CALLIGRAPHY LOVE!

When I was around five or six, my mom called me to her room.  She looked upset and accused me of writing on our banister. I denied it, of course, and told her it wasn't me. She walked out of the room and pointed to the writing on the banister.  There it was, written with a black pentel pen: "Bunny".

Sinungaling na bata! Hahaha!

My whole point for telling you that story is this: for as long as I can remember, writing has always been my release.  It can be something as profound as poems, essays or short stories (I tried writing a book once but only got to Chapter 4) to something mundane such as doodling my name or writing a note for a friend.  I'm picky about my pens the same way I'm picky about the heels of my shoes.

I, obviously, haven't been writing as often here, but I still doodle quotes or song lyrics from time to time on the small notebook I carry around with me. It has been a dream of mine to always learn calligraphy so I can take writing to a new level.  Plus, I think I need a new hobby.

My friends and I joined La Bella Scrittura's workshop a few weeks ago and we had so much fun learning together that we decided it would be a good idea to join other craft workshops.


My calligraphy kit during the workshop

I thought I would immediately be good at calligraphy because my penmanship isn't half bad, but I digress. I'm used to writing a certain way and at a certain speed and it's just very different with calligraphy. And as with all things, practice is key and I have been doing drills almost everyday.  I think it is slowly paying off as I can see the improvement and difference in my strokes. 

One of my biggest frustrations in life is that I'm terrible at drawing. If you ever played Draw Something with me, you'd be able to attest to that FACT. So I bought myself a watercolor set and I am also now trying to improve my sketching skills. I also found a tutorial online on how to use watercolor as calligraphy ink (colored ink can be quite pricey).

 Here are some of the stuff I've done.

My output card during the workshop. I still didn't know how to string letters together

This looks more like my handwriting 



Wrote this for Argentina when they lost the World Cup to Germany

Recently discovered the wonderful work of Rumi, a Persian poet

My trademark daisy drawing

Please excuse my shaky fingers.

I'm improving, right?

 

 

I also need to practice more because my friends are getting married and they've asked me to write the names on their save the date cards.

I created an instagram account (@bunnywrites) just for my calligraphy stuff.  Follow me--only if you want to :)

SHE LIKES SHOES, I LOVE SHOES!

Like a lot of little girls, I would raid my mother's shoe closet (much to her chagrin) while she was at work and I would prance around the house in her heels.   I know some women who are obsessed with clothes or luxury bags, but I have always had a special love affair with shoes.

I was in 2nd grade when it all began.  School was about to start and my mom wanted to buy me a boring pair of shoes and I remember crying at the department store and pointing to these beautiful black patent doll shoes with 3 faux pearls bunched together on each side.  I pleaded to her but she could not be dissuaded.

THE BAD NEWS: My mom still bought me the boring pair. 
THE GOOD NEWS: She reminded me that I still had birthday money from my Uncle which I hadn't used. 

And for the first time in my life, I bought my own pair of shoes.  I had self-esteem issues when I was young but wearing those shoes made me feel pretty, confident and proud. I have more self confidence now but my affinity for shoes has never wavered. In fact, I've gone as far as putting up my own online shoe store in the now defunct Multiply a few years ago (My store was called Doll It Up. If you were ever my customer, holla!).  I closed shop because I developed problems with my shoe supplier. 

I keep at least 4 pairs of shoes inside my car (heels and flats), just because I'll never know when I might need to spice up my outfit or downplay it a bit.  My shoe closet is another story-- and my mother complains about it all the time because she says I have way too many pairs and could I please throw out or give away the ones I hardly use? I collect shoes the same way other people collect stamps, so--you know the rest.

I recently discovered this online store with a unique and great concept. And if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know I very rarely write endorsements because there are millions of other blogs for that. But I felt the need to tell you about She Likes Shoes because I don't just like shoes, I LOVE THEM.

The mechanics are simple: Pay a Php499 a month subscription fee (you can pay via Paypal or PesoPay), sign up for 6 or 12 months and you get to choose a pair of shoes each month from their selection under "STEP 1".  "STEPS" are basically points and there are 2 other STEPS which features more high-end looking shoes.  So if you like a pair from STEP 2, all you need to do is buy another STEP for Php500.

