In this busy world we have today, what most people look for is some down-time. Hectic schedules and crazy lifestyles are rampant in city living and it has come to infect the provinces with the contagion of being on the fast track.
I have been sucked into this life, yes. I admit it's fun and it keeps me busy, but i need a breather once in a while. Background on me? Well, i just finished my collegiate studies, waiting for a diploma, and the current life is slightly dull. But before this Elysian peace, my life was as busy as it gets. Aiming for honors, i just did not have the time for much else.
Then i discovered this retreat that was perfect for me: Cafe Antonio. Situated inside LB Square near the UPLB campus, it's a perfect getaway when looking for a bit of me-time.
I know what you're thinking: a coffee shop??? Let's just say that CAnton(as the patrons lovingly coined it) is not merely "just a coffee shop". It is something of a second home; a second family if you will. The atmosphere is relaxed and the crowds are quite amiable. The music selection not only features popular bands, but also local bands from around the area. The coffee is brilliant, highlighted by the food that they serve. Perfect even for those with discriminating tastes.
On my first visit there, i slightly felt out of place since apparently everyone knew everyone else. But then they have this way of making you feel welcome: the baristas with their friendly smiles, the regulars with their chummy attitude. Mix that with the nice ambiance and the delightful menu, and you will be craving cor your next cup of a hot CAnton coffee with an extra shot of Irish cream or a nice, cold shake...
I know i am!
Cheers!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
taking a dive head-first..
caution is a virtue, pretty much like honesty and patience. one always hears advice like "look before you leap" or "test the waters first". i'm pretty sure i've had those said to me numerous times. you know what i realized though..?
being cautious stems from our natural instinct of self preservation and to avoid embarrassments and epic failures. and it's all good, i swear. but then one of these days, you look back and say "damn, i wish i had done that.."
my philosophy in life is to stay alive long enough for change, but also to never look back in anger nor regret.. carpe diem, sieze the day and all that. i believe in it so much that i want it tattooed on my bum! :)) or perhaps my shoulder blade..? whatever..!
life's little adventures come from our sometimes crazy escapades into unknown waters.. step out of your comfort zone, try something different, meet new people.. HAVE FUN WHILE YOU'RE AT IT..
fine, caution is important for survival, but learn to live on the edge sometimes... you'll never know who you'll meet or what fond memories you'll have..
lastly, while you're also at it... FALL IN LOVE.. scrape your knees, but pick yourself up.. somebody might be waiting just around the corner.. :">
THERE'S NO FUN IN THAT!
being cautious stems from our natural instinct of self preservation and to avoid embarrassments and epic failures. and it's all good, i swear. but then one of these days, you look back and say "damn, i wish i had done that.."
my philosophy in life is to stay alive long enough for change, but also to never look back in anger nor regret.. carpe diem, sieze the day and all that. i believe in it so much that i want it tattooed on my bum! :)) or perhaps my shoulder blade..? whatever..!
life's little adventures come from our sometimes crazy escapades into unknown waters.. step out of your comfort zone, try something different, meet new people.. HAVE FUN WHILE YOU'RE AT IT..
fine, caution is important for survival, but learn to live on the edge sometimes... you'll never know who you'll meet or what fond memories you'll have..
lastly, while you're also at it... FALL IN LOVE.. scrape your knees, but pick yourself up.. somebody might be waiting just around the corner.. :">
Saturday, July 23, 2011
IKAW (7-23-2011)
Bakit ba ganto
Ang nararamdaman sayo?
Ako'y gulong-gulo,
Isang malaking sakit sa ulo.
Mahal kita,
Hindi ba halata?
Sa dinami ng tao sa mundo,
Ikaw ang pinili ng puso ko.
Ikaw ang nasa isip araw-araw
Ikaw lang ang inaasam
Ikaw ang hinahanap-hanap
Kulang ang aking araw pag di ka nakikita.
Ang aking panalangin?
Sana ako'y iyong mapansin.
Nakakabaliw mang isipin
Pero sana ako'y mahalin mo rin.
At kung magkatotoo man ito,
Ako na ang pinakamasayang tao sa mundo.
Habambuhay magkasama,
Gumagawa ng sarili nating mga ala-ala...
