I always enjoyed going on long drives even as a kid. Back then, we would have regular trips to the province and I wouldn't sleep on that 11-12hr drive from Davao to Cagayan de Oro (thats not even the overall trip) because I'd look at the views I don't normally see and how I love it when I catch a glimpse of the sea. I also have this weird thing of trying to remember the way (but I probably didn't) just in case we'd stop because of some emergency or something and we'd forcefully need to walk all the way back. Yes, my imaginations are all well played in my head up until now. Hahah! 

Driving isn't just about driving. Aside from the rules that you have to abide by (hello 30kph speed limit) you have to know how to take care of your car and maintain the respect with other drivers on the road. There are a lot of reckless drivers out there. A lot! Last July I almost had an accident. I was on my way to meet friends nearby my school. I was crossing an intersection and about to reach the other side. A taxi driver was also crossing the road opposite to me. When we were about to close in on each other, a speeding van on the left drove right in the middle of my car and the taxi cab! I was about to hit the damn van if I hadn't stepped on the break that quick. It was sooo close! Both the taxi driver and I stopped for a few seconds and looked at each other in disbelief of what just happened and I just kept shaking my head and saying "seriously!?" 😡😱 I looked at the van as he passed on my right thinking that he probably had a good time driving like Dominic Toretto. I was trembling and shaking but I had to drive on. When I arrived, I just asked my friend to park the car instead as I really needed to calm myself as I nearly broke down. I learned that no matter how careful you are, you will be in situations whether you like it or not thanks to drivers like that. Everyone should be careful. You are not only wrecking your life but others as well. And I was thankful that it was just a near miss. For days I kept thinking about what happened, remembering the car model, color and plate number. But the time came a when all I can remember was just a white van. Maybe he just got into an emergency or his wife was at the back seat getting into labor so thats why he was speeding all the way to the hospital. Who knows? Just like other experiences, we just have to shove it off and move on.

So earlier today I had my first car oil change. I know I still have a lot to know about cars and all that and I try to learn as much as I can and try to get my hands dirty if theres a need to. It was so hot today but I just stood there looking at the mechanic doing his job and asking questions. He was patient enough to answer me while other mechanics were suggesting that I should just go wait in the air conditioned office which my dad had suggested as well. But it was first time to see the car being hoisted up and I really wanted to see what he was going to do and the grime under it. It was dirty. So dirty that I was a bit embarrassed. Miss, asa diay ka ga adto oy? Hahahah 🙈 But this is what you're going to get under there, right? 

I knew that driving was a big responsibility and that it ain't going to be cheap but the experience would definitely be worth it. Just imagining the roads that I'd be on and the miles that I have to take just to be somewhere breathtaking and amazing excites me. Its not all about the destination as well as driving is a lot like life in general. The road is going to be full of dead ends, obstacles and traffic. But if you press on despite of your tired clutch leg you will reach places that's even better than your imaginations. Waaay better. 

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I have been wanting to write about this for the longest time.  Music (for the most of us, if not all) somehow has been an instrument of making one's situation better or maybe sometimes worse (in some ways).  There are those lyrics that seem to relate to just about everything that you are going through in your life, both good and bad.  And sometimes it just makes you feel good and happy even if there's a need to search for its meaning just so you could understand it.  I remembered listening to kpop back in early high school where no one seems to relate with me except for the people I've got to know through the internet then bleeding out to Mayday Parade's Three Cheers for Five Years, Taking Back Sunday's Cute Without the E and The Used's Blue and Yellow (just to name a few) til early college sophomore year. #realtalk hahahah! 

So I'd like to share with you artists that I have grown to love more and more this year.  I have learned to like different genres no matter how opposite they are with the previous ones I've liked.  Some of these artists I just discovered recently, but some I knew about from way back.  I hope some of these artists provide you that feel good feeling after listening to good music.

This list btw is in no particular order.

1.) Matthew Mole

Due to the autoplay function in Youtube, I got to hear his music August of this year after listening to Jeremy Loops. Please please please listen to him live, he is sooo good! I love artists who perform exceptionally well on live shows.

I have a lot of favorites from this guy but my top 3 would have to be Take Yours, I'll Take Mine, The Wedding Song and Same Parts, Same Heart. I just get all kilig and feel good when I listen to his songs 😍 And I must say that I also like his take on Will.i.am's Heartbreaker.

