Patchwork of Joy

As I've said in my book expectations in Part 1 of this sort-a review , I am not a fan of this type of book. I got intrigued when it was declared for a film adaptation. Reading the book, I've realized that it was purely in self-help genre. So, they're just picking up the title and grabbing the book's fans with their weak plot? On the other hand, Bautista will be in favor of this since it will give more popularity of his book. The book was mostly covering Q/A of love problems from NBSBs to being active in skoodilypooping. But it was funny and somehow, gathering those quotable quotes are a hard work. But I'm also not sure with the originality of the lines. Good writers steal, bad writers borrow. No Boyfriend Since Birth (NBSB), we're on in this together. Skoodilypooping   (c) ThoughtBubble.Org I was a bit expecting it was a story sort of similar to Korean movie Men's Manual(aka How to Use Guys with Secret Tips), in Filipino version written i...

I have two lines right now in my mind, one is "Saying it 100 times is better than living it once." ( Olympus has Fallen ) two, "You don't have to understand life. You just need to adapt to it." ( Empire of Gold ) I really liked these lines that I decided to keep them in my Notepad while I reflect on their deeper meaning. Then now, I wanted to blog about "Bakit hindi ka Crush ng crush mo? at iba pang technique kung paano makaka-move on sa wasak na puso "  (Hooo! that was long for a title.) because I just saw on TV that the book will be out on big screen. I will confess I have never watched a Filipino movie in theater for over a decade  (I'm just over 2 decades alive!).  Although, I am still hoping for better stories, better directing, better acting(sometimes). There's just so much good shows around the corner (Holliwood, Korean, Anime) to watch, my time to binge watch ain't enough. Philippines, better movies please! Proper character ...

I said this in the 'nth time, "Hello, Manila. I'm here again." Livin' in Manila wasn't easy, especially comparing the laid-back life in the province-city. Most people who lived here for years say it's all about adjusting. For me, the sinus-punishing air of the city was the worst. And then, the crowd of people, heavy traffic, humidity and the heat. But, every place has its own wonders. This place is historically rich, and that makes it one fascinating visit. While I was looking for a travel guide to Intramuros, I read one comment about visiting Manila. The poster advised that Intramuros was the only place worth visiting in the city. Therefore, after that, get out of the city and enjoy better sights. As a non-fan of Mall Tourism/Tourism Shopping, I do agree to this.   I followed the Travel guide from wikiTravel  which was very helpful. The visit was low-income, non-splurge. The trip was done mostly by walking, which by itself was already the tour. I pr...

Destination: Most known as " Calaguas ", our destination is the Mahabang Buhangin of Tinaga Island , part of the Calaguas Group of Islands. The virgin island is said to be of match to the famous Boracay Islands. Planning. Since we took a package tour, we needed 10 people to commit for the trip. A lot of my college friends expressed their desire to join but only 9 participants made it. Most of us just got out from office work on Friday afternoon. Four friends traveled from Metro Manila, four from Legazpi. Our 9th member, organizer-friend is a local of Vinzons. Our long awaited planned Calaguas escapade finally came to realization. How We Got There: Coming From Legazpi: Depart @7PM, Friday* Van->Legazpi to Naga. (140pesos/2hrs) Van/Bus->Naga to Daet. (Van - 180pesos/2hrs) (Bus - 110pesos/3+hours)~* Tricy -> Daet Terminal to Vinzons' Jeep Terminal (10pesos) Jeep -> Daet To Vinzons Town Proper(16pesos)/less than 1hr Tricy ->Vinzons Town Pr...

The first time I took my airplane flight, it was back in 2004. I was then a high school student. My English teacher was in-charge of everything I needed to settle for the trip. We were bound to Surigao City but took a flight from Manila to Butuan. Prior to the flight, we took a bus from Legazpi to Manila. When everything has been organized by someone, travelling was easy but makes you dependent. I just followed my teacher and co-participants all times. Yeah, I couldn't even remember the roads we passed. I'm a total hick and travelling from province to Manila was also my first time. When we boarded the airplane, my teacher joked, "Don't be too obvious that we're first timers." Few years passed, I've been back and forth Manila and I learned the going around mostly on my own. Thanks to Google searches and maps, people I met along the way and some "nice" people who shared a bit of information. I mostly took bus trips to visit home in the pr...

Heaven is a place on earth with the strangers we meet. It was a rainy morning when my college friend from Polangui had her baby's baptism. On the way to Polangui, my slippers wrecked with the heavy rain. It felt ominous for a bad day. But the rain subsided eventually, it was sunny in the afternoon. We decided to drop by Kawa-kawa Hill before returning to Legazpi. Although, I've been to Kawa-kawa Hill before, coming to this place always fascinates me like a first-timer with the farm changing colors and blooms. We were lucky to see the blooming flowers of the Sorghum Experimental Plantation at California Village, the farm along the way to Kawa-kawa. In a couple of hours we stayed at the hill, we joined the last supper, waved our hands in the air for happiness upon the green sights, appreciated the flowers at bloom, and played around like kids! And so the afternoon ended, the bright day shifted to dusk. It was too perfect sight for my floundering young adult life. We were lu...

After more than 5 years without a get-together, my first bestest college freshmen classmates and I finally made a fun reunion. I had some great memories experiencing what our own neighbor town has to offer – the ATV ride at Cagsawa, Daraga, Albay. Travelling from Legazpi City, we took a jeep going to Camalig/Oas/Polangui then dropped off at Cagsawa marker. There’s a tricycle queue that provides service to go straight to Bicol Adventure Tours or to the church ruins. Since we wanted to save some money, we took a walk and we got  to see the house ruins along the road. (Update: A lot of ruined houses exist at time of visit but are now rare along this road.) For today’s activity, we skipped visiting Cagsawa ruins since we’re only signed up for the ATV ride. The rides offered by Bicol Adventure Tours are available in two trails– 1hr and 3hrs drive. The one-hour trail is estimated to be a 6KM drive and costs 599 pesos (at time of travel 2013). The three-hour trail is estimated to be ...