This site works for shoe aficionados like me because as much as I love shoes, I'm a single mother with a budget that needs to be controlled.  For the month of May alone, I bought 3 pairs and I realized that I really should start disciplining myself when it comes to my shoe purchases.

I learned about She Like Shoes from Facebook and I immediately signed up for a 6-month subscription last June and received my first pair a couple of weeks ago. Pick your shoe of the month during the first 2 weeks of the month and you will receive it on the 3rd week.  Delivery is free, of course :)

Here are the pair of shoes I chose for June.  They're called Terpischore (means "delight in dancing" and in Greek mythology, she was one of the 9 muses and the goddess of dance and chorus. There you go, we learned something new today!) and I don't really like orange but this pair has that oomph that would put the fun in a plain outfit.  I wore it for the first time last Friday at work with my maxi skirt and I loooooovveed it!  I had 3 back-to-back meetings that day and these shoes made me forget how crazy my day was! All I had to do was look at them and voila! Instant joy!

My only wish is that they offer a wider selection for each STEP.  But then again, maybe 3 choices per STEP may be enough as I might be tempted to get more than a pair.

Their July selection is up and I still haven't decided if I will get the Cleopatra or the Miranda. Maybe you guys can help me with this one--which one should I choose? Or should I just get both? :)

MT. PICO DE LORO, TAKE 2!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Before Joaquin came along, I climbed. A lot (much to my Mother's chagrin who was always worried I would fall off a mountain or get raped by an NPA). A year after I gave birth, I wanted to start climbing again but I wasn't ready to leave my son for a night. 

 

 

I climbed Mt. Pico de Loro in 2004 and I finally got to conquer it again last Wednesday. My new friend, E, who I just met a week before the climb (but I've been out with twice prior to the climb--just in case you guys were wondering) convinced me to go with him and I'm so happy I did!

 

He estimated that we would get to the summit in 3 hours but we made it in 2! So proud of me!

 

It was just a day hike.  We spent 2 hours in the summit just talking and eating our take out from Jollibee (the best and most hard-earned Chicken Joy I have ever had).

 

                                

                            

                                            


My body was exhausted but my heart was smiling the entire time.

Tomorrow, I get to do something I have always loved but haven't done in 7 years.

I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time.

A couple of weeks ago, I got asked out by a few people who I haven't seen in a long time.  I stopped hanging out with them because they were very close to someone who had wronged me and since at that time, I wasn't over what this person had done to me, I thought it best to temporarily cut ties with them as well. 

I was so hesitant to go and I made up a couple of lousy excuses to get myself out of seeing them but they said they missed me and could I just swing by even for just 1 drink?  Truth is, I missed them too, I had fun times with these people. Plus, I am sooo over what happened a few years ago so I felt I was ready to rekindle my friendship with these guys.

By now, you would have probably guessed who the person who wronged me is. And in case you were wondering, I went out with his sisters and a few of our other common friends.

I shouldn't have gone.  Maybe not that night. They ended up telling me stories of how horrible his GF is. Stories I couldn't even believe were true. Stuff I didn't know a human was capable of. I don't know how many times I had to ask if they were exaggerating but they swore they weren't.  Some of the stories were hilarious but I felt so uncomfortable coz I wanted to let out a laugh but couldn't because I didn't want them to think I was being bitter.  At the end of the day, blood is still thicker than water, right?  I remember telling a friend of ours that night that despite everything that's going on, I hope that he is happy.  Our friend said it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that he wasn't.

I have always wished that he would get what he deserved, I just didn't think it would be this bad. I was torn between being happy because Karma worked in my favor and being sad because he is sooo not in a happy place.

Sigh.

In other news, I have been on two dates this year and to be honest, I am a little tired. 

The last guy I went out with made me laugh a lot (my #1 requirement). It also helps that I find him attractive and that he is smart, witty, driven and he seems to be successful in his field.  I had a wonderful time when we went out because I didn't feel like he was putting his best foot forward.  It was quite comfortable, kind of like having dinner and drinks with a friend you haven't seen for the longest time.

A friend who holds your hand while you're walking to the parking lot. :)

BUT.

At this point, I can't tell if we're on the same page.  I am, of course, looking for something serious, however, I'm not sure if he wants the same thing.  I know we've only gone out once and my judgment is solely based on the almost daily conversations we have, but well, that's just what my instincts tell me.  Hopefully, I'm wrong.  But even if I end up being right, I want to make a friend out of this guy. He's hilarious and I know he will get along with my friends.

