the northern exposure (ilocos trip in a nutshell)

3-6 May 2008. Project: Northern Exposure (Ilocos Trip with Penguins and Imong)

one word: EXTRAORDINARY!!!

here are the reasons why:

1. The Company. i.e. penguins and imong. it was an almost spur-of-the-moment trip. we were supposed to embark on the journey around mid-May. unfortunately, yenertz, the pride of pacita, will invade iloilo to chase her med dreams on the 10th, so we had to move the whole trip before she flies down south.

2. The Planning Stage. sabi nga nila: "ang sakit sa ulo!" apparently, setting the date is not enough. there's the itinerary, the places to go, hotel accomodations, modes of transportation, and most of all, the BUDGET. whew. yen and i were talking non-stop two days before the trip (thanks to the wonders of chat and sms) to "polish" the details and to persuade a beautiful creature (itago na lang natin sya sa pangalang imong) to cooperate with us on the transportation concerns. hassle ka imong! hassle! bwahaha!

3. The Departure. finally, we were able to convince imong that we WILL NOT wait for him to get back to manila from vizcaya. it's his choice to travel FROM vizcaya to manila then from manila to vigan. kumusta naman un?! good thing he agreed that the penguins will leave manila earlier while he travels back from vizcaya. whew!

4. The Arrival. viva vigan! we left manila around 7pm, saturday and we smelled the vigan air around 3am, the next day. we toured vigan for a whole day (sunday) - one of the most hectic tours i've had in my entire life! we had to tour a LOT of places and we had very limited time. it was a blur... going from one place to another, taking pictures along the way (doing it the penguin way - you'll see why once all the pictures are posted), smoking our lungs out during breaks, chugging down gallons of water/coke (it was freakin' hot!), pigging out on local food and having a BLAST the whole time. whew! we heart vigan! hehehe.

5. The Roadtrip to Pagudpud. the second part of the northern exposure trip. after much planning and discussions on how to get there, we finally got ourselves a van-for-rent and off we went to pagudpud, with a stop-over at paoay church near laoag. after a couple of photo ops (from cape bojeador lighthouse, bangui windmills and blue lagoon), we said hello to the boracay of the north. =) ahh the beach. so blue. so perfect. it took our breaths away.

6. In A Nutshell: the whole trip was a blast. we had so much fun. lots of laughs. lots of unforgettable bloopers (i.e. yen's lost slipper, nesta's injury when she bumped into the bus, digicam moments of lost tripod parts, zoomed in settings and accidental video mode while taking pictures, imong's ilocano prowess and batfei's english translation of bus love songs and a whole lot more). we had no sense of time while we were there. it felt like the world stopped for a while - we were constantly asking ourselves what day is it, what time is it.. it felt surreal. sigh. funny stories, we have a LOT. we've been there for 3 days and it felt like we've been there for a long time.. =)

here's one of my happy thoughts in pagudpud:

we've just arrived at the hotel, and the penguins were smoking at the veranda (except nesta) when we saw two girls walking towards the hotel, clad in their swimwear. nesta, being the "nanay" that she is, told the rest of the penguins (with all the seriousness she can muster): "mas magaganda tayo sa kanila, wag kayong mag-alala mga anak.."

hehehe. we heart pagudpud. =)

(note: full albums to be posted soon)

*blop* *blop*

my little furball

his name is yuki. a maltese terrier.
i was never really a dog lover. i dunno what drove me to adopt him. oh well, here he is.. a breathing stuffed toy. i so love him! really!

i'd love to post all his pics, but they're already on my multiply account. hehehe.
just want to post it here for those people who are not in my multiply contacts, but are curious to see yuki anyway. this post is for you. you know who you are.

^^*
JT

no smoking for a week challenge

i hate being dared. most of the time, i give in. well, that really depends on the dare and the amount of humiliation i will inflict on myself. but most of the time, just for the heck of it, i give in.

i don't dare myself. maybe because i know myself. well enough to know that a) i would most probably give in. no matter what it is. and b) being the kupal that i am, i will probably think of the craziest dare.

last weekend, i decided to dare myself.

no smoking for a whole week. sunday to sunday. not a single stick. not even a puff.

so what drove me into this IMPOSSIBLE and INSANE task? nothing really. hahaha. i guess i'm proving something here. whatever it is. haha. seriously, i just want to see if i can do it. i told myself i can always reach for a cig anytime. i told myself that i can always call the dare off. so i thought, there's no harm in trying.

as of today, it's been 3 days, 12 hours and 10 minutes since my last cigarette. i won't say i don't miss it. i do. i miss it so bad i even dream about it. but this is a dare i won't give up on. this is a battle i have to win. sugod!!! hahaha.

you may be wondering why i'm doing this. i'm not telling. =)

make a wild guess.

*puff*

ode to alcohol

a few years ago, my typical thursday night consists of chugging down booze @ ic's bar, smoking tons of cancer sticks, dancing the night away as the spirit of alcohol gets the best of me, meeting a lot of people - deserving or otherwise, partying 'til dawn and practically crawling back to the apartment in a blur of drunkenness.

gawd, i miss those nights. i can't remember the last time i had a night like the ones i used to have. drattt!! i can't even the last time i got drunk. sometimes i crave that feeling, y'know, just being drunk, laughing my heart out, talking in that "tone" they all claim is a sure-fire sign that my blood's already alcohol-based, smashing something [depends on my mood actually], or just enjoying and hating at the same time the feeling that your world is spinning round and round. shit!! i'm officially alcohol-deprived.

sure, i do drink a beer or two occasionally [actually, i had some with imong last night @ metrowalk], but it's just not the same. sometimes i feel like i'm taking in alcohol just because. i think it's being unfair. for me. and for the beer. hahaha! i should give justice to good ol' SML, the trusty whappaaak strong ice and the ever kick-ass red horse! tut. tut. i just feel like i'm not enjoying it the way i used to. sheesh. i'm getting old.

i just don't want to end up like those yuppies who drink beer just because they're in a place where everybody does. i don't want to end up like those beer-drinking wannabes who suck so much in their stint you'd want to throw up at them even if you're sober. i don't want to end up missing what it really tastes like. or what it really makes me feel like. or what it really reminds me of. or whatever.

i'm not making sense. bear with me. it's called alcohol-deprivation.

bed time

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best days

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au revoir

Someone asked me if I still love him. I just smiled and said:

"I used to believe that you can't unlove a person, but when all is said and done, it all boils down to what I've learned. I've learned a lot from him, and for that alone, I love him. I may not love him the way I used to, and maybe I'll never love the same way again.. but in the big scheme of things, I have to face the fact that he already belongs to my past, and that's where he deserves to be. I'll take the lessons with me, and maybe, someday, someone will come along to make everything right again.. and for good.."