It has been too long! Its the second half of 2020 and I must say that the past 6months felt like it had already been a year!

How are you? How are you feeling? How are you holding up? What are you up to? What have you been thinking lately? Has the number of COVID cases in your country improved? What's it like in your area now?

Here? 🙄 Idk. I dont even want to talk about it. There are a lot of issues that the Philippines is facing right now aside from COVID. Sometimes I feel like the pandemic might be feeling a little left out from all the issues!

The world is in a tough situation right now and it is so easy to feel alone and scared. A lot of us are struggling and it is okay to feel like you are even more lost than when the pandemic started. Its okay. You are not alone. I do hope that wherever you are right now, that you and your family are doing well and that you still have the means to provide them bread and butter. Let's continue to hope for better days, wear our masks, and do social distancing... Im positive that we will all bring home the bacon soon! 

Stay healthy and safe, everyone!

These past few weeks, I had been watching MCU movies that I was not able to in the past.  As we all know, the End Game is about to be released tomorrow and I don't want to go to war empty handed.  I haven't read a single Marvel comic in my life even when my brother had them.  As a kid, I'd just run through the pages looking at the pictures.  As for the series, all I got in my belt are just Iron Fist and a few episodes of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.  Which isn't really connected with the Avengers movie.  Its not, right?

There has been a lot of talk going around regarding Hawkeye turning into the Ronin.  I think that this is going to be true, because of the costume change, which I have read is similar to what other character's use when they use the Ronin persona.  Its interesting to know that they are developing Clint Barton's character which I kind of am looking forward to.  I wonder if there will be a separate movie about him and Romanoff. 🤔  I'd love to see that.  

Okay... so last night I took a break from Marvel and watched Wind River starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.  Still the Avengers' stars eh? hahaha  If I could use one word to describe this movie it would be this - heavy.  The last film that I had a similar reaction to was 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

A great poster made by @RicoJRCrea

Wind River really struck me deep so I decided to write my reflections and look in to a couple of things.  I don't know much about the United States so I was not aware of this prior to the movie- Wind River Indian Reservation is not a fictional place.  It is in Wyoming where some Native American tribes live.  There has been severe impacts on transportation, agriculture and the likes due to severe weather and it can be seen in the movie how harsh the conditions in Wyoming can be.

Jane Banner,  Elizabeth's character, is an FBI agent sent out to solve the death of an American Indian, Natalie Hanson, in Wind River.  Personally, I think that it really is important to do a little bit of research before going to a different place where culture can be different from mine so I can avoid offending others.  I guess she did not have time to do it since she went there in a hurry and even went without having weather appropriate clothes.  So for travelers, wherever you go take time to get to know where you are going, what the people are like and how the weather is going to be when you get there.  At the start, I can say that Jane was somehow ignorant of other people's feelings (and a couple of other things too, like the shootout could have been avoided if she listened ) and just wanted to get her job done.  She did a good job in disrespecting Natalie's father.  She somewhat finds herself in a situation where she realizes that it is more than just a case.  Overall, I think Jane is pretty hardcore despite of how her character started in the movie.

All along, I thought that Natalie's boyfriend, Matt Rayburn assaulted her and tried to kill her, that is why she ran away barefoot in the snow and died as her lungs gave out due to the extreme weather.  But the reason of her death was later shown in a flashback when Jane wanted to investigate the sleeping quarters of Matt.  I am not going to go deeper in to this as there might be some of you are probably reading this without having watched the movie yet so I am not giving it all away ;)  Other than the history of war and concentration camps,  I realized in this flashback that isolation can be a part of a recipe that can turn people into ravaging animals.  I remembered the news on how people became zombie-like and stole whatever they could when Yolanda struck Tacloban, a town in Visayas here in the Philippines.  It is because of Natalie's death I became more aware of the importance of letting our parents in.  I'm not a child anymore (sometimes childish tho) but I still think it is.  It is not just about letting them know who we are dating, where they work and live, but it is more about being safe and well.  

