we got really excited.

so we followed the road to rivendell. winding and up the hill, down the hill, sharp left and couple of roundabouts. then finally, he’s not here.

so where is he? maybe at isengard? or on his way to mordor. i need to find precious…

it’s a good timing being her; it’s the new zealand international arts festival. there’s an endless parade of plays, musicals, concerts and museum exhibits. we’re watching good morning, mr. gershwin at the st. james theater. and then a 3d movie on an adaptation of hans christian andersen’s ugly duckling on sunday. loving the culture rich city. looking forward on our saturday trip to martinborough. wine country and plenty of good food, way to live life.

as with the people i came here with, we use our nights to see the city. there’s a section of the city that really thrives at night that has all the dinner place and drinking pubs. similar to australia, they drink like a fish and rowdy as hell. my 10th day here, and i have to say i am enjoying the food. i’ve been having lamb and steak everyday, and really good ones! the dining here is so amazing, i haven’t had dinner in the same place twice. by way not cheap food, but not as expensive as i would expect. the venison in mushroom risotto with truffle jus is just nz$34. not bad. specially once you tasted how fabulous it is. 10 more days, more restaurants, and plenty more experiences.

though it wasn’t like one of those nights were i had meaningful relationships with every porcelain in sight, i had fun. people who stayed had fun. with the help from our leftover booze, the cocktails eased us to the beer and the vodka. the band made us belt our lungs out and made rockstars to those brave enough to pick up the mic. and the brownies that made us smile and laugh and be silly without a care in our hearts. thanks wuji for the pictures.

so i decided to take that bus again. i started at the golden gate park in haight and stanyan. i saw beautiful old oak trees as tall as a 24 storey building. the breeze in the park was exceptionally cooler than the city which i credit to the abundance of trees and greens. after my park trolling, i hit haight with no idea whatsoever to buy. just boutique hopping. i manage to get some ‘interesting’ pieces, which i think you can’t find in the downtown area. after a long day of shopping at haight st. (janis joplin used to live here!), i treated myself with a nice dinner at castro and 18th st. it’s the busiest part of castro with good upscale restaurants and good clubs. harvey’s at the corner and edge at the other end of the block. i texted tita that i won’t be joining them for dinner. after dinner, i went around and tried the sex shops. it’s castro, what’s a visit without going into these shops? don’t ask if i got something because i won’t tell. when i got home, hello dessert!

i tihink mom told tita my weakness for haagen-dazs. what a nice way to cap dinner with a tub of dark chocolate ice cream. yum!

listening to:
Victor/Victoria Soundtrack – Julie Andrews : Crazy World

ecluded by the hillside over looking karon beach, it’s one of the most breathtaking places i’ve been to. it’s a little bit remote, i have to take the limousine service if i want to go to the town proper or the beach even; that racked up the bill as it cost 400baht, 1 way. i think i billed more than 6,000baht just for going around the island. but what the heck, it’s about my holiday and i check my brain and calculator out in manila. it’s the perfect spot to chill out after your long day at the city proper shopping, ogling at hot boys and basking in the sun. the villa reminded me of china’s hanging monastery as it is built against the hill, melding with the abundance of greens and trees. it’s like a villa have grown on the side of the hill or something to that effect. and it’s the perfect weather there; sunny and bright. i was sweating just walking along patong beach in my trunks and caftan. there along the thousands of tourist and locals alike, i rested and bathe on the sun’s rays along the shores of patong beach. behind me is the shrine remembering the tsunami. life’s short, tsunami area or not, i will tan. at least if there’s a tsunami, i will die lying on an antique daybed with a tan.

lightly, just slight tanned as it is difficult for me to; i blame my genes for that. in any case, i love it! i really, really do love my color. although phuket locals have that golden bronze color that i am dying to have, i have to settle for what works for me. and it already stings when i put on clothes.

he joy of traveling, is not just experiencing new places, new taste, but also meeting new people. up in the hill where i stayed are some oz and a finish guy. we casually nod and smile at each other up the hill. but one night, unexpectedly, i saw them at paradise soi in patong having a drink. me already buzzed with infinite bottles of beer and liquor, took lead and entertained. yes, i am a loose person when drunk, that is no secret. i would say we hit it off. one thing i like with ozzies is that i share their humor, and it does help that they are like me, struggling to speak thai. it’s magical when you meet people and you connect immediately. i love that about traveling, the unexpectedness of what could happen. it was sunday evening, across b.b. boy bar, 5 drunken foreigners sat, ogled and drunk themselves silly. michelle, an ozzie, had this crush on one of the half naked boys parading in front of b.b. the drunk me got up, striked a conversation with tui, and got him to sit with us. everyone was stunned, i guess, but at the end of the night all 5 of us went home with tui. we gave tui and michelle privacy at the pool, while the rest of us stayed at the villa’s bar, with a pitcher of mojito. after 6-7 glasses, we were having such a good time that we didn’t noticed the sun was up. decided to jump to the pool, fully clothed…

n a different note, i have finally joined the band wagon. i’m on facebook.

inally, a republican  who hated the war on iraq. senator hagel who once supported mccain for his presidency had aired his opposition with the war on the middle east breaking away from mccain’s. he also scrutinizes palin’s lack of foreign policy credential. i mean, for crying out loud, i got a passport at age 8 and i am not aspiring holding a government office. now the lady is cramming up. good luck with that. read story here.

faces of friends as they embark on a trip with no confirmed reservations, no knowledge where to go, or how to get there. just machupichu (white honda jazz) and the will to have the greatest adventure yet.

