Sayonara

Seeya in a few weeks! I'll be kissing English land and seeing the sights that Picasso, The Beatles, and the Pope grew fond of (or so I think).

And I think I'll still take a bath everyday despite the cold weather and...their rare bathing activities.
This trip will do me some good. It'll give me some time off and will broaden my world. I do hope that when I come home, I'll be revitalized and inspired to do many more things. It may be just a trip to anyone else, but this trip can open my eyes into something more.

au revoir!

I've been relatively busy for the past few days. Been out of the house most of the time actually, doing errands, buying last minute stuff for the trip, and catching up with friends here and there. I can't believe I'm actually leaving in 3 days. It's like it was just yesterday when we were just planning if we were going to Europe or not. I'm excited and scared at the same time. But I'm more excited and happy that I have an opportunity like this. It does kinda feel bad though with all the recession going on. But we have no other time left. This will be the last time Ate will be able to join us.

I also have a sun line already! Just YM me for it if you want it hehe. I'm psyched that I finally have my own line after all these years of prepaid. And hmm, I think this is already my 4th sun number. But I'm betting this will be my last. Or at least I know that this will be my number for a while.

2 days ago, Kookie and Kay came over just to hang around. We loaded each other with our share of kwentos, watched Fight Club (or at least a part of it since it was brownout), made tambay at McDo Retiro just like old times, ate isaw at our Cordillera corner, and basically treated our neighborhood like a village. It's always what I craved for. Just hanging out with friends and just walking around the neighborhood - seeing it as a safe and secure place to hang around. Just like what Westerners do. Well I don't think the cough-inducing smoke from Retiro jeepneys or truck drivers who whistle at you exactly spell out a safe and pleasing neighborhood, but hey. I think this will do for now.

Yesterday, Arra, Josel, and I watched 17 again at Trinoma. Okay I didn't expect it was going to be sooo funny. The script's not as cheesy as I expected seeing it as a love-themed movie. It's one of the few movies that I'd gamely watch countless of times without falling asleep. Anddd might I just add that Zac Efron is just drop dead gorgeous?! I can't believe such a genetic miracle exists! Oh, man. I think my fangirl id just got the better of me again. But you must admit that he is dreamy. Lucky Vanessa. On the bright side, at least if they have kids together their kid will be 1/4 filipino (so he/she'll kinda look like me? a teensy bit). I wonder how that kid will look like.

We went crazy with the karaoke again. I even brought my old digicam so that I could record our MTVs. Haha too bad they're too embarassing to post :P


I'm leaving on Tuesday but I'm bringing my phone so don't forget to send me some love, k? :)

Europe here I come!!!

Summer thoughts

The blogging bug has worn me out over the years. I used to blog n times a day before! What happened? Oh noes.

My summer has been pretty dull and lifeless. I've cooped myself at home for the past 2 weeks and would decline gimiks here and there. I only left the house when I accompanied my Ate to Megamall and Shang a few days ago and she even had to drag me there just for me to go. I don't understand why I have been this homebody for the past weeks. The sound of going out doesn't entice me that much as it used to and I'd rather wallow myself in my so-called vice. Heehee.

I practically drowned myself in all the Jdrama, korean movies, anime, and manga. I've watched Absolute Boyfriend, Onegai sensei, Yamato nadeshiko shichi henge (read the manga too), School Rumble, a couple of Shugo Chara eps, Romantic Island, etc. I'm currently watching Honey and Clover live because Ikuta Tomas there :) I really love this form of escapism. It's so much fun. Getting lost and worked up with the characters and identifying myself with them and the story. It's short term but it still beats the boring summer atmosphere anyday.

I am also proud to say that I'm exercising regularly! Well at least I have for 2 days now. I'm actually quite addicted to it already. I never thought doing the threadmill and weights was such a great way to relieve deep seated stress. And the buckets of sweat even felt good. But gosh, our gym is so hot it's like a sauna in there. But I guess that's a plus since I sweat more. Way way more.

I do have to maintain the healthy eating habits though. Because I get so tired after working out, I resort to binge eating. What's worse, I eat all the sweet junk. :( Well it's my fault for buying all those Hello Pandas and Puccas from PureGold the other day. Oh well. At least when I finish this, there will be less temptations. But I am happy to say that I've been living without pork and meat for sometime already.

Moving on to our trip to Europe, I'm keeping myself busy with reading all the historical stuff that's related to the places that we'll be going to. It'll be a shame if I only knew about it when I see it myself. I'd like to stock on some useful knowledge for me to fully appreciate the places, people, and things that I'll see. The trip will be so tiring, just thinking about it wears me out already. Imagine, after traveling for nearly a day, we arrive in London at 6 am -without any rooms yet since check-in is at 2 pm. Plus, we'll be exploring about once we step into British land partnered with jetlag. It's straight to Buckingham Palace! It is exciting in one page, but I'm not really good in adjusting with opposite timezones and it might help if we at least arrived during nighttime to have the night's sleep at least. And we'll be going country-to-country almost every single day. It will be so fast paced I may have to bring some instant coffee with me even though I hate instant coffee.