And now to Cory Lambert,  Jeremy's badass character.  I really admire how calm, collected and confident he is in his skills.  He could have solved the case single-handedly without anyone dying at all.  But the fact that he was not even a police officer and was able to close in on the case because of his excellent tracking skills is amazing.  I think that his troublesome past also paved the way for him to want to help solve the mystery of Natalie's death.  With it, it felt like he was also honoring Emily's death too.  You'll find out who she is when you watch it ;)  The near ending scene where Cory was comforting Jane is somewhat similar to the Age of Ultron part where Hawkeye was telling Scarlet Witch "it doesnt matter what you did, what you were... If you step out that door, you are an Avenger."  Still goes down to the Avengers, eh? hahahah 

Lastly... I just felt the need to point this out.  The Asian American movement is becoming strong and people are telling more stories about the Asian culture and how they are being perceived in the world are opening the eyes of many.  But it is really sad to know how overlooked the Native Americans are, and this movie is delivering that message very hauntingly.  I think that it is very critical that Taylor Sheridan wrote this story and made this film to let it be known to us that missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) has become an epidemic.  This is not only affecting those that are in the US but in Canada as well.  I certainly do hope that government leaders look more into this grave issue.  

Thats it!  I really recommend that you guys watch Wind River and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.  

Its 2019, baby!

Decided to do a part two of this.  Its the new year and I just wanted to share more amazing artists/songs that might just help better your mood or your entire day.  We all need a little something to feel good.

JOHNNYSWIM.  I love me some Colbie Caillat songs.  (I actually have Colbie Caillat and Jason Young in the background doing a cover of Turn Your Lights Down Low now ❤️).  Her songs just leave me feeling as if I'm in love again just like what Sara Bareilles and Gavin DeGraw's music does to me.  So I kind of stalked her Instagram account and went to her posts from a few years back.  That's when I first heard of Johnnyswim as she posted a video of herself and Jason Young singing to First Try.  So I did a little research on the husband/wife duo and fell in love with their music ❤️

Johnnyswim and Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors' new album Goodbye Road came out May last year, which features pieces of light and hope in a society where a lot of people feel like they don't have both.

"Featuring the harmony-heavy vocals of Penny & Sparrow on several tracks, Goodbye Road was written and recorded in the wake of an emotionally-charged year that included the racial assaults in Charlottesville, the loss of rock & roll icon Tom Petty, and the heartbreaking attack upon an audience of music fans at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. The result is a record that not only doubles down on swooning, sweeping melodies, but also offers messages of hope and resilience. It's bright, clear-eyed music for cloudier times."

Its hard to pick a favorite, but I'll have to trim it down to these five:
Live While We're Young, A Million Years, Let It Matter, In My Arms, and Diamonds.

"Diamonds"
You've taken down so many others 
Oh but you'll know my name when you see
And in these ashes I'm stronger still
You will learn to feel my pain, yeah you will

GEORGE EZRA.  I was listening to either Milky Chance's Stolen Dance or Vance Joy's Riptide on Youtube (had the autoplay function enabled again) before I heard the very classic voice of George Ezra.  I have heard of Budapest before but I never got the chance to check who the artist was.  So when I heard it again I was ecstatic!  I was shocked that this classic voice is from this 25-year-old guy!  When he talks, he doesn't talk that deep though.  I'm not saying he's shallow hahahaha I just meant that his voice doesn't sound that low when he talks.

I also love his BBC Music Awards performance back in 2014.  I loved when the crowd was singing along with him so loudly that it made him smile. 😍 Well I think it did.

And gosh he looks so good too!  Those blue eyes 😍

His new album, Staying at Tamara's, was released March last year.  His new album is so catchy and summery it makes me happy!  The album was written in Barcelona where instead of staying at a hotel, he found a stranger on the internet named Tamara and rented out her spare room.  Really interesting, right?

My favorites are: Budapest, Paradise, Shotgun.

"Paradise"
I know you heard it from those other boys
But this time its real 
its something that I feel and

If it feels like paradise running through your bloody veins
You know its love heading your way


TWENTY ØNE PILØTS.  I remembered listening to House of Gold, Car Radio and Ride on repeat on the way to my classes.  I did that each and every time until I got to memorize the lyrics.  I became obsessed with this band for a while thanks to my friend who had TØP on his playlist. 

