First half of 2020

“What is the most useless material that was bought in 2019?

...

A 2020 Planner”

This... is partly true.

The ash fall from the eruption of Taal volcano at the first month of the year, shutdown establishments, highways and airports. Limiting most of our movements due to the air being unsafe.

We thought this was just a little bump at the start of the year. Everything seemed to have been back to normal after a few weeks - or so we thought.

Come March, everyone was forced to a lockdown/ community quarantine due to the pandemic. Half of the year has passed and some areas are still in community quarantine, though some business have been reopened, most areas still feel like ghost towns as there are only limited number of people allowed in establishments.

Wheeeeeww!!!! That was depressing.

To make things a little lighter, I would like to share what I am grateful for despite the first half of the year being unpleasant.

At the first two months of the year, my daughter was able to visit to at least one province from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Let me elaborate on that. We moved from Abra to Manila last October 2019. So our home base is now Manila.

So for the first day of January, my daughter and I were in the Province of Abra in Luzon.

A few weeks later, late January, we went to the Province of Zamboanga del Norte in Mindanao, with my husband who was on vacation. This is my husband’s province. We were there for about a week.

Mid- February, we went to the Province of Cebu in Visayas, to accompany my aunt who was visiting from Australia.

Despite the months after the being shitty, I look back and still feel grateful that my daughter and I were able to travel. Though, truthfully the only reason we were able to travel is because we had family matters to attend to.

What I am trying to say is, at least my daughter was able to see different places before she was home-locked due to the pandemic. 

It is within this first half of the year that I started to return to blogging and tried to revisit some of my forgotten hobbies. This is a work in progress.

That is all for now I guess.

I wonder what the other half of the year will be.

Till next time.

—- 

PS. There are other things that happened within the first half of the year, but these are family matter that I cannot share in my blog.

PSS. To those saying “ang yabang naman” or “check your privileges girl”...

I want to make it clear that the travel to different provinces were opportunities that I decided to take for my daughter to be able to see places. We don’t usually travel, it just happened that we had to go to these places and it happened that we had/ we were offered the resources for it.

I acknowledge the fact that we are one of the “lucky ones” who, despite the pandemic is still able to live comfortably. Though that does not mean that we don’t go out of our way to help in our small ways - we simply don’t post in public the kind of help we provide.

family trip

hello everyone! sorry i was not able to blog immediately about our trip. it took some time before i could upload all the photos and i have been quite busy... sleeping that is (^_~) since we arrived, except for today, i fixed the condo. (^_^) anyways, here are the details of our family trip. (^_^)

to naga and day 1
the adventure of this family trip started when we rode the bicol express train from manila to naga city, camarines sur. it was our first time to ride this specific train and it was our first time to ride in a sleepers coach. the travel time was approximately 12 hours, but supposed to be it was only for 10 hours. we didn't mind the long travel time because we were enjoying the experience of sleeping and eating in the train. (^_~) oh, i almost forgot, by chance, señor jaime fabregas was on the same coach with us, only on a different sleepers chair/bed. anyways, when we arrived at naga, we ate breakfast at jollibee. then we visited the san francisco church. after our church visit we rode a taxi to pasacao, camarines sur. there we stayed for a night. when we arrived at the resort, we got our room and immediately prepared for the agenda for that day. we rode a boat to an island and swam there. when you look at the pictures closely, the foot of the island is not a beach. it's actually black rocks immediately meeting the sea. i was really amazed! after about an hour of swimming we went back to the resort for our lunch, which was prepared with freshly caught seafood. delicious! we had about 15 minutes of rest then we headed to our next destination, the suminabang cave, via boat. we saw stalactite and stalagmite formations. after that we went to another part of an island and we had our second round of swimming. the sand at the second venue was yellowish and we saw these amazing colored stones. we were there for quite a time before we decided to call it a day and return to the resort. it was still a little early for dinner so we had snacks, bread and whatever leftovers we had during the train ride. i had a bottle of tanduay ice while my parents had beer. my brother still wanted to swim so i accompanied him at the beach which was just a few steps from our resort. come dinner time, we had this large shrimp. yes! a large shrimp! it was the best dinner that we had. and that was the end of day 1.