ALWAYS (7-23-2011)
The first time I saw you
It felt like gravity moved
My world revolved around you, my sun
It got me so confused.
Now I think I know
What this could be
It's got me upside down and inside out
Love, what have you done to me?
Listen to my heart
Each beat's screaming your name
I wonder if you see me?
If you feel the same?
If you don't feel it too
You know I'll let you be
But if you decide to give us a try
It would always be you and me...
Monday, April 11, 2011
LA VISA LOCA
honestly, i have been dying to watch this movie because i started watching it last year with the last litfili class.. i never got to finish it, but it was hilarious as hell even though i watched around 20minutes of it (justice, justice, justice!).
the main character is a guy named Jess Huson. he's a driver (of goodness knows what? doesn't look like a taxi nor a limousine), he's from Pampanga, and he's trying to get a US visa (like almost every other Flip out there). he has a fiancee in California, which is one reason why he wants to go abroad. the said fiancee partly financially supports Jess and his dad Sancho. Jess' mom supposedly died when he was in his teens (got hit by truck in Jersey?). for some reason, throughout the movie, he wears red items of clothing. huh.
the dad is Sancho, a stubborn, deaf, demanding and pervy old dude who you might think has serious issues in the beginning of the movie. later on we realize that he's quite sensitive to Filipino culture and language. he used to join in the crucifixion thing during holy week as a sacrifice for his wife to get better, but he stopped since she left them for an American dude. he also calls this radio station to comment on how the guests use English terms instead of the rather vulgar Filipino ones. he also comments on how loads of us want to go abroad to get better lives, and how we take things we have for granted until we lose them (then we have the guts to say we miss those things).
Mara is an ex of Jess, and they have a son together (Jason) though the guy doesn't know it. we can see from her predicament the hardships of being a single mom and trying to keep them alive. she works as a mermaid for a carnival (which costs 30bucks to see! and nobody knows it's a fraud). she's trying to figure out which is a better role:mother (taking care of) or father (financially supporting).
Nigel Adams and the camera man are typical foreigners. they say that the Nigel dude is American, but he's so Brit! they went here to film a documentary about our customs during holy week (which is a load of bull if you ask me). they're typical because yeah, they have a job to do here, but they have fun with our women, at our bars, and they don't trust us at all.
Annette, the fiancee in California is the typical OFW. she sends money and items to Jess and his dad. she even bought the old codger hearing aids! from the sound of it, she's a nurse or caregiver there, waiting for American citizenship. she's overly possessive, but i suppose she means well.
the movie shows how a lot of other people see us. they think we're untrustworthy, we're a bunch of money hungry and job desperate people with no values whatsoever. think of the Molong guy(that's why there was a chicken there, coz he's chicken shit). they think we're a bunch of overly religious old codgers. they also see us as frauds (the faith healers who pretend to heal for the monetary gains), and as hypocrites (naked dancing chicks but no meat on holy week and no smoking when there's an ash tray?). we're also camwhores when you think about it, doing anything and smiling like crazy when in front of cameras (no matter the situation). what i like about the movie is how sensitive to our culture the father (Sancho) is. i remember him calling the radio station and asking the DJ how come the doctor uses vagina instead of puke. epic shit right there! then later on in the story, Jess did the crucifixion thing to get a visa and to clean the Filipino image in the eyes of Nigel. it also shows how some of us are ashamed of being Flips. look at Jess' mom, the bitch. she's always complaining about how Filipinos are slow, shitty and dirty. i mean, shit, her English is mediocre at best, and her cracker husband looks like an ass. i admit i'm guilty of saying bad things about Flips, but never to foreigners. only here at home and only because even my family notices these negative things.
i think the theme has something to do with being happy with your lot. like i'm a Filipino. i was born this way, and i don't really love it because of all the racist crap i get from other people, but i'm content with it. i'm like, yeah, i'm brown. you jealous? albino cracker! or dark mofo!:)) it also kinda shows how people can prosper(?) not just financially, but spiritually and in family matters in their own countries. yeah, it's a struggle to make ends meet, but it's doable.
