He wakes me up in the morning.

The hubby is abominably chirpy in the morning. He is a typical morning person who is even at the top of the morning–persons-spectrum. He loves making breakfasts and waking me up but since I’m nocturnal and stay up until the wee hours, I’m terrible in the mornings. That is the reason why I love sunrise more than sunsets…it is a scarce part of my day.

But today I woke up earlier, a very uncommon thing. We are at some remote hotel 2,500 feet above sea level. I went outside to our private balcony and savored the dewy morning I rarely see in the City. I loved the pinky swirls of the clouds, a signal of a new day. I watched them as it gets brighter while a thousand and one thoughts ran through my head.

7 years. Wow.

I practically grew up with him. We became a couple when I was 19…and I’ve known him since forever.

He remembers how I looked like when I was 3 with a top mass of curly hair. Beat that.

Sometimes it makes me wonder if we can run out of stories to tell.

Then I looked again outside, eager to wake him up and tell him about what I saw, what I thought about…What excites me for the coming months…

I guess I never really have to worry about running out of stories.

of bags and metaphors...

I bought an LV Vernis Reade PM in Pomme d’ Amour (which for me is the best shade for a Vernis, that and Amarante) months ago and I never got to use this bag…ever.

Sometimes, baghags buy bags only for the sheer pleasure of acquiring one, not unlike owning an art piece. I struggled choosing between Framboise (a lovely pink shade) and Pomme d’ Amour (the signature red) and figured red is classic and classy. Then I spent days after just looking at it from the box, touching the silky, glassy material, appreciating its rather simple glory and sighing.

I got more bags after the Vernis episode and thankfully, they are much bigger, more complex and sturdier than this piece. I am not racked with guilt using the other bags even if some are even pricier and considered by others as more valuable. I’m not scared using them to bits or scratching them…but the sighing is not there.

I know some people who are baghags as well but do not have this same quirk. It’s just a bag, for crying out loud. But the thing is love is love. In many shapes and forms and in this weary world sometimes we get happiness in every way we can as long as we’re not stepping on anyone’s toes nor forgetting about reality and responsibilities. Whatever floats your boat.

But sighing and loving from afar is not the way to live. I guess it’s an alludment to life and all our loves in it. To experience it is not from a box, basking on the safety that we’ll never get scratched, tired out… but missing out on the many opportunities that we can share ourselves to the world. More importantly, missing out on the experiences that would truly give value and meaning…scratch and all.

Tomorrow, I’m taking out my Vernis from the back of my closet.

I love this...

A necklace I made for one of my regulars, Ms. Lea. =)

A busy bee...

Sometimes, I get a bit annoyed with people who blog about how busy they are...and yet, I am one of those people. I guess, it gets the steam off a bit from the workload.

I've been running around in my sad, overworked fitflops and loose clothes, I swear when my friends see me these days, they wouldn't recognize me at all. When you are running errands back and forth and always stressing over and running after deadlines and demanding customers, wearing heels will be the last thing on your mind. Good thing the hubby takes me out to dinner and as much as I promise myself that I will exert a bit of effort in the evenings and try to wear something nice and put a little make-up, I am too beat up and tired to even try.

This weekend will be our 7th Anniversary of being together. That long,huh? I've always wanted to try this small theme hotel in Tagaytay since October the first time I read about it in Preview magazine. Pao booked the Presidential suite and I am excited to spend the whole weekend with my beau. I guess being such a busy bee has its perks...it makes you reward yourself more (paging Ate Honey).

my resolution for this week...

...I'm going to start reading again. First is this must-read book that I haven't read yet. I want to read the book before I see its movie adaptation.


When there are movie adaptations, I tend to read the book first or else I wouldn't enjoy the movie ever. It's a little quirk of mine. That's the reason why I didn't watch Lord of the Rings when the first movie came out. I had to read the whole four books (including The Hobbit) before I bought the DVDs to watch the whole thing. And even if the screen adaptations were good--I must say I enjoyed the books so much more. My fondest memories in my college dorm do not resemble much of the majority of the population's. I was a nerd curled up in my cozy nook reading books and writing.

