the summer 2011 recap

Dear Universe: You've been too kind.

So. This was how we fared for summer this year:

(Cut for table of contents)

the sean connery weekend

or, alternatively, the umulan-umaraw high school reunion

True to the weather bureau's announcement re: the official end of the summer season on Friday, it was rainy over the weekend with the exit of typhoon "Chedeng" but then not even that could have stopped this outing--have I mentioned it was nearly a couple of months in the making?--from happening.

Also: Can you believe I've known these guys for more than 10 years? (Think I was crazy in college? Blame these guys LOL)

Wet and wild, from L-R: Day, Danica, Me, Gino, Carlo, Eiven, Mary.

Under cut: Epic outing that capped this epic summer. And, as with all crazy events, I have no pictures of the portions that really mattered. Haha. Next time I go to a high school reunion with these folks, remind me to bring a tape recorder instead.

six, redux

It took a message from the company's HR department to remind me that this day marks my sixth year with the newspaper.

SIX YEARS! How amazing is that? :) Since waking up this morning, I kept looking at the calendar and thinking, May 26th has to mean something, and then I remembered AHA, AJSS graduation in 2000! LOL. While that is also true -- really, memory? Fail on some level. Haha.

Anyway -- oh wow. Six years. In keeping with the common metaphor -- had this been a child... Haha. Prep school already!

So to say something brief and sentimental: I have learned so much and I am still learning, and my god, there's still so much to learn. I mean -- six years is six, but even then, it's only six. :)

So, yeah. Here's to the years ahead, and in the wise words of Rebecca Black: WE WE SO EXCITED.

(Reading recs and a proposal under cut)

psa

Oh man. So occasionally, there will be times when I am going to have to rave about work-related things that are NOT read-along related (LOL).

This is one of those times, and today I will be raving about the Inquirer's Digital Edition.

Things I am loving right now: A digital version of the Inquirer in my Galaxy Tab EVERY MORNING.

Pico de Loro vs Anvaya: A review

DISCLOSURES

Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club is by SM, while Anvaya is by Ayala.

Date of visit to Pico: May 8 (see entry)
Date of visit to Anvaya: May 16 (see entry)

Onto the blow-by-blow, under cut.

currently on loop: the 5.18 lss mixtape

Photo taken in Anvaya, Morong, Bataan.

1. Lifehouse - All in
falling harder than a landslide

2. Architecture in Helsinki - Souvenirs
have we missed an opportunity?

3. New Radicals - Gotta Stay High
Good God I think I'm fallin'/Too weak to stand/Too scared to love again/The dam has broke/My soul is spilling all over your hands

4. Glee Cast - Animal
i kinda wanna be more than friends

5. Minus the Bear - Pachuca Sunrise
Midnight on a beach on the Mediterranean and I miss you

6. Thao and Mirah - How dare you
I swear it happens better when it happens again

BONUS TRACKS
- Britney Spears - I wanna go
THIS ENTIRE ALBUM OMG
- Rihanna feat Britney Spears - S & M
(haha)--sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me

anvaya (oh yeah)

Was at Anvaya with the family Monday! Thank goodness for the fantastic weather. Left Krista's apartment in Quezon City at 6 a.m., had a quick breakfast at Jollibee NLEX, left there around 7, and arrived in Morong, Bataan via SCTEx around 9:30-ish. Not bad.

Anvaya's pool complex. Definitely the strongest point of this place.

and for this day, a reminder

This block of text from here: "There are some people who don't wait" -- Robert Krulwich's Commencement Speech at Berkeley May 7, 2011 (via longreads.com)

So for this age, for your time, I want you to just think about this: Think about NOT waiting your turn.

Instead, think about getting together with friends that you admire, or envy. Think about entrepeneuring. Think about NOT waiting for a company to call you up. Think about not giving your heart to a bunch of adults you don’t know. Think about horizontal loyalty. Think about turning to people you already know, who are your friends, or friends of their friends and making something that makes sense to you together, that is as beautiful or as true as you can make it.