all we know is that we are heading north to zambales, either potipot or anawangin. we had a reservation at pundaquit in a bed and breakfast (wannabe) residence of a local there. failing to locate a pnb branch and pay the accommodation, the owners decided to give our room to another group, a day before our supposed trip. the only room available is a 2 bed bedroom at a staggering php4,500.00. i don’t know if it was a gimmick of the owners to force us to get the pricey room but i am completely turned off. it’s a makeshift bed and breakfast, i can get an executive room at the shangrila makati for php3,999.00++ (thanks to mom’s membership) with complimentary breakfast. we decided to try search for other accommodation to no avail. no rooms available for us.

being the adventurer we are, we headed north of manila with no clear place to stay. we have set our hearts to anawangin and that’s where we will be. on our way, we were planning contingencies if ever we really can’t find somewhere to stay. it’s either 1.) sleep along the long stretch of trees in pundaquit, 2.) sleep in the car 3.) go back to subic and stay at a hotel or 4.) go to mt. pinatubo instead. good thing we headed early and was able to make good time to scout the local area for accommodation. turning right somewhere in pundaquit, we were able to see a house with a makeshift lighthouse. named wild rose inn, dahon felt a vibe that this is the place that will save us from our misfortune, so she figured having a first name rosemarie. she went to the inn and talked to the owner whom we will address here as tita lover. tita lover is a character, you’ll love her to bits. she is a balikbayan from canada who spoke to us in english and speaks to her husband and house helps in tagalog. we don’t know why, she just does. she offered us an airconditioned room with a queen size bed and a double bed, t&b for only php1,800.00! we settled at tita lover’s inn and asked one of the help if he can look for a boat to take us to anawangin and capones.

after settling to our room, we packed our lunch, change to our swimming gear and headed to the islands. a small boat, just enough for the 5 of us and 2 boatmen ferried us to anawangin. it was a rather turbulent 40 minutes ride since it was a small boat. we were able to get to the island, safely, before the high noon. we ate lunch under the tall pine trees to shade us. irish’s mom packed adobong manok and embutido for lunch. it was a nice lunch together with friends. we were sharing food, eating food with bare hands (yes i know how to), sharing stories and chismis. after lunch we hit the sea, for me, some serious 1 on 1 with the sun.

… to be continued

1.39am – pack lightly. i’m ready for the beach!

listening to:
Bring It On – Da Beat Bros.: Jump Up

so here i am, google-ing away to find that pet i so needed to keep me company. i have to say no to dogs. i hate loud noises, specially in the morning; their endless barking annoys the crap out of me. i can’t stand their neediness, having to keep up and pickup after them. i will never, ever, pickup after anyone, specially their poo. if i wanted something as needy as them, i’ll get myself a boyfriend(bitterness!). cats as adorable as they maybe is too froofroo for me. i like to look at siamese cats, but to own one, is something i can’t have, and will never have. i mean, come on! it’s too cute for me. unless it’s a super cat, that would be way cool! that would scare the crap out of everyone. just imagine yourself walking you jaguar in the morning. hottie magnet! i am trying to find an animal that i can tolerate, i will madly fall in love with. my qualifications are simple; 1.) not needy 2.) can clean themselves 3.) can feed themselves 4.) cool. very straight forward ain’t it?

my over indulgence and fixation to channel 41 have introduced me to the most fascinating and intelligent animal in the planet. they’re humongous! but still very elegant. the type of elegance that ballet dancers could only dream of. they are the gentlest of beings and lives in solitary most of their adult life. though living alone, they are still the sociable and interacts with humans sharing their fascination equally. they sing the most wonderful and pleasant song having the most complex language in the planet! they are, for me, the ultimate.

image by wikimedia.org

i know, i can’t have a humpback whale as a pet, it wouldn’t fit in my room, even my house. so my fascination and with these gentle giants would only be satisfied with google and nat geo specials. i’ll be adding this to my list of things to do before i die: go swimming with the great humpback.

here’s a recording of a male humpback whale’s song.

a super cat is defined by nat geo as belonging to predator cats like the tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar and lions.

what you give to the universe is what you get back. so i’m sending positive vibes out there and hopefully it bounces back to me in a nice way. i need all the niceness and good things there can be. although i have to say that i haven’t been nice to janina san miguel, binibining pilipinas world. please help me over come my innate katarayan, i beg of you. watch the video and tell me if i can get away with this one. just this one please? can i be mean as her taf-10-ness? or was it tough-10? whatever…

holy week is approaching, the metro will be deserted again. boracay, galera with be flooded with city slickers even though they’ve jacked up their prices, more than double the usual rate. hay, what we do and pay just to get out of the city and be seen. i promise myself to finish at least 2 books. i promised myself i’m finishing all those pending books i have before the year ends so i’ll start with these 2 this long weekend. crossing fingers, no distractions please! i need to hide my nintendo ds, really hide to finish those 2 books. my idea of summer? in an island, by the beach, tanning, glass of green mango shake, good books and ipod playing juno soundtrack. oh yes, hot guys playing beach volley in their skimpy bikini trunks. hay…

Josh Groban – Josh Groban
Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)

i’ve always believe that things speaks to you. shoes speaks to you, bags speaks to you, stuff speaks to you. there’s a relationship. before i buy bags, shoes, clothes, it has to speak to me. there’s a story that you develop between you and stuff you own. the jeans you wore when you first met, the white shirt you soiled when making a move on date; the shoes, the shoes, the SHOES! anyway , i love it when other people have that kind of relationship and i hope that you’ll have that kind of relationship too.

here’s an excerpt of the love story.

They have been a good friend and treated like a family member, and I would never sell or part with them.

read here for more jean blogs → evisu.com.

listening to:
FutureSex/LoveSounds – Justin Timberlake: Love Stoned I think She knows