Bride's maid's flowers

The big event was over. We woke up at 3:30am, left at 4:30am, and arrived at the wedding church at 8:30am. It was a long trip. My eyes turned red after putting eyeshadow in my face. What happened to my eyes - it didn't matter.

At last I saw again my cousins from my dad's side. Ate Charie was able to join us with Tita Alice. I was a bridesmaid with Rachelle. Our partners were Noel and Aris. Joyce was also there with Diego, the dog. Tito Jun didn't come but he sent SMS to keep in touch. Reah was there alone. On weddings, getting the bouquet wasn't really thrilling for me anymore. I have few nice shots with them. The new married couples were cute. Kaycee is such an amazing mom with Eric and the kids. Nothing much to tell, but still right now, I haven't find myself. I couldn't go back to my old self- there are clouds in my head. Maybe because I only had few hours sleep and really I need to rest.

I didn't catch the bouquet. So what. I haven't prayed for my OTL for a long time, though I have thought of it sometimes. I didn't want to look or find it in my work place, or in school. The grounds to find it became narrower. I don't know why, but I know when the time comes, you'll feel it's time to feel 'forever'... so be it. Amen.

-Journal, 4/12/09

Pagoda

My Thailand trip was not actually a pleasure trip. I worked for a few months to complete a project with JS Thailand. It was my first time to be away from family for a long period. I was both excited and nervous. I was deployed alone working with Thais, with different language, culture and food. I remembered my first evening at work; I stayed until 8:30pm and just ate skyflakes, because I didn’t like their spicy food. I didn’t know why they like hot & spicy so much and they were really not fond of sweets. However the place is the same with Manila but their infrastructures were ahead. And the people, they’re not far from the looks of a Filipino. Actually, they would think I’m a local at first time unless I talked.

There are few people I got acquainted with, mostly in the office. When I eat with them, I often talk. I had a lot of things to say though; I wasn’t comfortable speaking in English and whatever thoughts I had been kept in my journal. But my journal was lost before I left for Manila. That’s a different story. However, I got talkative later on, after a month, met Au and got close to Pong. I ate with them and traveled with them. Au takes over the project after my turnover, who had been my housemate for a month. She stayed with me during weekdays in my apartment in Chonburi, where the office of client located. Then on weekends, I have option to go back to Bangkok, so I went with Au sometimes. Pong also became closed to me; he took me to the nearest Catholic Church when I was looking and took me for dinner as a sign of welcoming friendship with me. Both of them eventually the closest people I’ve been in that place.

Thailand’s tourism was amazing. Bangkok was filled with about 70% foreigners. Tourist places were jam packed including hotels and their public transports. However, the tourist places weren’t astounding compared to ours. The floating market was not that great, though it’s not bad either. I also visited crocodile farm, snake farm, and a lot of temples, but these places are just so ordinary, yet tourists go for it. Anyway, the country had already established their tourism and they’re the most highly visited in Asia. Ayutthaya and Pattaya, the places I visited are not that astounding compared to Philippine’s Bohol and Pagudpod. But I know, there are more to Thailand.

My longing to go home extended because I have to stay for 2 weeks more. I hope to get home before my brother’s birthday and the birth of his new baby. Yet I thought it was still okay to stay, but at the end of the day, I felt I was in cage, yearning to be free. I can’t wait to speak in Tagalog and burst everything whatever was on my mind. I knew, there’s still a lot more travels to come for me, and there’s much better place to stay. Saying goodbye was taboo, I just pretended it was easy. The learnings and challenges I experienced while I was away from home were sanctified. I was all safe through out the journey. God simply let me be alone by myself to realize that I will have no want of others if I had Him. When I got back, my perspective in life had changed. There’s a lot more to do, a life waiting to live to the fullest and people waiting to be blessed as well through me. Thank you God for such an opportunity!

Pagoda. One of the historical pagoda in Ayutthaya kingdom. It was Siam before, the world’s largest city that time and Thailand’s old capital city; however the kingdom was ruined during the 18^th century by Burmese army.

Alone lunch in Chatuchak

Some people would likely not to travel if they’re alone. Some would prefer travelling by themselves. For them, it’s the places you are trying to connect with, and bonding takes place effectively when you were alone. I could go by midpoint. I love travelling with or without a company-only that you’d hate it when there's no one to take your pictures. .. So maybe it goes when eating alone. Those who love food would indulge eating by savouring each bite of the sumptuous cuisine. But in my experience, the company of a friend or a stranger you can talk to was what I missed during my stay in Thailand. Bonapetit for me.

Chatuchak is the biggest market in Thailand. It’s like Divisoria but it’s a bit clean and organized. But of course it’s jam packed with people because it’s only open on weekends.

tshirt

I want to describe that someone, who loves me in NY -

She’s easily annoyed, with hypertension, shouts when talking—but she’s not angry… She’s friendly in person, smiles a lot and had few close friends. She wishes I have been married. She’s helpful and donates to charities. She loves décor. She hates beef. She likes yellow, it’s bright and close to prosperity which is gold. She’s so active and hyper, she clean up, do that and these. She’s industrious, prayerful and hopeful. She’s a woman of strength – and that someone is mommy.

The distance between us didn’t change her. She’s still the woman I saw handling the trials and struggles of a family even when she’s far away from home. She had her very reasons why she’s staying there. In my prayers, always I am thankful for her opportunities and that God has blessed her and surrounded her with good people. And I thanked God for her too. By the way, the shirt isn’t mine… it’s my nephew who’s wearing it J

The famous hanging coffins of Sagada

This is the traditional way of burying the elders of Sagada people, but not all are eligible. One should be a local, meaning born in Sagada with mothers and fathers who are locals too. One should be married to a local and bear a child. And of course, the elder would have to be good abiding citizen who contributed much in their culture.

To get to the hanging coffins, it’ll take about a half an hour hike from the Echo valley. Trekkers can also drop by at one of the elder’s coffin in some caves. Sagada have tourist offices for guides and tour packages.

Sunflower

Sunflower- it was taken last November 2008 in my 2.0 mp Motorola cellphone. I was eating this chocolate biscuit while waiting for others in a jeepney at Bontoc, Mt. Province. We dropped by to the town’s museum. There were artifacts and the old houses Bontoc locals used to lived. There were historic books and clothes used by the townspeople. It was informative and interesting. The waiting didn’t take long. We were on our way to Sagada-a much more exciting place.

golden buddha

They said that Buddhism is not a religion but a way of life...and they have Buddha as their follower, leader and teacher. I actually have a lot of shots of buddha in Thailand, with different pose, color and costume. But this picture is the biggest so far, and I am not sure if its pure gold or plated. But it was all inside a temple all by himself, dressed with yellow silk. There were silks piled on the sides that were offered by adorers, and it seems like every minute, they change his silks so that the piled offerings can be wear by buddha during their adoration.

The buddha were being prayed with an incense, candles and flowers, not far from a traditional catholic reverence to religious statues and images. However, a buddhist concept is different from a catholic. In buddhism, there is karma as the law of cause and effect, and the rebirth or the incarnation. That is why they spare the life of an insect believing that it must be someone's life incarnated. The popular terms I heard from buddhism are Zen, meditation and nirvana. So far, buddhism is the major religion in India, China, Thailand, minor in other countries in Asia.

Photo: Taken 2/19/2006 in Bangkok, Thailand