the movie was hilarious and i like the singing group everytime there's a conflict going on? it's typical Filipino since the movie has a way of degrading us but in a funny way. the acting was shit (especially with the girl Mara?), but yeah. it's okay. i love the "Filipino accent", though.
the main character is a guy named Jess Huson. he's a driver (of goodness knows what? doesn't look like a taxi nor a limousine), he's from Pampanga, and he's trying to get a US visa (like almost every other Flip out there). he has a fiancee in California, which is one reason why he wants to go abroad. the said fiancee partly financially supports Jess and his dad Sancho. Jess' mom supposedly died when he was in his teens (got hit by truck in Jersey?). for some reason, throughout the movie, he wears red items of clothing. huh.
the dad is Sancho, a stubborn, deaf, demanding and pervy old dude who you might think has serious issues in the beginning of the movie. later on we realize that he's quite sensitive to Filipino culture and language. he used to join in the crucifixion thing during holy week as a sacrifice for his wife to get better, but he stopped since she left them for an American dude. he also calls this radio station to comment on how the guests use English terms instead of the rather vulgar Filipino ones. he also comments on how loads of us want to go abroad to get better lives, and how we take things we have for granted until we lose them (then we have the guts to say we miss those things).
Mara is an ex of Jess, and they have a son together (Jason) though the guy doesn't know it. we can see from her predicament the hardships of being a single mom and trying to keep them alive. she works as a mermaid for a carnival (which costs 30bucks to see! and nobody knows it's a fraud). she's trying to figure out which is a better role:mother (taking care of) or father (financially supporting).
Nigel Adams and the camera man are typical foreigners. they say that the Nigel dude is American, but he's so Brit! they went here to film a documentary about our customs during holy week (which is a load of bull if you ask me). they're typical because yeah, they have a job to do here, but they have fun with our women, at our bars, and they don't trust us at all.
Annette, the fiancee in California is the typical OFW. she sends money and items to Jess and his dad. she even bought the old codger hearing aids! from the sound of it, she's a nurse or caregiver there, waiting for American citizenship. she's overly possessive, but i suppose she means well.
the movie shows how a lot of other people see us. they think we're untrustworthy, we're a bunch of money hungry and job desperate people with no values whatsoever. think of the Molong guy(that's why there was a chicken there, coz he's chicken shit). they think we're a bunch of overly religious old codgers. they also see us as frauds (the faith healers who pretend to heal for the monetary gains), and as hypocrites (naked dancing chicks but no meat on holy week and no smoking when there's an ash tray?). we're also camwhores when you think about it, doing anything and smiling like crazy when in front of cameras (no matter the situation). what i like about the movie is how sensitive to our culture the father (Sancho) is. i remember him calling the radio station and asking the DJ how come the doctor uses vagina instead of puke. epic shit right there! then later on in the story, Jess did the crucifixion thing to get a visa and to clean the Filipino image in the eyes of Nigel. it also shows how some of us are ashamed of being Flips. look at Jess' mom, the bitch. she's always complaining about how Filipinos are slow, shitty and dirty. i mean, shit, her English is mediocre at best, and her cracker husband looks like an ass. i admit i'm guilty of saying bad things about Flips, but never to foreigners. only here at home and only because even my family notices these negative things.
i think the theme has something to do with being happy with your lot. like i'm a Filipino. i was born this way, and i don't really love it because of all the racist crap i get from other people, but i'm content with it. i'm like, yeah, i'm brown. you jealous? albino cracker! or dark mofo!:)) it also kinda shows how people can prosper(?) not just financially, but spiritually and in family matters in their own countries. yeah, it's a struggle to make ends meet, but it's doable.
the movie was hilarious and i like the singing group everytime there's a conflict going on? it's typical Filipino since the movie has a way of degrading us but in a funny way. the acting was shit (especially with the girl Mara?), but yeah. it's okay. i love the "Filipino accent", though.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
random thoughts part 1
well, it's currently 2:20 in the morning, march 17th, thursday.. can't sleep because i got loads on my mind.. i suppose this blog i only started for litfili is quite helpful in that sense: it helps me organize my thoughts.
i'd probably tell you that i can't sleep because i have been asleep since dinner, but who am i BS-ing? :)) it's a curse! my brain just won't shut the hell down!
reminds of this one discussion long ago in some class. that humans always strive to look for or have the best things in life. no matter what we have, we are never really content. we only realize we had the best all along when we have lost it.
what do we look for? things that we can't live without or things that we can't bear to lose? they may sound the same, but when you think about it, they are way different. the first entails survival: what can't we survive without. the second is more sentimental. i only realized the difference fairly recently.. thanks to a series of unfortunate events caused by yours truly.
why is human nature just so complicated? say one thing, mean another. do one thing, want another outcome. i'm boggled, but i do it. don't know why. and i thought i was pretty straightforward. i used to condemn those who never mean what they and say what they mean, then oh-hoh! i joined the club. i used to hate people like my dad, now i realize we're one and the same.
curse be the ramblings of a 20-year-old nerd! but hey, at least i got it out.. :D
i'd probably tell you that i can't sleep because i have been asleep since dinner, but who am i BS-ing? :)) it's a curse! my brain just won't shut the hell down!
reminds of this one discussion long ago in some class. that humans always strive to look for or have the best things in life. no matter what we have, we are never really content. we only realize we had the best all along when we have lost it.
"never is love's true depth known until the pain of separation."
what do we look for? things that we can't live without or things that we can't bear to lose? they may sound the same, but when you think about it, they are way different. the first entails survival: what can't we survive without. the second is more sentimental. i only realized the difference fairly recently.. thanks to a series of unfortunate events caused by yours truly.
why is human nature just so complicated? say one thing, mean another. do one thing, want another outcome. i'm boggled, but i do it. don't know why. and i thought i was pretty straightforward. i used to condemn those who never mean what they and say what they mean, then oh-hoh! i joined the club. i used to hate people like my dad, now i realize we're one and the same.
curse be the ramblings of a 20-year-old nerd! but hey, at least i got it out.. :D
what exactly is human nature?
first off, i'd like to say this. there is no black and white for me really. just loads of gray areas about right or wrong/ good and evil. i think that what is good is defined by the 'winners' while the 'losers' are forever put in a bad light. i dunno, it just came to me one day that what if our perceptions of what is right and just are really just that: perceptions. i don't make sense but let me put it this way: what if say the Nazis won that war ages ago. wouldn't they say that they were the good guys who triumphed over the other people fighting a good thing?
with that said, let me answer the question.are all humans animals when it comes down to it? well, technically, we are animals. we're just a more evolved and complex life form. but we started from the apes remember? we may have changed a good deal, but one thing we have kept inside through all the generations is our survival instinct. be honest. who wants to die? remember the SAW movies? they were given choices: kill another/face pain or die. they chose the former. why?? because we usually put ourselves before others. it's survival of the fittest out there. it's like the hunger games, but the arena is much bigger, and the prize of winning is much more valuable.
we are all competitive as hell. who's smarter, more beautiful, fitter, things like that. if whatever we have is essential to our survival, we use it. we hone it to be a bettertool for us. if something brings us down, it must be terminated. say i had a headache which dulls my thinking, i take aspirin. right?
on a more dramatic level, i'd say that yeah, i'd probably do something 'illegal' to survive. i think the justification of the act depends on the context of why you did it. like dom's example on stealing food if you can't afford it when you are extremely hungry. i mean, fuck, i'm starving to death! ethics/morals are not my biggest issue at the moment! or miss dianne's example about the kids being prostitutes so they can feed their family. their parents pushed them in that direction. they think it's right. they think it's relatively easy money. i have dealt with kids like them when i was nursing student. trust me, some of them think it's the right thing to do because they help with putting food on the table. the parents probably think along the same lines. because they are desperate. at least we have comforts they don't; that's why we think the acts are so repulsive. but what if we were stripped of our creature comforts? would we stoop to that level? you'd be thinking about living in the here and now, not wondering about consequences of actions i suppose.
yeah, sure, we have laws and all that. but what are they really? they're just made so those on top can stay on top. nobody follows the law here. c'mon. take a look around. even the enforcers themselves don't follow the law. they were made so that we can call ourselves civilized. we have a government, we have rules, we have structure/order. it's just a glittery facade that separates us from other species: we have 'laws' written down.
the girl in the story killed her father. i still stand by my view that the bastard deserved the bashing to the head. technically, his life is in the hands of the daughter anyways since she saved him from the soldiers. and he didn't even care about it! "waiting daw". so she did sort of have the right to do whatever she pleases with his life. i mean, killing him is a bit over, but a guess all the pain just built up. the father was always beating them up, and then she had to sell herself to free his sorry ass. all that trauma and psychological doodah is definitely gonna make you crack. she's 15! that's her way of getting rid of the problem. i think their family would do just well without the dad.
i mean, i'd kill if it meant survival for my family. my top priority (as always) is my mom. she's the one exception to my rule of "ako muna". she always comes first for me, no matter what. mama's girl. pft.
with that said, let me answer the question.are all humans animals when it comes down to it? well, technically, we are animals. we're just a more evolved and complex life form. but we started from the apes remember? we may have changed a good deal, but one thing we have kept inside through all the generations is our survival instinct. be honest. who wants to die? remember the SAW movies? they were given choices: kill another/face pain or die. they chose the former. why?? because we usually put ourselves before others. it's survival of the fittest out there. it's like the hunger games, but the arena is much bigger, and the prize of winning is much more valuable.
we are all competitive as hell. who's smarter, more beautiful, fitter, things like that. if whatever we have is essential to our survival, we use it. we hone it to be a better
on a more dramatic level, i'd say that yeah, i'd probably do something 'illegal' to survive. i think the justification of the act depends on the context of why you did it. like dom's example on stealing food if you can't afford it when you are extremely hungry. i mean, fuck, i'm starving to death! ethics/morals are not my biggest issue at the moment! or miss dianne's example about the kids being prostitutes so they can feed their family. their parents pushed them in that direction. they think it's right. they think it's relatively easy money. i have dealt with kids like them when i was nursing student. trust me, some of them think it's the right thing to do because they help with putting food on the table. the parents probably think along the same lines. because they are desperate. at least we have comforts they don't; that's why we think the acts are so repulsive. but what if we were stripped of our creature comforts? would we stoop to that level? you'd be thinking about living in the here and now, not wondering about consequences of actions i suppose.
yeah, sure, we have laws and all that. but what are they really? they're just made so those on top can stay on top. nobody follows the law here. c'mon. take a look around. even the enforcers themselves don't follow the law. they were made so that we can call ourselves civilized. we have a government, we have rules, we have structure/order. it's just a glittery facade that separates us from other species: we have 'laws' written down.
the girl in the story killed her father. i still stand by my view that the bastard deserved the bashing to the head. technically, his life is in the hands of the daughter anyways since she saved him from the soldiers. and he didn't even care about it! "waiting daw". so she did sort of have the right to do whatever she pleases with his life. i mean, killing him is a bit over, but a guess all the pain just built up. the father was always beating them up, and then she had to sell herself to free his sorry ass. all that trauma and psychological doodah is definitely gonna make you crack. she's 15! that's her way of getting rid of the problem. i think their family would do just well without the dad.
i mean, i'd kill if it meant survival for my family. my top priority (as always) is my mom. she's the one exception to my rule of "ako muna". she always comes first for me, no matter what. mama's girl. pft.
Monday, March 14, 2011
judgments gone awry..
wow. we've all experienced this one way or another. humans are just notorious for rarely looking past the outside appearance in making judgments. i get flack just for being Filipino actually. like if i'm in America, everybody would be like "oh, look.. a flip.. whore/maid." so that's just annoying. i'm actually scared to go to hong kong now for fear of being called a terrorist.
i suppose you will never really know how a person is really like unless you've seen them out of their element. a lot of people are good at faking how they act because they know what society deems as right and nice, so that's how they are. 'plastic', they're called. just wait until they're under pressure or faced with something not in their routine: they just might crack.