And it looks like we're going out again this week.  I'm just going to ride along and see how it goes.


Update as of 14 April:
I stopped replying to this guy's messages. He was all bark and no bite and a complete waste of time.

I have a date with someone very promising tonight.

DATE #1: SERIES OF 2014

I'm not the type of person who makes resolutions every year. Mainly because, I think that deciding to change something in your life whether it's quitting a vice, living healthier or cutting off communication with someone who does no good in your life can be done anytime throughout the year.

But as the clock struck 12 on the 1st of January, I found myself making a resolution to start dating again.  There were no candidates but what the heck, I have enjoyed being single for the past 2 years and although I still don't know how I'll ever find time for date night (work has been eating up a lot of my time), I felt I needed to get back my ass back in the game.

I met this guy at a party next to my friend's house last month.  It wasn't even a party I was invited to but because my friend's neighbor found us drinking outside my friend's house, we suddenly got invited.

I was in a deep conversation with my friend when I felt someone staring at me, so I looked up and there he was. "Good evening!", I said.  He said, "Hi".  We were introduced, turns out he's the celebrant's brother.  He ended up hanging out with me and my friend the entire evening.  Found out that he's 38, been separated for 3 years and that he has 4 kids (he got married at 22!).

After 1 too many beers (6 to be exact), he asked for my number, which I gave and on my way home that night, he called.  He apologized for staring at me, he said he knew I caught him. The reason being that it wasn't the first time he saw me.  He said he brought his brother home sometime last year and that he saw me outside my friend's house and he wanted to ask his sister-in-law for my name but was too shy to do so because I didn't look like I lived next door.  He said that when he saw me, he said to himself "It's her. I have to talk to her tonight."  And that explains why he was staring.

We went out for drinks the night after.  An hour into the date, I knew there wouldn't be a second date although he ended the night asking me if there was going to be another one.  To which I replied, "We'll see.".

I just didn't find him interesting enough.  He described himself as simple and average and I remember wondering why anyone would consider themselves simple and average.  I don't know about you but average spells B-O-R-I-N-G.  He's not into any sport and when he talked about his job, he said something negative about his boss which gave me the impression that he wasn't very happy with it and to think that he has been in that industry for 9 years (he works for a car dealership). He doesn't travel, doesn't read books, doesn't even like trying out new restaurants. I honestly don't know what he's passionate about.

Plus, we were the same height lang---and I was wearing flats!

This guy texted and called me incessantly for the next 2 weeks.  I would get 3-4 messages from him throughout the day and I would reply only once.  I thought he would take the hint.  After all, he was taking so many rainchecks from me.  And then one night, he sent me a rather lengthy message detailing everything he missed about me--my smile, my face, the way I talk, etc. 

Shivers. (Not the good kind)

I didn't reply but 3 days later, I felt like a bitch for not even acknowledging his text so I sent him an SMS saying that his last couple of messages were sweet but I just didn't think we had common interests so I didn't think anything beyond friendship would work.  And that I hoped we could still hang out and that he should keep in touch.

He replied with 3 lengthy messages.  I'll give you the gist--he explained that it was too soon for me to decide that we had no shared interests and shouldn't we at least try first before I shut him down?

It's been close to 3 weeks and I still haven't replied.

Sigh.

Next boy, please.

DEAR 2013

Dear 2013,

If you were a person, you'd look somewhat like this:

Photo from Pinterest

Okay, maybe not that skinny. But you get the picture, right?  You'd be stylish, calm, collected and poised, with your beautiful shiny wavy no-need-to-be-blowdried-hair.  And everyone would turn their head while you strut around town in your sexy stilettos without worrying about blisters on your toes or ankles at the end of the night.  You are sexy and you know it.  You are worry-free and it's true.  You are reeking of awesomeness.

Thank you for giving me so much--a lot of which I had to work really hard for (hey, give credit where credit is due!). But nevertheless, thank you for opening up so many wonderful doors for me.

Thank you for making me believe in my body and what it is capable of doing.  For giving it the confidence to finish 2 half marathons this year. For giving me the strength to continue to run and lose weight in the process. I'd like to think that this is the best I have looked in the past 7 years (please feel free to correct me if I am wrong).