day 2
we had our simple breakfast, leftover from the train ride, and then we got a taxi back to naga city. on our way, we passed by an old church, the st. joseph the worker church. we said our prayers, looked around then we continued our travel. we attended mass at the naga cathedral. after the mass, we started looking around the church. after that we went to our hotel, golden leaf hotel. though my parents did not like the fact that we were on the fourth floor, they still liked the balcony. (^_~) special mention, the doves beside the balcony. anyways, we then walked around to find souvenirs. after that we had our lunch at the mall. again, the food was delicious! despite the commercial place, the food tasted quite authentic and fresh. after our meal, we went to the supermarket to buy some food to eat during our church visits that afternoon. we passed by the hotel to drop off some things then we rode the tricycle to the our lady of peñafrancia basilica. the church was huge and there were beautiful colored glass designs. we went behind the altar and wiped the statue of the our lady of peñafrancia, and prayed for a few minutes. after the basilica, we then went to the our lady of peñafrancia church, it was the original church of the our lady of peñafrancia. the church was smaller but still beautiful. after visiting the church, we visited the cemetery behind the old church. we took pictures of the designs of the tombstones. you rarely see these designs on the present tombstones. we finished early with our church visits so we decided to take a taxi to another church which was at the other town. we visited an old church, the bombon church and the leaning tower of bombon, the bell tower of the said church. it's not clear on the pictures but the tower was really leaning on it's side. you really have a feeling that it was about to fall. after we said our prayers, we looked around, then went back to the hotel. we rested for some time before we went out for dinner. the dinner was our father's birthday dinner so we ate at a japanese restaurant. oh, his birthday was the next day but we decided to have the birthday dinner that night because the next night, we would be traveling back to manila. anyways, for dinner, we had shabu-shabu and okonomiyaki. really delicious! it did not taste commercial like the japanese food here in manila. the japanese food really tasted authentic. it was such a great meal! after eating we headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready for our last day at naga city.

day 3 and departure from naga
for our last day, we only had one agenda, to visit the museo del seminario conciliar de nueva caceres. the museum is beside the cathedral. it featured memorabilia of prominent bishops from the town, ecclesiastical vessels and artifacts, paintings and archaeological finds like burial jars and chinese wares. after the tour, we had some rest at a small shop near the area. we then headed back to the hotel to eat lunch and to prepare out things for the trip back to manila. while we were fixing our things, we noticed that it was raining. we were really lucky to finish all our visits before it started to rain. (^_^) before we left, i took a last picture of the view from the balcony, the isarog mountain. (^_^) we did not go straight to the train station since it was still too early for our train, so we went to the mall to buy food for our trip and to each early dinner. after about two hours, we went to the train station. luckily we were able to get tickets for the sleepers bad/room. we once again took our own beds, ate some and slept the whole trip. we arrived at manila after 12 hours.

my family spent most of the day sleeping when we arrived. but for me, i had a different agenda.

please see next post. (^_^)V

oh! by the way, did you all notice that i was wearing dresses the while trip? (^_~)

update

minna!

how are you? (^_^)

i have been bust studying this week because we have 2 consecutive quizzes (today and tomorrow) and it will be our first long exam next week.

i just wanted to share this fan that my parents brought home from their trip to hong kong over the weekend. (^_^)

it was really large and it really looked like a nice display.

for some reason though,

other people in our house thinks it can be used in a daily basis.

i had to explain to them that the structure of the fan is very fragile and it would easily be destroyed if they would to use it everyday.

another thing i would like to share is my new sketch pad! (^_^)

i've been doing a lot of sketching lately so i thought it's about time i buy myself a sketch pad after 4-5 years. (~_~)

next entry will be on saturday.

till next time everyone (^_^)

booking

i was looking at the promo bookings of cebu pacific when i saw the promo for osaka.

i tried booking for the month of october.

here is the flight information.

unfortunately, i could not purchase the booking because i do not have a credit card and i have no permission from my parents.

looking at the dates.

no, it is not a coincidence that the flight is on the first week of october and near zukki's birthday. (~_^)

ja~

tadaima

minna~

i'm back from our vietnam-cambodia trip!

we arrived around 4:15am today.

the experience was just amazing!

so many things to say but i can't really tell all.

not because i'm keeping,

it's because there was just too much that happened and i was not really able to keep track of it. (>_<)

anyways, the pictures will be posted as soon as possible on my multiply account.

later minna-san.

