I can’t be losing sleep
Over this, no I can’t
And now I cannot stop pacing
Give me a few hours
I’ll have this all sorted out
If my mind would just stop racing

‘Cause I cannot stand still
I can’t be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening

This is over my head
But underneath my feet
‘Cause by tomorrow morning I’ll have this thing beat
And everything will be back to the way that it was
I wish that it was just that easy

‘Cause I’m waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow
I’m somewhere in between
What is real and just a dream

Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in
Don’t be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again
I don’t want to run away from this
I know that I just don’t need this

‘Cause I cannot stand still
I can’t be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening

‘Cause I’m waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow
And I’m somewhere in between
What is real and just a dream

Definitely their concert’s pushing through on July 26 at the Araneta Coliseum. Below is the ticket pricelist I got from TicketNet.

Ok na ako sa Upper box A or B, basta mapanood ko lang sila. Hay!

TicketNet is now accepting ticket reservations.

When I was in school, we always sang Lupang Hinirang during flag raising ceremonies. Singing the song then was automatic.

Then I went to college. There were no more flag ceremonies, so I seldom heard or sang the national anthem anymore.

After graduating, I went back to school to work. It was a normal morning tune played every morning, until the day I listened to myself sing its lyrics, and realize the great love song that it was.

It hurts to know that there are Filipinos who forgot about the beautiful country we’re living in. They have lost hope in their countrymen and the Philippines. No more passion for a country who once struggled and fought for freedom. Now, the freedom that is ours is slowly drying in our own hands.

This is a post-Independence Day tribute to a country in hardship, a country nearly divided, the country that I love. A country I will continue to hope for, to fight for, and maybe even, as the song says, die for.

Lifehouse in Araneta! Woohoo!

I love Lifehouse, so I’m definitely saving up for that concert on July 26. One problem though, it’s Markku’s mom’s birthday on the same day. Now, I don’t know what kind of gameplan we’re supposed to do on that day so we could be with his family to celebrate his mom’s birthday, and be able to watch the concert too. Maybe we can use teleportation?…hehehe

I asked that we go back. I know that there was no other place I could’ve left my phone but in the stall we stopped by. I was desperately hoping that no one else pulled over to buy…as that could mean some stranger finding my phone and deciding to keep it; or my phone on the ground being ran over by a parking car.

But careless as I may be to leave my phone behind, it was still my lucky day.

This was the lady who gave me back my mobile phone. The same woman who sold us mangoes (and gave us free ones to taste ).

She beamed the moment saw our vehicle, and was waving frantically as we took a U-turn. I quickly went down and approached her. She was excitedly telling me about how she heard a noise and found my phone on the ground. We were calling my phone, and the ringing got her attention. She tried to call me back, but my phone battery died. She was hoping we’d come back, and was so happy that we did.

I was happy too! I kept thanking her over and over for keeping my phone (and returning it to me). I actually regret now that I didn’t get to hug her, cause I wanted to hug her so much! I even forgot to ask her name. Luckily, KC took a picture of her. So to show my appreciation, no matter how late, I’m posting a picture of her and telling everyone how kind she is.

I’m glad that good people still exist, because they just have to! All’s well that ends well, just ask Bong.

…and put a small note on it.

To surprise her, I left it on her dresser while she was sleeping.

The next morning, she woke me up with a thank you kiss.

Later that day, I was in Trinoma to meet up with my Trina, Chooch and Melo. I know how crowded a mall could be on weekends, especially on Sundays, but the mall was super jampacked with people because of the occasion.

All the restos were full, but we had no choice but to patiently wait for a table at Recipes, even though we were 9th on their list. We waited so long that Trina and I were able to window shop a little, buy her slippers, and take a long, long walk around the mall. We went back just in time as we were next to be seated. By then, we were able to watch and hear some other customers complain about the long wait. One mom even almost bitch-slapped the staff (as I think Kris would put it ) when she apparently saw a group seat themselves on an empty table, even if they were not in the list waiting to be seated.

Talk about a ruined mothers’ day.

So here’s a tip, don’t take your mom, your wife, your lola (most especially), or any mom relative to the mall on mothers’ day. Maybe you can just prepare a special family lunch or dinner and eat at home. That’s less hassle and more bonding for you and your family. But if you would insist, make sure you have made reservations, or at least arrive early so that the restos are not that full yet.

In closing, here are the flowers I gave my mom, placed on a makeshift vase made from a C2 bottle, with her bundles of joy in the background.

Happy Mothers’ Day to all moms! (kahit belated na )

…I just knew that nothing will take away the silly smile on my face the whole night

Thank you pangga!

It was the wedding of two of my former officemates, Mervin and Bebbet. Markku promised to shoot their wedding back when they were still working together, and when both Mervin and Bebbet didn’t know that in a few years time they’d eventually be tying the knot.

So, I was Markku’s assistant photographer yesterday.

I was a nervous wreck before the wedding. To make things worse, I was also cramming for a church activity I was supposed to facilitate on that same day.

It was a bit overwhelmed during the actual shoot. The fact that it’s my first time and I’m still not technically adept when it comes to using a DSLR made me feel like jelly. But ironically, the rush of the event itself, the presence of familiar faces, Bong, Rose, Mae, Mon and Kuya Ariel of Threelogy, and my ever-supportive, masungit na pangga (peace tayo ‘ga ), eventually calmed me down. E kasi naman, tama bang mas kabahan pa sa mga ikakasal?

It was also a good thing that I was working for the best wedding photographers in town. They’re the greatest influence I have now, and trimming all those photos indirectly trained me to compose great ones too. Not that I took a lot of it though, hehe. So I should thank them.

In the end, in spite of all the stress, I still enjoyed it a lot. And I burned a lot of calories in the process!

Ah, and did I mention that I practiced for this shoot? Here’s Archie, my practice bride:

But, Archie’s definitely not a “bride-to-be”. We’re actually looking for nice, beautiful, tall girls who would be willing to date him, noh ‘Chie?

And finally, I’ll just share some helpful tips from this article that I came across in The Digital Photography School Blog.

Well, I was at a lost then. Totally can’t relate. It has something to do with his old blog at peyups.com. Back at the time when people wrote for the sake of writing and they don’t get a single peso from their blogs. Back at the time that I didn’t even know such things existed. I’m a late blog bloomer.

Markku was always telling me that I should check out this old blog. And I did. I searched it in Google. Peyups pancit canton. The first result led me to read this entry.

Writing has a way of immortalizing thoughts and emotions. Some of which other people find meaningful in their own lives.

I like eating pancit canton. But now, I know I’ll enjoy reading it too.