“And these things

that keep alive on departure know that

you praise them; transient,

they look to us, the most transient, 

to be their rescue.

They want us to change them completely,

in our invisible hearts,

into -- O endlessly -- us! Whoever,

finally, we may be.” 

― Rainer Maria Rilke

Duino Elegies

Tried my hand at making Christmas wreaths to give the house even just a hint of Christmas cheer. Sadly the only thing resembling Christmas wreath materials that I have are an old headpiece and fake greens. I ended up making just another version of a floral headpiece. It definitely needs a lot more work before it can even pass as an imitation of a Christmas wreath, haha!

In the course of taking out my craft supplies I came across this beautiful faux book box with gold details given to me by Alma, an artist friend when she came back from Oman. It's one of the most beautiful things I have, so I kept it stored so that it's away from dust and dirt. I've always loved creative, nifty things so having friends who are so generous in giving me beautiful things that I never tie of looking at, that is something that warms my heart over and over and over again. I took a few shots of the box with two equally beautiful gifts given to me by Darwiza, another friend, when she came back from Dubai-- a journal with a USB! It has this wonderful brown color and the pages are buttery soft, I almost do not want to write in them. And of course, the leather notebook given to me by the hubby, back when he was still the boyfriend, after a night of fighting and making up in Moon Cafe.

When I was younger, I didn't see the point of taking pictures of things. But recently, I've begun to take a second look, especially with the help of a camera. Things are a little bit like photographs. You look at them and memories come flooding back, especially if the thing is associated with happy moments from the past. The difference, perhaps, is in the form. Stuff have corners, edges, smooth or rough, shiny or covered in gold embellishments or cheap canvas cloth. Of course, I am no fun of clutter, so keeping a balance is necessary, methinks. JP suggested a solution, which is to take a photo of something special if it's too bulky to keep. And so we circle back again.

The pottery shop was really interesting. You can even sit down and have a go at the wheel, see if you can make a decent pot out of a lump of clay. Looking back, I regret not taking the few minutes to sit down and get my hands dirty. One of the few things I learned on this trip:  try everything! I try to apply this as much as I can when we travel, but it is easy to forget, especially when you are pressed for time, money, both, or just tired. But by golly, it is really important to try as much as you can, or you'll regret not doing it, especially when you are scrolling through photos of the trip!

Taking a calesa tour is perhaps one of the best things to do when you arrive in Vigan. For P350 a tour, you get to have a quick look-see at what the place looks like before doing a more thorough exploration of the place the next day. I would advise doing it in the later part of the afternoon, when it's not too hot and people are going home. You'll get a good feel of the town and it's inhabitants when everyone's out and about, preparing to go home, stopping by the church or the market. A few photos of our first day in Vigan. :)

It doesn't feel like there's a storm coming. The clouds are a brilliant blue, the birds are up in the air, and the sun is doing a great job of sending a lot of morning sunshine my way. Everything's all right with the world, it seems. However, a storm is coming. I guess one of the good things to come from last year's Haiyan is that people are more prepared now--water, food, fuel, charged batteries. Preparation can make all the difference, if we learned anything from the previous storms. This is going to be a strong  storm, according to  the news but hopefully, it will pass without taking any lives with it. 

I say short prayers to keep loved ones, stray dogs, and people living in danger-prone areas safe as I stir champorado, my comfort food of choice during rainy seasons and dull afternoons. It is warm so I'm not so sure about whether downing chocolatey boiled rice with a pinch of salt is the best thing to do, but it's here, might as well enjoy it. The tsokolate is handmade goodness by the mom of a friend and law school buddy (thank you, Carlis!). For P45 pesos a pack, it's a small luxury that I store away for days like these.  It is rich and creamy-- a few minutes out of the fridge, each piece was soft enough to grate lightly with a bread knife. 

Let's all pray that this storm will pass without incident. Keep safe and dry everyone!

Living in another house is making me appreciate the family and just having them around. Although I live nearby, not being able to see the dogs or hear familiar voices when I wake up in the morning takes some getting used to. Days like these I'm thankful that I got to take some shots of the dogs when I last visited home. I'm missing the furry toddler the most and his annoying persistence at wanting to play ball whenever he sees me. 

There are days when I just feel so blah although I haven't the slightest clue why I'm feeling that way. I'm sure a lot of people have those days too. I notice that these feelings come in full force when I forget to be grateful. The little things that irritate, that irk, the stuff that take me almost to the point of blowing my top, no matter how trivial or insignificant, somehow become mountains of negativity. It is easy to see them despite the mountains of goodness that are in front of me. The good thing is that saying a prayer of gratitude literally takes seconds and just like that, you can start to feel  better again. 

I've tried it, it works.

No need for pills, for feel-good music, nay, not even an unopened Snickers bar (*gasp!). It's amazing how switching to an attitude of gratitude can make things feel a bit better, if not so much better. 

I am the least thankful person I know. It is easy for me to go into an internal monologue of complaints while waiting for a pedicab in the hot sun. I get irritated when the Internet starts to crawl, or when I'm reminded of the things I lack that could make life so much easier for me. But then, I am also fortunate in other ways than most people, and the good things outnumber the bad a hundred times over. So what is  there to complain about?

Right now, I am particularly thankful that the little guy above is trying its darnedest to stay alive, despite the unceremonious uprooting and my forgetfulness with the watering. I sure hope he pulls through!

A happy Monday to everyone!

The adapter for my Olympus lens arrived today. I bought it from a guy in Manila who thankfully ships directly from Manila and not from China, like the other sellers I talked to. I could not contain my excitement and had a little bit of difficulty focusing on work while wondering if the next bike coming through was the LBC guy or not. True enough, it arrived at 1 PM, exactly 24 hours after it was shipped! (Thank you, LBC!)  Working this old lens again was something that I really missed. There's something about old things, especially old things that you can use to take pictures! They seem better somehow, more substantial, despite the nicks and scratches, and despite the age. After I got this lens I knew that I would never be able to part with it, and true enough, I keep finding ways to keep on using it. Feeling the weight of the metal and glass in my hand after months of tucking it away felt like coming home.

Which was just fitting since I was home. Home in a new house that I was slowly putting our stamp on, slowly turning into some semblance of a space to be filled to the brim with happy and loving memories. I have spent the better part of the past weeks making the space livable and prepping it for JP's arrival come February and not having a camera with me to take random snaps was really starting to get to me. With a broken camera and an old, battered lens, I finally was able to take a few shots and I was in heaven!

A few shots from this afternoon :D