-shirt.
Current Desktop Picture: default HP laptop wallpaper. corny no.
Current nail Color: no nail polish.
Current Time: 12:29 pm
Current Surroundings: blue couch, magulong living room, chicago apartment
Current Annoyance(s): couldn't bring my room temperature to a comfortable level. ang lamig tuloy.
Current Thought: what do i do next after brunch? kasya kaya lahat ng gamit sa mga luggages ko?

8 Firsts...
First Best Friend: mayee t. mora (back in grade 1). i wonder if she's in friendster.
First Kiss: 14 years ago.
First Screen Name: pong
First Pet: dog
First Piercing: ears (and the only)
First Crush: keno and gary v
First Music: i'm a little teapot short and stout...

7 Lasts.....
Last Drink: wala pa today, oh no! tap water, last night.
Last Car Ride: on my way to the la guardia airport
Last Kiss: hmmm. kahit siguro wag na natin sagutin.
Last Movie Seen: sa cinema, Harry Potter 4. sa TV, Santa Who?
Last Phone call: friend
Last CD Played: Gary V

6 Have You Evers....
Have You Ever Dated One Of Your Best Friends: yes
Have You Ever Broken the Law: always. jaywalking.
Have You Ever Been Arrested: hindi pa naman.
Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: hindi pa rin. ginawin ako e. hehe...
Have You Ever Been on TV: yes. sa lunch date when i was in grade school. we sang a christmas carol, i think.

5 Things....
Things You're Wearing: my clothes lang - socks, leggings, shirt, 2 jackets.
Things You Did Last Night? rode the train, bought jeans, ate chicken tenders, started packing, bummed around with my turtle
Things You Can Hear Right Now: just myself typing and the noise from the heater
Things You Can't Live Without: madami, pero i can live without cellphone pala. that's nice to know. lately, i can not live without a lip balm, jackets, hand gloves, body oil or lotion, leg warmers.
Things You Do When You're bored: friendster, take photos of my turtle or take videos, play around photoshop, wash my clothes (lately), blog, watch TV esp. when becker's on or the king of queens.

4 Countries You've Been To: Philippines, US, Colombia, and Japan (pero stop-over lang)

4 People You Can Tell Anything To... (without getting offended): Joy, Katrin, Sharon... madami, i have really good friends and don't easily get offended.

2 Choices...
1. Black or White: black
2. Hot or Cold: hot

1 Wish...
I'm home.

Pasko na Naman

Paskong pasko talaga ang feeling kapag malamig, may christmas tree, at may friends kang kasama. Ang saya, kuha ito sa lobby ng 180 North La Salle where I have been holding office for the past few weeks. We were on our way to another friend's suite to have our "Babalik ka rin sa Pilipinas" party.

Si Che 'yung kasama ko. Isa sa mga una kong naging kaibigan dito. Actually, sa Philippines pa lang, nakilala ko na sya. Sabay kaming nagpa-interview sa US Embassy at sabay rin halos dumating dito sa Chicago. Sabay bumili ng groceries at na-excite nang makuha ang aming SAP number. Sarap kasama 'yan at kalaro sa charades. Hehe.

Pasko na. Ang saya.

I heart NY

Folks, I have been to New York from last Friday until Tuesday and I compleeeetely loved it there! 'Di ko alam paano ko ikuwento sa inyo lahat. It's a really big city and i tried to do so many things in my short visit there. I honestly don't know where to start. Hehe. Sige, I guess I'll begin by posting some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Here they are:


Statue of Liberty


Times Square


Sunset in New Jersey


View of Manhattan from the Empire State Building


Drawings for loved ones who perished in the 9/11 tragedy.


At the Ground Zero

Ground Zero is that place where the two towers of the World Trade Center once stood. There's construction work going on there now and a subway station right next to it. Around the construction fence, you would see posters commemorating the 9/11 tragedy and pictures to remember heroes who selflessly helped in the rescue. The place is at the corner of a busy street, not one where you could be easily silent and solemn which is what i had thought it would be. It was a difficult place to visit, and I didn't want to take pictures so much because I thought it would be unethical to do so... I took lots of pictures anyway :(


At the Central Park, Manhattan


A pond in Central Park, Manhattan

Central Park is where Finn and Estella met and sort of kissed while drinking in a fountain years after being separated from each other in that movie, "Great Expectations". I loved that movie and just had to visit the park :)

--ooo--

I also went to other places like the Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral along 5th Avenue. Take a look at the album here to see photos from these places and other pictures from New York.

Grand Central is that train station where the animals in the "Madagascar" movie tried to go to in order to escape zoo life. It's really grand and it's central, like the zebra in the movie said :)

Rockefeller Center was featured in that "Home Alone" movie where Macaulay Culkin got lost in NY. It's the one where there's a big Christmas tree right in front of a tall building.

5th Avenue is that place where a lot of people go to and shop. It's probably the equivalent of Magnificent Mile here in downtown Chicago. The NBA store and the Trump Tower can be found there.

