For Haribon (Sunday Times, Oct 2008)

I love this! / Watercolor on Paper

Haribon - ang InK tie up
Sunday Times (Manila Times Sunday edition)
Oct 2008

EARTH Table

Earth | Acrylic on Wood | Sony DSC H1

Last April Bliss Cafe owner and wonderful friend Jim asked me to collaborate with artist Tomas Leonor for a project. Earth is half of the project. The other half - Heaven - is Tomas' assignment.

Painting this wasn't easy, mainly because I don't know how to use acrylic :p Aside from that sad fact, I was in the middle of preparing for a work trip to Seoul when this project came up, and had 4 days to repaint, conceptualize and finish the painting. Generally happy with how it turned out though. :)

The new Bliss Cafe is at Elizabeth Hotel along Gibraltar Rd. in Baguio City.

+++++++++++++
reading : Back issues of Oprah, Real Simple, Lucky magazines
feeling : Restless. And hungry.

Tough

Lost my key - and the red lego brick key holder :( - when I went out to get a week's worth of grocery. Good news is I have a spare, bad news is it's inside semiHome together with my office keys. Since there's no other way to get inside, asked the help of neighbors to break the gate's lock.

It took 2 guys, a screwdriver, a hammer, 2 feet solid stainless rod, and a grinder. After an hour of loud metal to metal clashing and head-splitting whir of the grinder, neighbor's kids' shouts of "Suntukan na lang tayo, o!" "O sige, ako si Manny Pacquiao!" "Hindeeee! AKO si Manny Pacquiao," the gate finally opened.

Did they do it by cutting the hook of the lock? No. The little guy's so tough and burglar-proof that the neigbors ended up cutting the portion of the iron gate that's holding the lock. Yikes! Better start thinking of a good excuse so the landlord won't be too mad at me.

S. Korea, the second time around

After I have gotten back from my fist trip to Seoul in 2006 I have dreamed of coming back to the chilly weather, the Buddhist temples, centuries old Korean architecture and colorful floral designs, fashionista Korean ladies who couldn't resist wearing mini skirts in freezing weather, drivers who follow traffic rules, hip stationeries and one of a kind journals that I couldn't order online, no thanks to the non-English websites. Then there's the FOOD! Ay, sya! Samgeopsal, bulgogi, bibimpap, kalbi! Let's just say EVERY thing. Except the kimchi. ;p

After more than a year of dreaming (of the food, mainly ;p) and hanging out at Korean online shops and this very tourist-friendly site, I got the chance to revisit end of April. In 4 days / nights, I

+ dragged my pinoy, taiwanese, and chinese workmates to e-mart for pasalubong shopping, where half of the time there was spent figuring out the correct price display;

+ spent 2 full days working, and trying to get connected to the company's wireless network, watched top level admins play kickball, got offered glasses after glasses of soju (kombei!), korean wine, and rice wine and whatever alcoholic drink was available, and got fascinated at the amount of Tagalog the Korean folks know. (Inuman tayo! Siyempre!);

+ spent one and a half days going around Seoul (& beyond). thanks to the efficient subway system, every corner of Seoul is accessible. Well, ok, the taiwanese engr had to teach me and gave me tips on how not to get lost and that somehow calmed me. That, and the tons of maps i carried and the tourist info centers. :)


+ took a lot of photos at Bongeunsa Temple, where strings after strings of lotus lanterns created a red sky in preparation for Buddha's birthday. If the day scene was lovely, I couldn't imagine the night scene I missed..



+ took the guided tour to Changdeokgung Palace, walked at Insadong (still one of my favorite places),  passed Cheonggyecheon stream, then walked some more to Myeongdong - where my heart was broken to very tiny and sharp bits and pieces. The Kosney store - this one store where  i was supposed to buy as much stationeries and journals as i can carry - has closed down. :(  After that sad discovery i carried my heavy heart to the smaller Kosney store at Techno Mart and continued my search at COEX mall where I bought as much stationeries and journals as i can carry. It wasn't the same.



+ ate dinner at KFC, lunch at McDonald's, and had coffee at Starbucks. Whenever I'm overseas, fast food chains and convenience stores provide me a sense of comfort and security. Seriously? I was alone and I chickened out on ordering auth Korean food. So there. ;p



+ got fascinated by the cultural experience Korean Folk Village provided.

