Short and Sweet :)

At this point in life, I just feel happy and blessed to be gaining friends as I grow older each day. :)

Last Friday, I spent an entire sleepless day with zipmates and capoeristas for a shoot on a beach. We all came home physically tired but I could truly say that I'd go through that all over again because I gained new friends from that experience. There were other zipping enthusiasts whose simplicity and candidness made me appreciate the diversity that zipping brings. To spread the love means spreading it to everyone who wants to try or learn. And I'd like to be able to do that. Personally, zipping has opened so many doors for me and if others want to learn, then I'll try to teach. :)

I had a wonderful and beautiful weekend with different sets of friends. Last Saturday, Franco and I attended a graduation party where I saw my high school friends and also my college blockmates who have graduated from Med School. Wow! And then we also attended Regie's birthday celebration with kids last Sunday :) We taught some of them to zip and they were really excited! Aferwhich, I went to my high school friend's bridal shower. I still remember the parties we had back in HS. Our bride-to-be used to be with her first bf then. Now, she's finally getting married to the man of her dreams. :) It was one of the craziest, funnest, and yet wholesome bridal showers I've attended. Oh and I've attended lots already since I think some of my friends are really a few years older... :)

I just wanted to share this. Short and sweet. I'm just happy remembering the weekend. :)




with Dr. Coco :)


with my high school friends :)


with my college blockmates :)


Regie's early Birthday Party in CHILD Haus


Italian themed bridal shower... pizza, pasta, gelato, and beautiful ladies ;)


Oooh Coco!


Taboo War Game!!!


JP and Kate :)

Turning Silver

I like it when people ask me how old I am. Or how young. Whichever way they ask that question, I get to tell them my age.

Some of my zipping friends asked me that question yesterday. I said "I'm 24 today. On Sunday, I'll be 25." And an entire conversation of what they were doing when they were 25 began. I like hanging out with people older than me. They have so much to say about their own takes on life.

There was a time when friends who were 3-4 years older than me would say, "Oh, you're still young. You're so young. Explore life." Those words stopped when I was around 24. I don't get to hear much of those advices anymore but I think it's not because I'm not so young anymore but because I've been exploring life more than ever and they don't have to remind me to do so. ;)

That's it for now. I hope everyone is having a fun-filled April :)

Hmm, I can feel the good vibes coming with a glistening silver.

Bohol, Philippines

At first, I was thinking of writing facts that I learned from my trip to Bohol. But then at the last minute, I decided to write the way I usually do. I just want to enjoy the flow of my thoughts and share with you why I find this trip special.

It doesn't need a large group of people to make things fun. The word FUN itself is made up of only three letters. You just have to make the right combination. I took care of the initial planning and scouting for accommodations. Sassy took care of the final accommodations and our music. Ling took care of printing the itinerary days before the trip and thinking about our food. And we all went there as first-timers who just enjoyed chilling and making the most out of the trip. If I were to be letter "U", then Ling and Sassy would be my "F" and "N", respectively.






I enjoyed Bohol's simplicity. Seeing the famous Chocolate Hills while standing on top of another "chocolate hill" is equally amazing for me as the car ride to that area. Because there wasn't any traffic, the hour and a half spent in the car was purely for fresh air enjoyment. We pulled down our windows and just allowed the wind to travel with us.





We also learned a bit of history. We went to the blood compact site between Sikatuna and Legazpi. We walked through the halls of Baclayon Church, which was made out of corals and egg whites. This is considered the second oldest Church in the Philippines and could have been the first church if only the San Agustin Church in Intramuros did not overtake Baclayon's construction speed. The colorful reflections on the church floor struck us which were created by the sun's rays passing through the stained glass windows.






We slept early at night to wake up early in the morning. Our boat was ready at 6 am because we had to make sure the dolphins would still be visible. We did catch glimpses of the beautiful dolphins. The adult dolphins' grace and synchronized movement captivated us. The baby dolphins' sudden full body jumps were equally captivating as they were amusing.





After snorkeling and island hopping, we found an isolated place called Virgin Island. It had such a long sandbar and if only we weren't there at 1:30pm, we could have stayed for hours and hours just chilling in the middle of the sea.




I still have so many unwritten thoughts about Bohol but I choose to keep some of them to myself for now. Let me share with you this last photo though... It may look slightly familiar.

Whenever I feel like doing so, I spread my arms like the one below and just be for that moment. I enjoy doing this, not caring about what onlookers think.





This is my attempt to be one with nature. I open my arms as wide as I can and take everything in as I send all of me out to the sky. :)

Summer Plans

Sometimes I wonder what kind of post I'd end up writing. I start with a line and it just leads me somewhere. I don't usually plan when I write in my blog but maybe I should start doing so. Come to think of it, I actually have some major points in my head and I just type away until I drive to those points. When blogging, I'm guided by keypoints rather than a fixed outline.

I remember one of my college friends who's now in med school. During our undergraduate years, she would have everything neatly done. Everything is planned, outlined, and finished on the dot. She has the plans and outlines in her head if not written on paper. And that simply amazes me. I think it's part of her nature as a person. As for me, that's not my natural behavior so I have to put extra effort in planning.

Organizing is something I have to spend time on. I write schedules and actually feel that when I write them down, I am putting finality to them. It doesn't work all the time though. Sometimes I stick to those schedules but on other times, I find myself adjusting again and again and again. I fill my schedule with things that are remotely related. I should be wary of spreading myself too thin though. I once took a personality values test and found that my highest score was in "Variety". I couldn't agree more.

The more things I try to do, the more I have to plan. Right now, I use this 2008 planner from Home of Poi which Ramir gave during Christmas. (I must say it was one of the most useful gifts I've received.)

Now that most of my time is in my hands, I have to work extra hard in following my own schedule and be organized. It's harder than I thought. Without the concepts of time-in and overtime, I have to be stricter with myself. And oh my, I wish I could be scared of myself sometimes so I'd work doubly hard. What I did notice with myself however is that when I have travel plans, I work ten times as hard as I usually do. I try to finish things before leaving and it makes me a more responsible person.

As I keep on saying, I must devote most of my time to my thesis. Right after this post, I'll be transcribing some pre-interviews I did. I think I found my personal technique: injecting travels every now and then to push me harder.

Ahhh, work?! No problemo. Bring them on. I have my secret weapon with me. The heat keeps on reminding us it's already April. :)


Hot. Summer. Hot. Fire. Shoot for ABSCBNs summer station ID.
PlanetZips representatives (L-R): Ramir Recinto, Des Uy, Lala Jara, Jamie Jarabejo, Reg Tongol

PS: Bohol photos/update coming soon :)