--ooo--

Feel na feel ko talaga 'tong NY. Ayoko pang umalis because the city is so interesting and the people so diverse. You won't feel like a fish out of water because everyone seems to be from somewhere else anyway. It's truly a global city.

Kahit 2AM na, marami pa ring pwedeng gawin especially around Times Square and 5th Avenue because the shops are usually open 24 hours or until late at night! Sarap mamasyal. Sarap kumain especially in Chinatown. Sarap mag-shop dahil mas mura duon compared to Chicago. You can buy shirts for $2.50 and art works for $5. This is really cheap because in Chicago, the cheapest shirts would cost around 9$. And you hardly find art works or anything sold in the streets. Akalain mo, madaming bangketa sa New York!

It's such a big city and there are so many sights to see and things to do. I really didn't want to go home yet... grabe, I heart NY.

--ooo--

Salamat to my friend Mac who took care of everything for me. Sobra, thanks Mac! Sana makabawi rin ako when you go home to Manila. Ikaw naman ilibre ko! Thanks, again!

ligo kami. sarap.

new routine

i have a new routine and i quite like it :) everyday starting this week until my last day here in chicago, i have decided to go out on the streets during lunch break and take photos of people and places here at the downtown. i'll pick one photo per day and share that with you all. here's one i took yesterday. it was taken along north michigan avenue on my way to the millenium park. even dogs have to "bundle up" somehow to keep themselves warm :)

p.s. it's not an easy routine to make because it's usually -13C to -15C outside even during daytime. pero i really enjoy taking photos that's why i do it. usually, pumapasok ako sa mga shops or buildings para lang magpainit. then lalabas uli. then pasok na naman sa susunod. hehe :)

A Different Mona Lisa

Botero's Mona Lisa

I came across this painting while visiting a good friend in Bogota. My friend was the one who first became fascinated with the artist's unique style upon seeing a painting from the Lonely Planet. We were lucky enough to come across a museum exhibiting the artist's most famous and beloved works while on a journey through Bogota's La Candelaria district. It was the Botero Museum. Entrance was free and taking photos were allowed. Aliw.

As you can observe from the painting above, Fernando Botero's subjects were painted or sculpted out of the normal proportion. The people or animals in his paintings or sculptures would be fat, bloated, inflated but beautiful, nonetheless. I really can't explain his work that well, so i had to search for websites that can say more than i can. Here's the best description i can find about Botero's art:

His work is characterized by inflated, rounded forms, painted with smooth, almost invisible brushstrokes, puffing up to an exaggerated size human figures, natural features, and objects of all kinds, celebrating the life within them while mocking their role in the world. Click here to read more.

I definitely agree with what the above statement says about the subjects celebrating life within them. You feel this in the colors of the paintings and the fluidity of the strokes or the form, if it were a sculpture. You would also see this in the faces of the people in the painting or their occupation -- they are either dancing, playing musical instruments, bathing, or sitting in a party, or under a tree as a family. You would get the idea that the people in the paintings actually live and not just exist.

Anyway, I hope you can look at his other works when you can. To me, Botero doesn't only paint a subject or a theme but he creates an entirely different world for everyone to experience and see. A wonderful world at that. His art tells me to embrace myself as I currently am, with all my shortcomings or bulges in all the wrong places. Actually, not just embrace but celebrate!

Footprints in the Snow

It was my first time today to walk on snow this thick. The snow was about half an inch to one inch thick maybe, although its most likely thicker during the night when it was really snowing. its definitely thicker in other places not readily accessible to passers by.

I didn't have an idea how it would be like to walk on snow...and I probably can not describe it close enough either. The snow we're having would be similar to finely crushed halo-halo ice but it is many times lighter when you weigh it yet many times colder when you touch it. Your skin will feel like burning just seconds after releasing a snowball from your hand. I can't describe talaga how walking in it would feel like... I guess it would be like walking on pure white sand along the wet portion of the shoreline but it's more pleasant because the sand doesn't stick and get heavy on your shoe. It just melts away :)

The footprints above were, from left, that of Arnold's, mine, and Ann's. These were made along North La Salle on our way to their apartment so we can give ourselves a break from the cold and allow our blood to thaw. We came out today to attend a church service and go window shopping. We didn't get anything except cold hands, face and feet. Plus lots of pictures of the snow, of course -- like the one below :)



Snowfall would be much, much thicker come January. I wouldn't be able to see that na kasi I'd be back in Manila by then. So, probably no snowmans for me while I'm here. Hehe.

my adobo

luto ko yan, its adobong baboy and im proud to say na masarap yan :)
not american adobo, nor pinoy adobo. just my adobo.

i don't cook back home (except pritong tokwa or corned beef) pero dito sa chicago, i love to cook :) well, i have to cook, dahil otherwise i would be spending too much on food that i don't superbly enjoy.

the food that you can buy in fast food places here usually cost $5 to 6$ -- that would either be a large bowl of spaghetti w/ drinks, a large slice of pizza w/ drinks, or a combo meal from mcdonald's, a chinese place or a new orleans kitchen. these would be pretty okay, but you really can't eat them everyday, twice or thrice a day. at some point, you would really start craving for home-cooked meals. i know i did after only being here for a couple of days.