What I love about this band is that they use different styles in their music.  And I think this is what makes this duo more interesting.

TØP also released their new album Trench last October 2018.  

My favorites are: Car Radio, Holding On To You, Trees, Ride, and Tear In My Heart

"Car Radio"
I ponder of something terrifying
Cos this time there's no sound to hide behind
To find over the course of human existence
One thing consists of consistence 
And its that we're all battling fear
Oh dear I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my too deep please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound

JON BELLION.  Heard All Time Low like a million times way before I knew who sang it (love the acoustic version!).  I was reading tweets about Twenty Øne Pilots and I ended up on Jon's profile listening to his acoustic version of Guillotine.  Gawd I wish there was a full version of it.  (skip to 13:40 if you're watching it now. Though looking at the process is awesome as well).

It blew my mind when I learned that Jon Bellion fronted for TØP on their ERS Tour in 2017.  Jealous of all the people who went. UGH.

Glory Sound Prep was released in November last year.  I honestly haven't listened to all of the songs yet. 😅

JB favorites are: Guillotine, Maybe IDK and Woke The F Up.

"Guillotine"
The secrets you tell me I'll take to my grave
There's bones in my closet but you hang stuff anyway
And if you have nightmares we'll dance on the bed
I know that you love me, love me
Even when I lose my head


SIA.  We've all heard of Titanium, Chandelier, Elastic Heart and Cheap Thrills.  I knew that she has a great voice but I never really bothered to listen to her other songs.  It was until I watched her in James Corden's Carpool Karaoke.  So when I started to run again I'd have a lot of "screw it, this is the last time Im running" moments- I hate doing cardio especially running 🙄 Listening to her other songs just gave me that push that I needed to finish strong.  And I bet you know which songs I'm talking about - Alive, Greatest, and Unstoppable.  Love it especially how I'm out of breathe and all that jazz then I hear her sing I'm still breathing, I'm alive; Running out of breath but I got stamina; and I'm a Porsche with no breaks (Though in reality I got a turtle's pace. Sorry, turtles.  No offense.) 😅 

But aside from those songs, love these as well: Bird Set Free, Soon We'll Be Found and We Can Hurt Together.

"Soon We'll Be Found"
Lets not fight I'm tired can we just sleep tonight
Turn away its just there's nothing left here to say
Turn around I know were lost but soon we'll be found

"We Can Hurt Together"
There ain't nothing you can say that can scare me away
I've got history too and its never too late
To share a secret today, I'll reciprocate 
Baby, I got you

I've been where you've been
I've seen what you've seen
So hurt with me, we can hurt together


ANDY GRAMMER.  Been hearing Fresh Eyes for a long time but I never knew who the artist was.  I don't know why but I only knew of Andy Grammer a few weeks ago.  Now I have Always on repeat on my car  ❤️  Such an underrated artist, but I do hope that he gets the spotlight that he deserves.

Its also very timely that Megan Batoon (she's an amazing dancer/youtuber/person!  If you haven't heard of her yet, check her channel out) made a choreography to The Good Parts last week.  A brilliant one as always.

My favorites are: Always, Spaceship, and Working On It

"Working On It"
You know we're just working on it
No leaderboard keeping score
Long as you woke up this morning
And see you're working on it
It might be taking forever, but it's better than ever


JASON MRAZ.  I was ecstatic when I found out that Jason made his Broadway debut as Dr. Pommater in Waitress!  I haven't seen the musical yet but I have heard all of the songs in it because of the musical genius Sara Bareilles.  Dreaming for the day that I could watch the show.  Back to Mraz... I am all about the Know album, which was released August last year.  2018 produced a lot of good albums, right?  The first song I heard off of this album is Unlonely and I have been hooked!  I am so ready with my wedding playlist with Jason's songs ❤️ All I need is a groom hahahah

From past albums, my favorites are Long Drive and Love Someone.  His live performance at the Mranch was so good!  I would love to experience an intimate gig like that.  For me, it was very reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional's MTV unplugged album.

No doubt, my favorite from the Know album is Let's See What The Night Can Do.