+ had a brush up on history, saw N. Korea through high mag scopes at Odusan Unification observatory.



Do I look forward to a third visit? Dangyunhaji! The third visit would be more fantastic too if i could go with my best friends. *crosses fingers*

It's not you, it's the ball.

I have a love hate relationship with volleyball. I love it, it hates me.

It's funny I signed up for the company volleyball league when the only thing I'm really good at is making one bad miss after another during the crucial parts of the game. It's as if the balls destined to end up on the wrong side of the court, under the net, or the head of a poor by stander direct themselves to me. ;p

What makes things worse is I don't suffer alone for every lost point. Every missed ball makes me want to wish the tectonic plates would shift and the resulting huge crack on the earth's surface would swallow me alive just so I could escape the part where I have to apologize to my team for sucking.

"Sorry. The ball wasn't paying attention."
"The net got in the way!" *shrugs*


+++++++++++++
reading : ReadyMade Oct/Nov'07 ish

Something's Cooking!

Breakfast | Sony DSC H-1

After more than 2 years of living alone, I finally bought kitchen stuff - a single burner electric stove, a pot and a pan. I'm still looking for the 'perfect' (read: multi-tasking, durable and cheap, but still nice-looking) kitchen-top oven.

So this is my first home-cooked meal, breakfast at 5pm, after waking up at 4:30 ;p Bacon and egg served with pastries I got from the supermarket. It tastes like barquillos but coated with a bit of sugar and lightly spiced with ginger. It's good. :) I don't think I have tasted anything similar before.

Today, breakfast. Tomorrow, fiesta!

++++++

The label of the pastry says it's a product of Korea - and I don't find this surprising. Over the last few years Koreans have started showing up everywhere in our islands, and since there's a demand, Korean products have also showed up. 7-11 even carries soju now. I'm not exactly sure what they're here for - I haven't asked my Korean officemates. A friend says some Koreans choose to migrate to our islands because of the cheaper cost of living. Others find the Baguio climate similar to their spring weather. There's a Korean-style condominium being built there now. Oh, and there are those who are staying here to study English as 2nd language. It's probably a combination of all these reasons.

I wonder when the uber cute guys on K-dramas will start flying in.

Liqueur de Poire

L. de Poire | Sony DSC H1

The few cases I drank hard drinks I actually enjoyed whatever it was being served to me - whether it's soju every other night at Seoul (kombei!!), or several straight shots of cherry Vodka. This pear whiskey is no exception! Having very limited exposure to alcohol, I'm 100% sure it's the best tasting whiskey I have ever tried. I have to read up on whiskeys and wines so I can give proper description, but I'm definite I'll be correct in describing it as delicious. :)

I already asked Richard to buy me a bottle on his next trip to his homeland. ;)

A ripe pear inside the whiskey decanter. Yummy AND lovely!

Sony DSC H1


Cointreau vs. Liqueur de Poire


*casts vote for L. de Poire*

Namdaemun

Easily one of my favorite trips *ever* is my Seoul, Korea trip back in 2006. A kind friend brought me and Je to popular tourist places, including Namdaemun. Before the trip, officemates who've been to Seoul recommend Namdaemun market for the cheap merchandise. A perfect souvenir spot for sock-wearing office workers like us. When we got there, what attracted me more than the cheap socks is Namdaemun gate.

Here's a pic I took of Namdaemun gate back in 2006. Named as No. 1 National Treasure, this 600yr old structure breathes history and culture.



This is Namdaemun gate now.

[photo courtesy of popseoul.com]
It burned down Sunday, Feb 10 pm. A 69-yr old man confessed putting this treasure on fire due to grief over a decade-old land dispute.

Sayang naman. :/

IF: plain

inked flower 1 | aged work

illustration friday: PLAIN

Maxine

Maxine | Sony DSC H1

Tats, Max and this little cutie visited my parents last Christmas season.
Maxine is 2yrs old now, can sing most songs on TV, and can do a story-telling tandem with her dad.

Too.Much.Energy

And no outlet. >_<

I feel like doing a lot today. Too much that I feel paralyzed coz I don't know which one to work on. