NOTES No. 1

"Well-wishing"      

 

I hope that when you look at the blue,                                                    
early morning sky overhead,                                                                   
you'll see the glowing promise that the stars                                                       
have left for you overnight.
I hope that when you are in a car                                                               
or a train or bus, you will feel                                                                    
that you are in transit,
going places;                                                  
because please believe me                                                                               
when I say that you are.


When all the lights are out                                                                        
and your eyes can barely see anything,                                                       
I hope that you will not be                                                                          
so easily frightened
and will be able to find
comfort in the darkness,                                                      
and solace in its embrace.
And in the silence, I hope                                                                          
that you will not only hear                                                                          
the absence of noise,
but also the presence                                              
of your heart in your chest,
alive, and
drumming the beat of your life.


We all have paths laid before us;                                                                 
roads that will lead us to that somewhere
where we need to be.                                        
But there are also some                                                                             
of us who stray away                                                                               
from this path and make our own.                                                            
Our hearts may drum the beat of our life,                                                 
but it is up to us to either                                                                              
just sit and listen or                                                                                
stand up and dance to the music.

HAUL No. 7 Pt. II

Chukka Boots from Artwork

"The Architecture of Happiness" by Alain de Botton, and another T-shirt from TeamManila

White Chuck Taylor's from Converse

Sometimes I wonder, why can it be so difficult for us to move on from something that was never even there in the first place? There are moments in our lives wherein we realize that we've invested too much feelings and too much of our affections on somebody who was never going to do the same for us. No matter what we do, and no matter how much we try to flush these feelings out, they still remain, like a stomach ache that resulted from one too many drinks and bites of food at someone's eighteenth birthday party; and then we find ourselves sitting on a chair taking in the things happening within and around us, waiting for the bad feeling to expire. But trust me when I say that it doesn't take forever for the pain to evaporate.

CLARITY

Sunnies from 21 Men, A copy of "ASOUE: Hostile Hospital" by Lemony Snicket, Sweater from H&M, Shorts from Topman

Leather Rucksack from Topman, Straw Fedora from F&H

HAUL No. 7 Pt. I

T-shirt from Teammanila

synthetic leather laptop bag from 101 New York

mom's grad gift

It's been a pretty long while since my last post here, and a handful of unforgettable events have taken place in my life since then. For instance, I recently just graduated from high school a week or two ago; it actually sort of feels almost nostalgic now as I think of it and try to relive the feeling of walking on stage, taking a bow in front of all of my batch-mates  their parents as well as mine, and our teachers and staff, and shaking hands with the school's president as I get a hold of my diploma after thirteen years of studying at that school of mine. And as much as I'd want to rewind my life and go back to that day, reality tells me that I can't, no matter how much my heart would want to. Right now I've been bumming my summer vacation away. Most of my days are spent at home, like most of my other summers. To be honest, I don't really enjoy spending it this way; a lot of times I can't help but wish I was near the sea, on the beach soaking up the tropical sun. But again, as much as my heart would want to be with the ocean at this moment, reality says that I can't.

HULING SAYAW

I stroll down the hallways, imagining it all going down in slow-motion as if my life were an indie film, trying to get a good look at everything with the early morning sunlight illuminating my vision, and I see bits and pieces of the past thirteen years of my life flashing before my eyes. Splinters of young and faraway memories piercing me through the surface and making me bleed nostalgia. "All those years flew by pretty fast", he said to himself. And to think that just a couple of weeks ago, I wished for it all to end right then and there. In that moment, I guess the stress of all the work that had to be done got to me, but now it's inevitably come to the end; it's real. But what a thrilling, unforgettable roller-coaster ride this reality has been to me.

BROWN LEATHER RUCKSACK

It was a few days after Christmas day, I was in the mall with my cousin and my sisters, and as I was about to leave my favorite store, my eyes laid on this beauty of a bag. It was a love affair set in the stars, and the rest, as they say, is history. This brown (faux) leather rucksack is my favorite bag as of the moment, and it'll be in an outfit post soon!

TRAVELS IN FILM

Baguio, Philippines;

Singapore, Singapore;

Guam, USA;

Wanderlust is a word which here means the desire to travel, and see the world-- the longing to explore places that we've never been to, and bask in their overwhelming beauty. It irks me sometimes knowing that while I'm waiting for the bus, or copying notes from class lectures, or helplessly trying to solve a Pre-Calculus problem, paradise is out there waiting for me. I'm pretty sure that the Great Perhaps isn't within the four corners of any classroom, or chemistry lab; wherever it is, it's out there somewhere, and it's waiting for you, and me, and everyone else; all we have to do is muster enough courage and search for it.

BAMBI

named after the gorgeous Australian model, Bambi Northwood-Blyth;

A few shots that I had taken;

Correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the things that we treasure in life the most aren't actually things. And one of those invaluable treasures that we keep closest to our slowly-beating hearts in the dead of night as we try our best and escape into sleep from the reality of tomorrow, or in the early morning as we wake up unexpectedly to the vicious sound of birds chirping on a tree right beside your window, are memories-- fragments of both good days, and bad days, and boring days, and happy and sad days, that our minds cannot help but remembering. We may not be able to (physically) see or touch these memories, but they can be as personally powerful as power itself. They are the reason why we start to tear up one afternoon, lying in bed, and staring at the ceiling; they are responsible for that small smile that gradually creeps on our lips as we make our way to our next class; and they can ignite a change of heart just by suddenly flashing before our very eyes. They conjure up, and make us relive the visceral feelings of the days, and moments of the past that are never ever going to come back. These memories, these fragments of light, are the reason why some of us still choose to keep breathing because they are the only things that we have left to hold on to. 

CITY OF PINES

The cool mountain air, and the sudden scent of pine that whips at your nose when you roll the windows down as the vehicle passes through the twists and turns on the road-- these are the things I miss the most about Baguio. You're in the woods with the grass and the earth beneath your your feet, you look up, and you see the sunlight filtering in through the trees stitched with the patches of blue from the sky, and you start to realize that what's meant to be will be no matter how you try and change it. I don't know, I guess maybe that's just me. I've sort of always had an attachment to that place-- you can feel the presence of tranquility even in the midst of the bustling crowds; it's the feeling of being on top of a mountain, being above the greater chaos. Those photos above were taken from a couple of weeks back, and just eleven hours ago one year went up in flames, and another was born from the ashes. It is incredibly surprising sometimes how fast time can be. Maybe one day, without really noticing it, the lives we live at this very moment will become nostalgic to us.