that's when i decided i have to cook :)

here are the ingredients to my adobo. nothing different nor special, hehe, but i want to share it just the same. you have sugar, pepper, garlic and onions (not shown in photo), soy sauce and vinegar. i put a little bit of oil lang panggisa. kulang lang ng laurel leaves which is difficult to find from where i am. pero that's it. i marinated the pork beforehand, so its more malasa.



maybe i can cook my adobo for you one day? malay natin :)

i love this (particular) game

i can't believe i haven't told you yet. i watched the nba last november 12. not on ESPN, but live here in Chicago at the United Center :)

the game i saw was the one against utah jazz -- sabi nila, it was kirk hinrich's game daw kasi he reaaally played so well in that game. i couldn't agree more, because after the game ay nagka-crush ako kay kirk. hehehe. so eventually, the chicago bulls won, 101 to 98, AND because of that, may libreng bigmac ang mga tao :) there's this mcdo coupon kasi that each spectator receives at the entrance gate. and the coupon says we would each get a bigmac, if the chicago bulls won and scored 100 points! o di ba, ayos :)

i didn't plan on going that day but my friends here had an extra ticket and offered me to take it. i couldn't say no, kasi they all seemed excited and told me that i have to at least see one NBA game while im here. kaya, although im not really a basketball enthusiast, sumama na rin ako. it was a good decision. i had so much fun --- the video, which you can watch by clicking on the picture above, should give proof of this :)

You can see other videos I took by clicking here.
Watch from a small window for better resolution and make sure you have Quicktime. Oki?

we got the cheapest seats, pero it cost me almost 50$, at utang pa yun, hehe. but...really, it was worth it. look at the videos and witness the energy and excitement everywhere. basta, if ever you're here in the US, anywhere here... make sure you watch a game, whether it's football or baseball. it's truly exhilirating :)

Enjoy!

Wish Ko Lang

December na :) Ang dami kong wishes for the coming year, not so much for Christmas dahil I think I have everything I need naman materially. Eto ang ilan sa aking mga munting wishes:

1. Sana matuto na ako ng seryosong photography gamit ang 35mm SLR camera na nabili ko from my kuya ng hulugan :) Hindi ko na mahintay na matuto. Sobra.
   


2. I also want to take swimming lessons para naman sa summer e, makalangoy with style and gusto. Kahit hindi masyado sexy sa swimsuit. Di ba. Para naman hindi na lang puro tampisaw on the shore with kids. Pwede na mag-snorkel sa malalim :)
   


3. Eto pa. Gusto ko rin matuto ng Spanish. Matagal ko na gusto matuto ng third language pero ngayon ko lang napag-desisyunan na Spanish ang aaralin ko. Meron na rin akong mga ilang words and phrases na alam. Tulad ng, "harry potter y caliz de fuego" na ang ibig sabihin ay "harry potter and the goblet of fire" at ng "salsa de tomate" which means, "ketchup" :)
   


4. Ano pa ba. Ahh. Gusto kong makarating sa Bohol, Banawe at sa Singapore. Preferrably kapag na-fulfill ko na ang items #1 and #2 above. Hehe. Kahit dalawa lang sa tatlong ito ang mapuntahan ko e happy na ako. Or sige, kahit Singapore lang.
   


5. I also want to learn how to play the guitar. Kahit 2 songs lang or 3. I have a few songs in mind that I'd like to learn. I'll choose depending on which is the easiest to learn. Hehe.
   

I think meron pa. Pero these are the priorities. Ang tagal ko na sila gusto gawain pero I have been putting them off...I don't know why. Maybe just too lazy or hindi nam-motivate kasi walang kasama...Alam mo yun. Or maybe just too lazy :(

-ooo-

I have other wishes for the coming year and things I'm praying for. Not just for myself but also for my friends, family, church... Ganon naman talaga ako every year. Daming hopes and wishes. Important yan for me...to hope and to dream, despite the disappointments and the struggles in the past. Pero, important rin to realize that we don't always get everything we want no matter how hard we work on it or no matter how faithfully we pray for it. Ganon talaga. We can not always get what we want in this life, but we can be assured that God never stops caring for us and knows what's best for us :) We may not know the reasons why we weren't given something we have been praying for but it's really like that. We just have to trust in His infinite wisdom and unfailing love :)

-ooo-

Ay teka...may naisip na pala akong wish for Christmas. Perfume. 'Yung Ladies' Perfume ng Puma or 'yung Incanto ng Salvatore Ferragamo. Hehe. Natuklasan ko lang 'yung perfume ng Puma kanina sa Walgreens while buying groceries. Ang bango nya :) Paging, friends? :) Kung walang mag-regalo nito, okay lang din dahil may Rustan's GC rin naman from the company worth 2500 pesos ata. I think enough na yun.

Ayan, excited na ako :)