Maybe that's why I don't care for the Twilight series---I never read the Twilight books.
I still need to see the movie, Lovely Bones if its as haunting and as sentimental as the book.

Good thing my sisters are also voracious readers since they send books from the States after they are done with them. I am not necessarily a picky reader. I love books from memoirs to trashy, flowery romance novels.
I'm excited! I have so many books to devour for the next weeks.

Another resolution for my 26th year: At least one book a week. =)

fam time

I spent my day yesterday with my D side of the family for a mini-celebration. It was a nice day. I don't know if other families do this but we spent the afternoon after our lunch hanging around but doing different things together: somebody was sleeping, another one was surfing the net, 2 or 3 were chatting and another was reading...but all in the same room. I'm glad I still I have my D side of the family here. Yesterday, I didn't feel so alone.

I missed that. I call that "monkey tribing" with my family. That's how we are in our family. We have our own rooms yet we like being together in just one room, doing different things...but just being together, all huddled up. =)
I love that.Someday, I want the same thing for my own family.

Two months, two months. Why is it when something's nearest to happen...that's when it feels so sloooooow to arrive??? I can't wait.

I had a very busy week.

April was slow for me.

...but May (my bday month), goodness this month is my all-time record high. I wasn't able to find time to log in and write my la-dee-dahs.

Just a few updates. We are finally flying home to my family in Illinois this July. It's the hubby's first time and I can't wait to show him around and basically stew in my former (and oh so missed) bumilicious days... I want to squeeze in all the work I can get in my remaining 2 months before our trip that's why I'm in my full-gear mode even if it means working all day.

I have these mini projects that have been keeping me up on my toes the past few days. But since they are still in the baby phase, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my mouth shut for the meantime.

***Btw, I got the sweetest message from a reader of this blog. Really, I honestly don't think I have regular readers, not even the hubby or the sisterettes.
I basically write because it makes me feel happy and it makes me even happier to know that I'm a nice part of someone else's day. ;) Thanks girly, I appreciate the note.

2-6....

I spent my birthday with the hubby at Makati Shangri-La just lounging, sleeping, eating and relaxing. We can't go out of town because of the elections and we basically didn't have a choice since there was liquor ban.

But it was a nice birthday for me. I prefer quiet lounges anyway over noisy bars, although I would have preferred it very much if I were with my sisters since my cousins rarely tag me along. OO, kayong lahat! hindi nyo ako sinasama!!! Hmpf. Pao is funny and all, but his eyes do glaze over too much talk about bags and "psyche analyses." I really miss a girls' night out. Wait for me, sisterettes. I'm coming home to my family soon!

Anyway...I was in a good mood the whole day yesterday, surprisingly. I have so many plans...somehow things are much clearer.

I have a feeling it'll be a good year for me. =D

What I want for my birthday...

...is a new bathroom.




And my dream bathroom...someday mi cheri, someday...

For me, the pinnacle of great living is a nice bathroom. I'm one of those who assess hotels not by their lobbies or the bed...but by the bathrooms.

I'm determined to remodel ours in P8 as well as my childhood bedroom. Sometimes I feel weird sleeping with my husband in my childhood room. I need to restructure the look but unlike hotel chic that I went for in our bedroom in the other house, I want something nostalgic, a bit shabby chic. I still want to retain the girlyness of my childhood room.
Two houses and so many projects, so many dreams. It always means double the cost for us...but double the happYness...=) Frugalista chic mode for the next months!

...Yay! to entering my late twenties and my official entry to domesticated diva-hood! =D

Baguio with the Yasons =)

WHY I'M ROOTING FOR NOYNOY...IN SPITE OF KRIS

I was politically apathetic, I must admit that with shame. I graduated from UP, a nesting place of activism and political stand, yet I only attended forums and rallies when required. Instead of will, spit and fire, I have with me my umbrella and fan in tow.