This year, you taught me how to bake and while I no longer bake as often as I would like to (too much sugar is bad bad bad. Diabetes runs in my family), I am very grateful for this new skill.

You gave me a really unexpected gift this year--an opportunity to do what I have always loved--going out, meeting and talking to people. It was not something I had asked for.  I don't even recall ever hinting that I wanted it.  I thought I had gotten too old for change. I thought that that ship has sailed. But thank you for knowing better than me.  Thank you for taking me out of my comfort zone and for planting me in a job where I am always on my toes. To say that I am happy for this chance to be challenged (sometimes infuriatingly) again in my career is an understatement.

Thank you also for making me fall inlove with myself again. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun just not being in a relationship.  So much fun that I surprisingly didn't miss being in one.  I don't know if you and Karma had a conversation but it seems that this was the year dear old karma worked in my favor.

You were tough too, at times.  The biggest git this year was having to force myself to say goodbye to someone I wasn't ready to say goodbye to. You took away my Uncle Dan, my dad's brother, the only person on this earth who didn't make missing Papa so hard because he was so much like him. He was always asking me and my sisters to visit him in Baguio but we never got around to doing it.

Sigh.

Anyway...

Thank you for my family's health and for helping my son continuously improve as the days go by. He is doing very well in school, better than I had predicted, in fact.  Thank you for making us laugh, sometimes at our errors. Thank you for keeping us safe, for always keeping us together and for never failing to give us what we need.

My favorite bit about you, 2013 was the wonderful relationships (old and new) that have blossomed within your months. My family and I grow closer everyday, even when we sometimes find ourselves breathing down each other's necks from a thousand miles away. Thank you for fortifying my friendships and for teaching me to learn to let go of the ones that no longer bring me positivity.

As you draw to a close, I can only hope that 2014 brings me more joy, learning experiences and enough pain to gather strength from.

I love you, 2013. You were a very good year.

Now, on to the next one.

BREAKING UP WITH A FRIEND

A couple of years ago I stopped talking to a very good friend because in the middle of a very stressful personal situation, he hung up on me.  I texted him right after to tell him how bad I felt that he would hang up on me at a time like that and he never replied.  Not even the next day or the week after. Before I knew it, a year had already gone by.

I still think about the kind of friendship I shared with him from time to time--of what a shame it is that he would just throw it all away like that.

I got a facebook message from him this year asking me if I was still mad. I didn't reply.  A few days before Christmas, he messaged me again saying, "Advance Merry Christmas". I still didn't reply.  On Christmas day, he sends me another message greeting me a Merry Christmas.  And yep, you guessed right--I still didn't reply.

Our common friends have been asking me why I haven't bothered to reply when he is obviously reaching out. And I tell them the same thing--If he can type something as long as "Merry Christmas", I'm pretty sure "Sorry" wouldn't require so much effort.

But then again, the latter would also require lowering something he has so much of: PRIDE. And if it has to take someone 2 years to message a friend who has always been there for him, I mean, really--what kind of a friend is that?

And no, don't even get me started on the whole real-friends-don't-need-to-say-sorry crap.  Manners are manners, period.

Among all those who have done me wrong, his was the only apology I was still hoping to receive.  And I guess that's one of the reasons why I never unfriended him on Facebook. But, well.

They say life gets easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.  And looking back at the 2 years that we haven't been friends, I have gotten by very well.  I almost had the urge to call him a couple of nights ago and ask him out for drinks.  Just to thank him for reaching out.  But mostly to remind him why we are no longer friends, to let him know how awful I felt that day he abandoned me by hanging up on me in the midst of my distress. Just to let him know for one final time that so much time has passed and that I don't think we can ever be friends again, ever.

After all, time heals all wounds and as of date, the wounds I have incurred from that fateful day have already turned into scars--scars which I can no longer even see, unless I look very, very closely.

Maybe I should just send him this entry, noh?

MUST BE THE MEDICINE TALKING

I'm down with the flu. I don't even know how I managed to work today feeling like this.

I have a 38-degree temp, I've got the chills, my entire body is aching and on top of that, I have cough, colds and a sore throat. 

Damn this flu. 

And this may be the NyQuil talking but I suddenly wish I had a man to take care of me. 

Even just for tonight.