(^_~)

vietnam-cambodia trip

about to leave. see you all after a week. ;)

shoes

this was my conversation with rei on twitter:

i could not find the other pair of my shoes which i will use for our trip tomorrow.

me: @deathangelrei please look for my shoes (T_T)

rei: @silverkrux I'm sorry to tell you but... your shoe has entered an alternate universe... it might never come back.

me: @deathangelrei (T_T) the shoooeeee~

rei: @silverkrux if you want gawa ka ng "Missing: shoe last scene: somewhere in the house" sign XD

me: @deathangelrei hahahaha

rei: @silverkrux pwede din RIP your shoe, this shoe served me well... (add drama saying how good the shoe was)

me: LMAO
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
starting this may 2011,

the links to my pictures will already be in twipple.

i will only use multiply for albums. (~_~)

busy

busy preparing for the vietnam-cambodia trip.

hope i don't forget anything.

(-_-) /tired

preparations

i spent some hours of the day preparing for tomorrow and for the Vietnam-Cambodia trip.

some preparations are done so i will be going to the next step. (~_~)

by the way,

today was the first day of the D-stage production,

Merchant of Venice.

(~_~)

i'm sure they all did their best.
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COUNTDOWN: 1 DAY!
TOMORROW IS THE DAY!

abra trip - holy week

minna~

finally! here is the entry about our one week stay at our province, Abra.

during our stay in the province,

we didn't go out of our house much.

the space in our garden and the treehouse was enough for us to keep ourselves entertained.

add to that, even though we have known and have been living in a gallery,

me and my siblings always saw something interesting in our house/gallery.

(~_~)

add to that,

the mango trees in the garden was bearing fruit,

so we literally got our own food from around us. (~_~)

we went our for a walk around the small town on our first day,

just so we can say hi to those we know.

i'm not bragging or anything,

but our family is very known in our province.

despite that,

we try to be discreet and that is why people are amazed when we introduce ourselves.

anyways, during our short walk,

rei and i visited our church and the Holy Ghost School.

the Holy Ghost School was the first of the Holy Spirit Schools here in the Philippines.

rei and i studied in one of the Holy Spirit Schools here in manila.

moving on...

the other reasons for us to go out of our house was for a procession or when we needed to buy something.

holy tuesday,

we joined the Stations of the Cross procession our plaza.

maundy thursday,

we were already preparing the Santo Inchero (the dead Jesus Christ) for the friday evening procession.

on the evening of thursday,

we also joined a procession.

during such processions,

there is this structure they call "abong-abong" which we pass through along the way.

this structure is made of bamboo and coconut leaves.

it is decorated with fruits, cloth, paintings or other materials.

inside it is a tableau depicting scenes from the gospels,

specifically scenes during the last supper until the death of Jesus.

good friday,

everyone was busy preparing the Santo Inchero.

preparing the food to be served for the musikeros,

for those who will prayed,

for those who helped pull the Santo Inchero

and for those who visited the Santo Inchero at our house.

this day was also the Kissing of the Feet of Jesus.

it is during this time that it is said that Jesus has died.

after the Kissing of the Feet was the evening procession with the Santo Inchero.

for the whole evening,

there were prayers until dawn of black saturday.

black saturday,

we visited the grave of my grandmother in Villa Padua.