But nowhere to complain in worry, I'll just arm myself with lotsa fern-c capsules and a major talk with my sleepy self. I should be a sponge!

I'm also currently looking for the route to Liverpool. You know, where the Beatles started. But based on my research, it's about 4 hours from our hotel in London and 4 days by foot (laugh if you must, but that's what the site said!) And well, I saw the photos of the place and they weren't really that fantastic to look at. But just KNOWING the history and all, it's a must see. :( Penny Lane, the cavern club, and strawberry fields will be there. My Dad made an indirect suggestion of going to Abbey Road instead. It's a lot closer. Look at this - it's actually a live stream of the famous Abbey road pedestrian walk. I've read other people's blogs about this and many of them felt embarrased to have their picture taken in the middle of the road. Well I'd be too. I thought Abbey road was like a sidestreet but judging from the stream and other blogs, it's actually quite a busy intersection. And we know that English people aren't exactly that patient with tourists especially Asians. Oh whatever, I'm going to have my picture taken there even if it means angry car honks. It's all about the history, baby.

Ooh it's getting late, Imma hit the sack now. And it's nice that I finally blogged again. And my entry's quite long too. Till next time ;)

cheesy mode ON

It's moments like these that make me want to keep on going with life - because life is so beautiful. There's so much I haven't seen and discovered yet, I want to experience as much as I can.

Photo taken during our stay in Baguio. We woke up at 5 am to see the sunrise and it was worth it. Even though I had to drag my lazy butt up and down to Mines view park, that was nothing compared to what I saw.

Click to enlarge. More sunrise (and multi-colored) photos in my multiply.

vividpaisleys!

I'm back with a new layout and a brand new url! I changed most of the font colors, widths, and lengths of the base code again. Also added some photos. :) And...there are some "stuff" that are hidden here. I'm not gonna tell you what they are or how to see 'em, just look around. :P

But oh well. I changed my url because I badly needed a change. I've been stuck in all this muck that glues me to unproductivity. I am ready to start anew and with that, I bring you my new name in the cyberworld as well. I didn't make a new blog because I want to keep moving forward and I don't think "erasing" the past (entries) will do much good to me. Having these past entries will be a subtle reminder of the essence of all this. It'll give me the push that I need.

I've been wanting to change ishipanda for the longest time, mind you. Ishipanda is such a cutesy name for a bipolar 18 yr old lady. I can't stay perky and happy all the time. And I can't eat ice cream cakes all my life either. I'm not a kid anymore who hides in the corner of the room.

So why vividpaisleys? Well, I've always been a big fan of vibrant colors, bright hues, and surreal experiences. Paisleys seem the right noun for it since I like vintage and the psychedelic-ish charm of paisleys is ideal. I also like the shape. It's not like a circle or a square which has definite forms. Paisleys can take the form of various swirly designs, dots, zigzags, and whatever!

My mind is set. My future is planned. My so-called diary has moved with me too.

Now, the only task left is to do the task itself.

baguio here I come!

After watching Heartbreak Library (Korean movie), Nobuta wo Produce (JDrama), and some episodes of School rumble (anime), I think my dose of asian fusion is enough for me to survive Baguio for 4 days without any decent media. We'll be leaving for Baguio tomorrow at 5 am and I haven't even packed yet. There's this feeling of (too much) familiarity actually - it's like Baguio doesn't seem that far away to me. Maybe because I've been there more than ten times already. We stay at a europa condo unit - it's the one near Mines View Park. Everytime we go to Baguio, we basically do the same things anyway. Mini golf. Camp John Hay. Buy raisin bread at Baguio country club. Go bowling. Go boating at Burnham park and eat grilled corn. Go bowling. Go to the skating park. Go horsebackriding. Buy vegetables at the market. Buy walis tambo. Buy the famous ube jam from Good Shepherd. And enjoy the cool air. Then go home.

We may just do the same things again when we go there. But I'll never get tired of doing these things. This may also be the last time (or maybe one of the last) that we'll be going to Baguio. Since Ate will be leaving on October, family activities like these will seldom come.

Another block outing is on the works; I'm assuming. We might go to Jamir's resort in Tagaytay - Canyon Woods was it? I think I already went there before. I just don't remember too much though. I do hope that this block thing will materialize.

Grades will also be released tomorrow! Or later...at midnight. But of course I wouldn't want to stay up late then wake up at 4 am. Maybe I'll just open my mac tomorrow before leaving.

Anyhoo, I need to pack now! See you in a few days :)