We can head North over the oceans of turquoise
And after a while there will be no noise
Except for the sound of our heartbeats beating on


GABRIELLE APLIN.  Stumbled upon this artist 2 months ago again.  Went through something painful in November and drenched myself in Gabrielle's Stay.  2018 was a year where I had to decide to let go of toxic things that were once important, but recently became more of a baggage.  No matter how much you would want and try to change the situation, eventually you will need to make up your mind so you can be free of unnecessary drama and have a peaceful heart.  Wow, felt a little bit of pinch there 😅

Going back to Gabrielle 😅 I've always thought that she was Australian.  I only knew that she was British recently when I googled the lyrics of Stay.  Been meaning to play this on the piano too and perhaps crush my heart with it while I'm PMSing.  I sense it coming. hahahah

My favorites are: Home, Please Dont Say You Love Me, and of course Stay. 

"Stay" 
You can stay in the past
You can live a lie
Say I've change, call me cold
Call me what you like
And never know what its like on the other side


MICHL.  Love love love his EP!  I knew about this artist because of the very talented Sean Lew ❤️

My favorite is Die Trying.

We're in over our heads
We're holding our breath
Will we ever get to the other side
Before there's nothing left
Yeah our bodies are weak
We're tired of hurting
Will we ever get to the other side
Don't know, but I swear, I'll die trying

Random Songs/Artists.  

I used to dance a lot when I was younger.  Nowadays, I just follow a couple of American choreographers and look at their Youtube videos and try it out as well.  Thank you for the tutorials, Matt Steffanina!  Hahaha  I was watching random dance videos when I stumbled on a Sean Lew one and it just blew me away.  Aside from his choreography, I kind of liked his song choices too.  This one song I kept on playing for days and weeks!  Its that good.

I don't know if I should use the artist's videos or the choreography ones hahaha but I hope you enjoy both :) 

Sza - Garden (Say It Like Dat)

Musa Mara - What If I Go?

R.O - Get Home ft. Konoba

Leisure Suite - Sweet Gin (Janelle Ginestra is so amazing as always)

Alina Baraz - Electric ft. Khalid

Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still (Lido Remix) (skip to 3:05 to watch Sean Lew! lol)
Chet Faker - Talk is Cheap  (you might want to check out Megan Batoon's choreography for this song.  I love Megan!)

I hope you got some new favorites from these ;) And I hope that this year will bring you heaps of opportunities to see/experience the goodness of the world, strength to fight off negative energies, and courage to let go of things that are no longer contributing to your well-being. 🙏

I always love going to Dahican, Mati, Davao Oriental despite of the 3-4 hour drive from Davao City.  The clear blue sea, sky and the peace that you just feel from being away from the bustling city always make it worth the drive.

Dahican waves.

Aside from the beach, Dahican is famous for Skimboarding.  Skimboarding is similar to surfing but the main difference is you dont need to paddle out for the wave, you wait for the breaking wave at shore.  I have tried it a couple of times before, and I have not been successful at all!  It looks so easy, but it is not.  And knowing that it could potentially break some bones, I dont think I will ever try it again.  I just enjoy watching the people do it, most especially when Sonny Boy "Bayogyog" Aporbo is around.  He is a local in Mati who won (and keeps on winning) competitions both local and international events.

But this post is not about him or about Mati and its beauty.  This is about my colleague who eventually became a friend.  Let's just call her Yuri. 

Yuri was on a weekend trip to Dahican with her friends.  She really is not someone who would typically try out something daring.  But to my surprise, she did.  She tried skimboarding.

Yuri and her friends tried to learn how to skim for hours and they were enjoying it!  She had some slips here and there, but she actually was pretty good despite of it being her first time.  However, after doing dozens of tries, she lost her balance and landed on the wrong foot.  To makes things even worse, her friends does not know how to drive an automatic, so she drove all the way back to Davao City.  Good thing it was her left foot that was sprained.  (I was not there.  She just told me what happened and showed me the clips of herself and her friends having a good time.)

So when they got back, Yuri immediately went to the hospital to have her foot checked.  To her horror, it was not a simple sprain.  She actually fractured her foot and she needed a cast for at least 6 months.

