Year-Ender Wish List

I've never made a wish list before, but seeing all the fun my friends had making theirs, I figured I should do my own. Right now, there are only three four things that I would really love to receive as gifts ( but there's a really good chance that I'll end up buying them myself anyway):

--a pair of aviator shades (any brand will do)

Tweedandvelvet.com, a great site for men, says that a pair of aviator shades is one of the essentials that any well-dressed man should have. I think that goes for ladies, too. Aviators are no-nonsense, heavy-duty eyewear that have none of the frilly silliness of other shades. I have been scouring the city for good pairs and brands. Right now I'm drooling over Mossimo and Sprinto aviators (Sprinto is an unknown Italian eyewear brand that have stylish aviator-style shades for less than PHP 1,000. But a pair of orig Ray Bans would really make my day :D

image from http://tmomedrano.multiply.com/journal

--a digital point and shoot

a Canon Ixus or a Sony Cybershot will have me grinning from ear to ear. I love my Samsung camera phone, but it takes crappy nighttime pictures

image from http://www.pressemeldungen.at

--external memory for all my photos and work documents

I'm kind of OC about keeping useless and unsorted photos in my laptop. Would love to have a place to dump everything in and sort them out when I have the time

photo from http://www.betweendreamsmag.com/briannaphotography/

--Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause

I like this book I saw on National bookstore. Not really designed like your typical book, it is easy to flip through when you need quick inspiration for photos

So there, aside from an end to world hunger, the death of techno, AND world peace (of course), these are the stuff that will take me a notch higher up the happy scale as the year ends.

Out with the Old...

Finally, I have decided to take the last step.

There are difficult people in our lives that we cannot help but love. And even if they have shown time and time again how rotten they can be towards us, the feeling lingers. You manage to break away and you hope you can stay friends, but even friendly conversations turn sour. It could be your fault, it could be the other person's fault--- it doesn't matter, things are no longer what they were before. Sad to say, all things have an ending, even friendships. Or perhaps, they just needed to be punctuated, for the time being, so as not to fray the edges some more, to prevent the fragile thread that's keeping you connected from breaking.

It's sad. The impending withdrawal, tastes of which I've had for the past week, feels more solid now, like it is finally here to stay. This is the shot that I've been dreading, but I have to endure the pain, knowing that no matter how it may hurt, at least it won't hurt forever.

It's a new day, and although I have no idea what lies ahead, I'll rest in the knowledge that its going to be better than yesterday.

New Header for my Blog!

I finally got around to making a header for my blog. I used a picture I took of a fallen leaf in Siquijor... it was the closest thing I could think of that can be linked to a Post-It... the leaf is yellow, and Post-Its are yellow (DUH!)

Raisin Crumb Cake

My sister likes to bake, which is perfect for me since I like to eat. The other day it was raisin crumb cake, a concoction of raisins, vanilla, sour cream and a crusty topping made of cinnamon, sugar, flour and butter. The cake is perfect when warm, with a scoop of ice cream or all purpose cream on the side. YUM! I hope she feels like baking again tomorrow :D

Raisin crumb cake
with a scoop of Selecta's Vanilla Macaroon ice cream

Raisin crumb cake topped with cream

Laura Herrera Bailado

Lola Alao

Laura Herrera Bailado. That's my lola, source of childhood terrors (she used to tell me that she would take my mom back to her house if I did not stop making 'pabuyag'), delicious warm breakfasts, and sweet nighttime lullabyes. She is now 94 years old, frail and weak, but she still manages to sing a song or two while clapping her hands every day. Every single day.

My lola is one strong woman. She was notorious for making my aunts and uncles climb into buri sacks as punishment. She would hang the sacks over the stove and allow the smoke to float over the sacks... pretty harsh. Today that would get someone thrown in jail. But back then, people were hanging their children over their stoves ALL THE TIME (I hope). It must have worked because today said aunts and uncles are all law-abiding citizens. And they all love her.

One of my regrets is that I don't get to see her as much as I should. I went back to her house last Christmas and she didn't recognize me. I can count the good days when things are clear for her, and she recognizes that I'm one of her grandchildren, at the least.

It is not very often that I make a post about my lola, and the two other 'older' people in my life. But its a new year, and I did not want to start the year ranting about myself, my resolutions, my wishes for the future, blah blah blah. So I'm doing a post about my lola instead, whom I love very much. Happy New Year, Lola.