"The Wedding Song"

I can't profess that I understand it
But I see me holding your hand ❤️❤️❤️

This. I cant even. 

2.) Of Monsters and of Man (OMAM)

My friend told me about this ages ago but I only got to really listen to their songs, that was around June or July this year, from again the autoplay in Youtube right after The Lumineers' Hey Ho on repeat.  My favorites are Crystal Eyes and Little Talks.

"Crystal Eyes"
I know I'll wither
So peel away the bark
Because nothing grows when it is dark
In spite of all my fears
I can see it all so clear

"Little Talks"

Though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

3.) Us the Duo 

Thank you to Facebook friends who shared their video on their covers and for the movie Book of Life (which I love!) for introducing me do this talented couple! My original fave is No Matter Where You Are and cover faves are Titanium and Don't You Worry Child.

"No Matter Where You Are"

I will hold on to everything we've got

A quitter, a regretter, and forgetter

Is everything I'm not ❤️

4.) Jeremy Loops

Well I have Ben Brown to thank for for introducing me to this very talented man! I've been hooked  since last year and it has been a regular on my playlist ever since :) It has been one of my dreams to be a volunteer and help plant trees, like what they do in an organization he co-founded called Green Pop :) No, I don't have a green thumb like my parents do but I would really love to try and do it as well. If you know of any org's here in Davao please do let me know. I have tried it before back in High School and College but didn't really know the importance and its impact.  I was just merely submitting to the school requirements. tsk 

My hands down favorite would definitely be Down South. And let me just say that I love the music video they made which came out days before my birthday this year.

"Down South"

In the light of day

With open eyes

In the time it takes

To decide

That I wanted you to stay and

I didn't wanna go

I wouldn't take it away from you no no

5.) Mumford and Sons

I just can't remember the first time I listened to them, where and through whom. My favorite is Wait for You. And yes its because of Book of Life. Hahahah! Because I just love that movie! Aaand Hopeless Wanderer. I had a good laugh at the music video, if you haven't yet, check it out 😉

"Wait for You"

So I'll be bold

As well as strong

And use my head alongside my heart

So tame my flesh

And fix my eyes

That tethered mind free from the lies

6.) The Lumineers

Favorites are Hey Ho, Stubborn Love and Ain't Nobody's Problem. Uhm. Sorry. I also forgot who I listened prior or who suggested the band. Maybe it was after listening to 2 Door Cinema Club or Capital Cities? Idk.

"Hey Ho"

I belong to you

You belong to me

You're my sweet heart ❤️

7.) Odesza

Aaaaand another thank you to Ben Brown for using Waited 4 U on a lot of his vlogs which got me addicted to this artist. I would have to admit that there was at least a month or two, that I would only listen to Odezsa. Perfect road trip playlist.

My favorites are Say My Name and Waited 4 U remix (Wow! Such a shocker, I know), original is by Slow Magic. I remembered getting a little bit cray cray when I heard Say My Name play in American Eagle. Yep. I'm crazy like that.

"Say My Name"
I always call for confidence
Your compliments look good on me

8.) Gavin DeGraw
I just get to imagine romantic moments more perfectly when I listen to his songs. And I've got One Tree Hill (So high school. And oh, Naley btw is still the best couple ever!) for introducing me to such a talented man! He is so underrated! And people who really know me knows that I love me some underrated artists 😉

Really, I have a lot of favorites from this guy.. I've been listening again and again to Soldier, Best I Ever Had and Make a Move for like a million times starting the love month of this year. I've heard of these songs before but maybe I just grew attached to them this year. I even included a line from Soldier on my blog post, Valentines Day Gift Ideas.

"Best I Ever Had"
You said take me home
I can't take this place
There's too many hipsters
And I just can't relate

You're my neon gypsy
My desert rain
You're my helter skelter 
Oh how can I explain?
...
I think I love you
But don't even know you ❤️

9.) James Arthur
Oh he got my ears hooked through Impossible.  I kind of disliked him at first as he seemed a bit conceited (that's just me though) because probably he know he's good.  But damn.  He is good. hahahaha I got goosebumps while listening to his final performance for XFactor.