Yuri went through a lot during the first few days and weeks of wearing a cast.  She still needed to go to work, but of course she could not do everything by herself.  She was depressed, frustrated, could not sleep well and was always worrying that her foot may not fully heal or that she might need surgery.  But as time passed by, I could see that she was getting stronger.

I see her everyday.  She drives herself going to and from the office, and walks with a big smile on her face.  She somehow exudes this light of positivity as if she's not broken at all.

Each and every single one of us have our own strengths and abilities but sometimes we take these for granted by not using it in its full potential, or not using it at all.  Then there are people who are physically disabled and yet they go out there making the most out of what they have.  The irony.  I know its not that simple as I do have my fair share of not doing my all. 

I have learned so much from Yuri's injury.  Being disabled does not mean we can no longer do meaningful things in life.  But rather, we just need to look at life from a different point of view and perhaps start doing things in a much more creative way and still be positive about life in general.  We just need to do whatever that we can, have trust and faith that we can move whatever mountain that is in front of us.

Just by simply changing the first syllable of the word "disability" already gives out a more positive message dont you think?  So lets go out there and show the world of "this ability"... no matter what it is.  I'm sure you guys will be hardcore. 

Okay.  No excuses at all for only posting today so Im not even going to try to explain!😅 

Its ber-month already, literally the start of Christmas season here in the Philippines!  No kidding!  I  even started watching Christmas-themed videos last weekend.  I cant believe at how fast the months flew by.  Have you ever felt like everything seems to be playing fast forward?  I definitely have.  It just made me want to take things at a much slower pace to cherish the time spent with family and friends even more.

We are all given an opportunity- to fail, to feel pain, to learn, to love, to grow...  and it becomes overwhelming as there are times that some of these things happen all at once.  Which brings us again to the fact that we have no control of anything, except for how we react and how we look at it.  No matter how bad it looks from another perspective, always know that we are given another chance to take the next best shot and be a better version of ourselves.  

Every day is a new day.  Its cliche but theres a truth to it anyway as there is always something good in it.  Let today be the day you look for new ideas/activities to try; start looking at the different angles of life; and try to be a better you.

Earlier today I finally got me some time to review my journal/planner.  It felt good to just write new plans down and looked back on the stuff I did a few months ago.  In order to move forward and start anew, we should accept and recognize everything we did in the past and just let it go.  Trust the magic of a new day, of a new beginning and taste the sweet delicious ambiguity that life has to offer.  Lets live while were young and make today count.

Watching the sunrise with Debie 👭 | Dahican, Davao Oriental

A few days ago I wrote this birthday message to one of my closest friends ever which made me want to add more and share it with you.  Wherever you are at life today, I hope that you are happy and well.  And if its kind of rough lately, I hope this post helps.  xoxo.


You can barricade these walls and seek surrender
We'll taunt enough to turn a raging sea
But the only way we find to quench these embers is killing me
Let the stages burn and the tears turn into scowls
And if the glory of the past is all I ever see
Still the only way to quench these embers is killing me

-Live While We're Young / Johnnyswim

Christmas is in the air!  Or is it???

Christmas rush. Davao City traffic just got even heavier lately.  My 30 to 45-minute travel to my classes became an hour and a half!  I get to sleep during the commute, and thats not really a bad thing. hahah!

Christmas thoughts.  I don't have any issues living alone:  I can feed myself and my pets; clean the house (just a teeny tiny bit 😉); do the laundry and other chores (I love nature, but I dislike watering the plants 😂); come to class and work in one piece!  But maybe because I'm growing older and since its the Christmas season, the thought of not being with my parents or either one of them for Christmas is the worst!  My mother told me the other night that they might be home AFTER the holidays.  Sarcasm just took over and said "Great! More alone time, just what I need".  It just made me miss the times when I was younger, my siblings and I would gather around the Christmas tree to open up our gifts our parents had for us and me super excited to just look at what sweet treats "Santa" got me.  And speaking of Christmas tree's I have not even finished mine yet.  Oh, gosh.  I think I got a taste of whats called the seasonal depression.  I need me some sunshine!  What more if I get to experience winter? Pffffft.