And when it comes to security, to protection, your friends may take better care of you than CBS took care of Charles Kuralt in the end. In every career, your job is to make and tell stories, of course. You will build a body of work, but you will also build a body of affection, with the people you’ve helped who’ve helped you back.

And maybe that’s your way into Troy.

There you are, on the beach, with the other newbies, looking up. Maybe somebody inside will throw you a key and let you in… But more likely, most of you will have to find your own Trojan Horse.

And maybe, for your generation, the Trojan Horse is what you’ve got, your talent, backed by a legion of friends. Not friends in high places. This is the era of Friends in Low Places. The ones you meet now, who will notice you, challenge you, work with you, and watch your back. Maybe they will be your strength.

If you choose to go this way, you won’t have Charles Kuralt’s instant success. It will take time. It will probably be very lonely. A living room is not a news room. It doesn’t feel like one. You know you’re alone. And on the way, you might get scarily close to not being able to afford a living room.

But what I’ve noticed is that people who fall in love with journalism, who stay at it, who stay stubborn, very often win. I don’t know why, but I’ve seen it happen over and over.

So, here, for what it’s worth, ladies and gentlemen of the Class of 2011, is my graduation advice. Some of you will say, “This is a fantasy. Pay this man no attention,” but hey, you invited me, so here’s what I’ve got:

If you can… fall in love, with the work, with people you work with, with your dreams and their dreams. Whatever it was that got you to this school, don’t let it go. Whatever kept you here, don’t let that go. Believe in your friends. Believe that what you and your friends have to say… that the way you’re saying it – is something new in the world.

And don’t stop. Just hold on… and keep loving what you love… and you’ll see. In the end, they’ll let you stay.

in nasugbu, discreetly

There was a nasty storm over the weekend, but guess what, this outing has been in the works for a month, so we therefore conclude: Rain or shine, the show must go on!

Kayo na ang may jump shot sa gitna ng bagyo! L-R: Me, Andrea, Ice, Almi, Julie, Abi

(Cut for photos of beaches in gloomy weather, and various shenanigans you can do with a pool and a waterproof camera)

happy mothers' day

On the occasion of mothers' day -- here, have a really old photo (c. 1994 or older)

Here be all the women who raised me
Nayong Pilipino, early 90s

You know what they say -- it takes a village to raise a child. This was the village that raised me -- my grandmother (d. April 1994), my mother (d. November 1997) and her two sisters, who are still raising kids to this day.

This day is for you.

currently on loop

Photo by Drea taken in Capones Lighthouse. Words from Thao.

1. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - Know Better Learn Faster
And I need you to be better than me. And you need me to do better than you.

2. The Script - If you ever come back
If it's the fighting you remember.

3. The Script - Exit wounds
Lose your clothes, show your scars.

4. The Script - For the first time
The feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

N.b. Parang buong kwento rin pala pag pinagdugtong-dugtong.

that extreme zambales adventure, 2011 redux

Here be photos via Ate Maricar's awesome camera! (Well, minsan nasa pana nga ata.)

Maipagpag lang first thing ang jump shot na ito.

(Cut for photos of torturous climbs and beach acrobatics)

extreme weekends: zambales edition, 2011

"Ano, next year ulit?"
"Dun na lang ako sa pleasant walks."
"Bakit, ano ba yung ginawa natin?"
"Agaw-buhay yun e."
-conversation sa likuran habang pauwi, tm val (david)

Summary: What started as an invite which sounded like, "Tara, punta tayo sa Anawangin, beach tayo" turned out to be, "Tara, punta tayo sa Anawangin, beach tayo sa Nagsasa pero AAKYAT TAYO NG BUNDOK MUNA FOR FIVE HOURS."

SERYOSO.

Touchdown Pundaquit, 6 a.m. Andrea and me before the hike.
Shit-ton of photos under cut (last count: 30)

5/3 EDIT: Andrea's account of this trip is here. =)