My original fave just has to be Recovery.  I loved his performance where he got to joke around with the crowd by calling out to the male fans like dogs.  It made me laugh.  His eyes in that video looked so good 😍

And his full sleeve tattoos made him a lot hotter! Just like Gab Alipe and Chris Carrabba. My crushes 😍

"Recovery"
In my recovery
I'm a soldier at war
I have broken down walls
I defined, I designed my recovery

10.) Sarah Bareilles
Her music is close to perfection. Ah. Just like Gavin DeGraw, I've been a fan for years. This year, the dominant songs have been Love on the Rocks and her cover of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I remember listening to both songs back again late April.  It just kept playing in my head, I had it on repeat when I decided to resign for work on my birthday.  Perfect music for what I had been feeling at that time.  Sipping on some wine and listening to her. Aaaaah R&R mood. I tried playing it on the piano but I couldn't really play the exact chords that she's playing. Please hit me up if you know it.

Check out her Goodbye Yellow Brick Road cover.  Even Elton John approves of it!

Other favorites are I Choose You ❤️, Uncharted, King of Anything.. Well actually there's a lot! lol

"Love on the Rocks"
I needed a raise
I worked so hard for this love mine
Still I got nothing to show for it

Here's a simplification of everything were going through
You plus me is bad news

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty of me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you
... I've finally decided where my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

11.) Shawn Mendes
Just could not let it slip that I missed to include Shawn Mendes so I felt the need to edit this post.  I first heard of him when I had my first trip to Mati last April as the girlfriend of my friend had Stitches on her playlist. 

My favorites are Show You, Something Big, and I Know What You Did Last Summer with Camila Cabello.  The latter has been on my head for a week now and my office mate seems to get in to this song as well :)  I can imagine singing this with my girlfriends, it will be so much fun!  I also like Stitches and Aftertaste but not as much as those 3 songs.

Check their performance of IKWYDLS live if you haven't yet 👌

"I Know What You Did Last Summer"
He knows dirty secrets that I keep
Does he know its killing me?
He knows, he knows, does he know?
That his hands have touched my skin
I wont tell him where I've been
He knows, he knows, he knows

I know what you did last summer
Just lie to me there's no other
I know what you did last summer 
Tell me where you've been
I know what you did last summer 
Look me in the eyes my lover
I know what you did last summer 
Tell me where you've been

--edited on Dec 9--

YES!!! Finally got into blogging again!  A lot has happened in the last 2 quarters of this year and I just got to take a break from it all.  I am glad though that despite of the busy schedule (and stress) that I had for the past couple of months, I hadn't got sick! YEY!  *pats self at the back*

Still a couple of weeks left before the year ends so we still got time to check off some things on our 2015 Goals ;) I've been failing at trying to eat healthily year after year so it was a treat when I had finally tried a cold pressed juice.

I've heard about Soul Kitchen Co from my best friend but never really got to try what they had to offer until one fateful day 😋 

A close friend of mine whose overseas asked me to get fresh fruits at Soul Kitchen for his sick girlfriend a couple of months ago.  I downloaded Waze but since i have a crappy data connection, it wasn't of good use 😓 So just with their address at hand I hoped that my inner GPS wont fail me... And it did. Hahah! If your coming from Lanang/JP Laurel Ave., turn right to Torres St. The street is between the two gas stations Shell and Caltex. So just go straight until you pass by Davao City Natl High School or Mabini St. Soul Kitchen is located at the right side of the street. You'll see establishments like One Fab Pooch and Cafe Demitasse.

So I tried out one of their cold pressed juices, Cure. I've always thought that these juices would taste bland and that I would never want to try one again. But it didn't even taste one bit like that. In fact it tasted great! 👌🏽 The Cure had a mix of Watermelon, Apple and Flax seed oil (if I'm not mistaken). 

Cold pressed juices has gotten a lot of hype and I can definitely understand why. These juices are made with no preservatives which makes it so good! The juice extraction from the fruit or vegetable is done by using a hydraulic press. The vitamins and minerals from these fruits and veggies are still preserved in the juice instead of killing it in the process. So its not just good, but its also healthy. It helps your body cleanse/detoxify leaving you feeling refreshed and energized! Cold pressed juices are to be taken within 2 days after extraction (as mentioned, it does not have any preservatives).

I will definitely come back and taste the rest of the goodness that Soul Kitchen Co has :)