i remember this time when i was in 5th grade or something. everybody knows that i'm a book worm so i own a lot of books. the guidance counselor asked me if she could borrow my copy of Harry Potter 2. i lent it to her because i thought she was decent and she's old enough to respect property, especially a book i told her was sent to me from New York. plus she's been guidance counselor since i was in 1st grade, so i thought what the hell. i lent it to her. this is what happened. it took her AGES to give the book back. "naiwan daw". then when she finally gave it back, it looked like shit. the spine was creased in the middle, pages were yellow and dog-eared, there was a soy sauce stain on one page. it looked like it got ran over, then pissed on, then thrown around. I WAS SO PISSED. everybody knows i'm careful with books! up to now, i haven't been able to replace HP2 coz i'm slightly broke, so i can't buy the hardcover one (everything else i have is hardcover). it also never goes on sale. pft.
another time was when i was still in UPM. i was a fan of this arcade game called Wangan. so i made friends there who were also players. they were cool at first. masarap kasama. then a friend (who was in the same Wanganteam as me) asked to borrow my cell. i lent him my old cell. he never gave it back coz he sold it (he was strapped for cash). apparently he stole things from our other teammates also. the females were nice. i thought they were mahinhin. then they realized i had loads of male wangan dudes asking me out. they turned all beastly on me. they ignored me, when back then we were tight. BITCH ALERT.
nowadays, i think i can tell a fake from a real person. at least i'm relatively better at it. i can tell which ones are real friends and those who only know my name when they need something (which is a hell of a lot of the people at school). but yeah, welcome to my life here. i'm just 'you', 'pst', or 'miss'.
about the variations from modern life, i'd say this story was about how a lot of things are more accepted now.. you know? like being overly forward with your intentions, or a woman doing just fine on her own without a 'prince charming'. remember how in fairy tales, the women were always soooo dumb? like they couldn't do so well on their own and how they seem so shallow minded? it's like they were programmed to be so helpless. which is why i don't like fairy tales much. this was the mindset up until the last century when women finally started realizing their strength. it's different from the other 2 stories. they are all modern, and the spinster and games chicks were complicates as hell, but the spinster had no issues with communicating how she feels. she was pretty forward with her interest by being at that bar every thursday, and also with her disillusionment when she left his skinny ass behind. so yeah. the other girls were just beating around the proverbial bush,.
i suppose you will never really know how a person is really like unless you've seen them out of their element. a lot of people are good at faking how they act because they know what society deems as right and nice, so that's how they are. 'plastic', they're called. just wait until they're under pressure or faced with something not in their routine: they just might crack.
i remember this time when i was in 5th grade or something. everybody knows that i'm a book worm so i own a lot of books. the guidance counselor asked me if she could borrow my copy of Harry Potter 2. i lent it to her because i thought she was decent and she's old enough to respect property, especially a book i told her was sent to me from New York. plus she's been guidance counselor since i was in 1st grade, so i thought what the hell. i lent it to her. this is what happened. it took her AGES to give the book back. "naiwan daw". then when she finally gave it back, it looked like shit. the spine was creased in the middle, pages were yellow and dog-eared, there was a soy sauce stain on one page. it looked like it got ran over, then pissed on, then thrown around. I WAS SO PISSED. everybody knows i'm careful with books! up to now, i haven't been able to replace HP2 coz i'm slightly broke, so i can't buy the hardcover one (everything else i have is hardcover). it also never goes on sale. pft.
another time was when i was still in UPM. i was a fan of this arcade game called Wangan. so i made friends there who were also players. they were cool at first. masarap kasama. then a friend (who was in the same Wangan
nowadays, i think i can tell a fake from a real person. at least i'm relatively better at it. i can tell which ones are real friends and those who only know my name when they need something (which is a hell of a lot of the people at school). but yeah, welcome to my life here. i'm just 'you', 'pst', or 'miss'.
about the variations from modern life, i'd say this story was about how a lot of things are more accepted now.. you know? like being overly forward with your intentions, or a woman doing just fine on her own without a 'prince charming'. remember how in fairy tales, the women were always soooo dumb? like they couldn't do so well on their own and how they seem so shallow minded? it's like they were programmed to be so helpless. which is why i don't like fairy tales much. this was the mindset up until the last century when women finally started realizing their strength. it's different from the other 2 stories. they are all modern, and the spinster and games chicks were complicates as hell, but the spinster had no issues with communicating how she feels. she was pretty forward with her interest by being at that bar every thursday, and also with her disillusionment when she left his skinny ass behind. so yeah. the other girls were just beating around the proverbial bush,.
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