Villa Padua is a family property in the mountains of Abra.

this villa is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.

during our visit,

we went up the Stairway to Heaven in our villa.

there is supposed to be 100 steps to the top of the mountain.

this was conceptualize by my grandfather.

later that afternoon,

we went to a different part of our province for a cool swim at a natural spring.

it was a really cooling way to beat the heat.

easter sunday,

rei and i woke up early to watch the "sabet",

it is a reenactment of the meeting between mother and son,

Mother Mary and her risen son Jesus Christ.

after that was the easter mass.

we rushed for breakfast because we were scheduled to leave for manila after the mass.

the trip was very warm and windy,

tiring and exhausting,

but that itself is part of the whole trip.

i am very thankful for the one week we had in Abra,

and for the safety of our trip to and fro Abra.

(~_~)

pictures:

abra trip

holy week
----------@----------
during my stay in the province,

there were times wherein i had an experience that i thought i should have their separate entry.

the over-all title for these four entries is

"agsao ti rabii" (the evening speaks)

• cold summer nights
• the help
• faith
• Georgina

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COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS!

delay in pictures and in entry

konbanwa minna-san~

i have been quite busy today even though we only arrived from the province less than 24 hours ago.

sorry i have not uploaded the pictures from our abra trip yet.

add to that, i have not posted an entry about the trip.

i will try to finish it all by tomorrow.
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COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS!

is back

minna~

i'm back from our trip to the province.

i have lots of pictures!

will update later.

(~_~)

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COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS!

rush post

i'm leaving for the province now.

see you after a week everyone. (~_~)
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COUNTDOWN: 13 DAYS!

packing up

i'm currently packing up for our holy week trip to our province, abra.

i hope i don't forget anything. (^_^)
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COUNTDOWN: 14 DAYS!

backpacking

i was searching for tips about backpacking.


i saw this,


"Assume that your backpack will be mistreated in ways you never thought possible!"


i know that this is true,


but there is something in the way it was presented that made me laugh.


(^_^)

travel will push through!

minna!

do you all remember the Vietnam-Cambodia trip i was planning that did not push through because of a problem in the flight?

well, now the trip will push through because i was able to find a flight! (~_~)

i have purchased the tickets and now,

papa, rei and i are discussing about the things to bring,

the dos and don'ts,

and where ryo and mama will be staying for a week while we are on the trip.

i'm very excited!

postponed

minna~

remember the trip to Vietnam - Cambodia i have been planning?

well, it was postponed for next year.

the first reason was because we were not able to book the flight we wanted to get.

we were late for only overnight. (TwT)

i was really sad about it because i was planning it all.

i was already 70-75% finished with the planning,

and then everything was cancelled.

i was "rampaging" internally and comically screaming externally.

i even felt tears but of course i had to wipe them off.

after almost half a day and a "re-encouragement/reinforcement" talk with my father,

i was able to move on.

i realized that now that it is postponed for another year,

we can plan it better and we can save more money for the trip.

add to that, because the trip was postponed,

we can concentrate more on other things.

one of these things is the preparation for the debut of rei which is on october.

other things are the summer plans and the "surgery" of my brother, ryo.

(~_~)

i feel better now.

minna, thank you for reading.

oyasumi.

snapped

i just snapped. (T_T)

kami-sama!

tasukete kudasai!

itinerary

for half a day i have been planning an itinerary for our Vietnam - Cambodia trip for may this year.

i'm feeling stressed about it as my father is pressuring me and all.

unfortunately, i'm cranky so i easily snap at his comments which i think are unnecessary.

add to that, this is my first time doing the flight scheduling,

searching and all this stuff for an out-of-the-country trip.

anyways, i hope i do a better tomorrow with the itinerary though.

coolest footbridge ever!

when i say coolest,

i was (1) referring to the great windy-ness when i passed by it yesterday

and (2) the fact that i found the placing of the footbrige amusing!

the footbridge is above the Magallanes Train Station.

the above mentioned train station is about four flours high (very high),

so imagine how high the footbridge is since it is above the train station!

it was very windy when i passed by it (strong winds that can make branches sway erratically).

here is a pic of the said footbridge above the train station.

really cool!

it actually reminded me of the "strong winds" background sound from the song Ikki Uchi (Shirota Yu as Tezuka and Kazuki Kato as Atobe) from the Imperial Match Winter version (Tenimyu).

weird?

but cool ne!

(~_~)