I guess a long barrage of disappointments and a sense of helplessness created for me a shell of indifference. I am actually annoyed with elections because aside from almost always coinciding with my birthday, I am perpetually bothered by unintelligent jingles. And the more stupid they sound, the worse LSS you get.

Then I married into a very politically-aware family.

I am forced albeit self-imposed to evaluate and be more aware. My late father-in-law was the Mayor for more than two decades in Roxas. He was in my opinion, a revolutionary leader, who improved the quality of life of non-voting indigineous Mangyans. Some people might say I am biased but the difference is, I have formulated that opinion long before Paolo and I got married. I am from the same place and I say with so much conviction that he was the most-loved Mayor of Roxas, Oriental Mindoro. I see how much that shaped my husband’s attitude regarding politics, governance and leaders.

I am slightly embarassed in family discussions regarding politics. My eyes glazed over on talks about presidentiables, and local showbiz. Two things I don’t really care about.
Then, this election. Why am I rooting for someone with relatively no experience?
First, let me ask you, What experience are you talking about?! In this corrupt government, the lesser experience you have, the more credible you are for me. I would rather start on a blank slate than with a candidate with a flowery resume filled up with “experience” serving from a corrupt institution.

What this country needs at this time is not a business or a technical leader. Maybe in ten years (dreaming?), we become like Malaysia that sprang its way up from a third-world to a developing country we’ll be needing a leader with a good sense of industrial expansion. But for a country that has more than half of its citizens below poverty line, a firm moral stand is much needed than a solid litany of experience. We are still reeling from the 9 years of nightmare we have been subjected to by an intelligent (with so much experience, mind you)...yet very cunning, little woman. What we need more than anything else is resuscitation, rehabilitation…healing. What we need is someone with a strong moral stand.

I am no political connoisseur. I was actually, as I pointed out, politically apathetic. But somehow Noynoy being a candidate stirred a basic patriotic instinct in me, a sense of idealism that I never really saw in recent years. For the last years, we always end up choosing between lesser evils. This time, I believe not just so much on the “Noynoy promise” alone but the great legacy of integrity. A promise is just that: a promise. But I would rather bank on a legacy of change and a new beginning than hold my breath to a Salesman’s talk.

I guess some people might be sick of the last months that we were subjected what others might call a thinly-veiled political schema of Remembering and Honoring the late Aquinos. But the worst that Noynoy can be called is a little unsure bird maybe lacking in fire perched in a great, established heritage. But really, is riding on your parents’ legacy as worse as an all-out in your face corruption or worse, an alliance with a nightmare administration?
I believe that a good leader should have a bit of reluctance with power. It is not a sign of weakness, but a way to audit and evaluate their capability. It is always said, when you think you have arrived, that’s the end of you.

We are voting not just for a person, but what that person represents, what they stand for and all the people behind them. Nine years of exploitation is more than enough.

I’m taking Kris this time, over Gloria. Thank you.

For now, I don't want to wait...

I don't want to struggle anymore for something that should naturally be yours. And I don't want S. and H. to be struggling as well someday. You must know by now, how I am. Maybe someday, when all involved are put in their proper places, you can come back to me and claim it as yours.

But for now, I don't want to wait.

You can't say I'm in charge when I don't even know what's going on and nobody's going to bother telling me what. I hate being the last to know in the going-ons of something that we're "suppousedly" in-charge of.
You can't be in charge when all you do is just "prettify."

*As long you are not stepping up to your natural position, nobody's going to give it to you. As a perfectionist and a go-getter, I get frustrated with dawdling and irresolute. But bear this in mind...I'll make sure S. and H. step up to that position you never really took the effort to take. You should know by now I'm very territorial. I choose my battles carefully because I don't like going down without a good fight.

For now, I'm going to where I really belong. Somewhere I don't have to struggle and always wonder where I stand...

And frankly, I can't stand pinoy shows. I don't really get the humor...