Parents can be a little difficult at times, but so can we (even more so I think in my case.tsk)  Some of us get into fights with our siblings as well, but we miss it when we/they leave home and make our/their own.  Or is it just me?  Now I ensure to make time and date my parents while I can.  Besides, they're my only family.  And aside from my friends, they're all I got.

Just hanging around with Santa. 

Remember the moment
You know exactly where you're going
Because the next moment, before you know it,
Time is slowing, and its frozen still
And the window sill looks really nice, right?
You think twice about your life
It probably happens at night, right? 

-Holding On To You, TØP |-/

I love to eat!  Who doesn't?  I eat when I'm stressed, when I'm bored, and when I'm neither.  During the later years in high school and college days I didn't have much to do during summer so I am often left at the house (except when I'm on vacation and the last year in college where I had summer school).  I didn't have any money so I couldn't buy anything that I wanted to eat, that was when I started to make my own (just simple ones though because I only used whatever was left on our kitchen).

Nowadays when I'm living alone, I am forced to always eat outside or just prepare something instant.  Sometimes I use that "alone" time to try dishes that I haven't made before so I wouldn't be embarrassed if it turns out bad.  When it turns out good I make it again for the family when they're home.

Yesterday I wanted to try and make Tuna Pesto Pasta for dinner, so I looked for easy recipes online and knew about Clara Ole's Cheesy Pesto Pasta Sauce and saved the rest of the ingredients on my phone.  But the pasta sauce wasn't available on the grocery store :(  I was already there and I didn't want to leave empty handed.  Plus I wanted to make something new really bad but the data on my phone was so crappy I couldn't search for other recipes.  I just trusted my gut and bought whatever was on my mind. hahahah

I just eyeballed most of this because I didn't have any recipe to guide me.  I didn't document the time but I was sure that I finished it within an hour.  So.. follow at your own risk hahahah  I am sharing this because my "experiment" went well - I took the rest at work and I was happy that my colleagues liked it!

Ingredients:

1. 250g penne pasta

2. 250g Italian sauce

3. Cream of mushroom - Campbell's wasn't available, I just used 1/2 of Knorr cream of mushroom soup instead

4. 1 Hungarian sausage 

5. 1 Onion - next time I'll add one more ;)

6. 5 cloves of garlic

7. 1 tablespoon butter

8. 1/2 cup cheese - a mix of Eden and Quickmelt

9. Ground pepper

10. Parmesan cheese (optional)

I hope I get to explain and break it down properly though.  Here it goes...

1-Cook the pasta & mushroom soup / prep other ingredients (est 15min)

While I waited for the pasta and mushroom soup to cook (just followed the instructions on the packet), I chopped the onion and garlic, sliced the sausage and grated some cheese.  I took the pasta and mushroom soup aside when it was done.  

2-Cook the sausage / mix cheese and soup (est 15min)

Using the same pot I used for cooking the pasta, I melted the butter, added the onions and the garlic, then the sausage.  When that was cooking, I added and mixed 1/2 cup cheese to the mushroom soup that I cooked earlier.  

3-Mix the sauces (est 10min)

Poured the Italian sauce to the cooking sausage.  Mixed it and covered it until it started to boil.  Poured and mixed in the mushroom-cheese sauce.

4-Mix the pasta and sauce / add remaining ingredients (est 5min)

I added and mixed the pasta with the sauce.  Turned the heat off, added pepper to taste and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.

You could save time if you use Campbell's cream of mushroom

I forgot to include the butter and pepper

Finished product! Yey!

I think this is just a simple twist to when you make spaghetti, I don't know if other people have been doing this.  Friends have told me that they put condensed milk and/or cream when they make theirs.  I'm not a big fan of a sweeter taste in pastas so I haven't tried that when I make my own.  I'm not a fan of spicy food as well, but the touch of spice from the sausage is just right for me.

***I am not a chef and I don't always cook.  Sometimes when I do, it turns out bad.  But luckily this turned out to be good hahahah So again, follow at your own risk :) ***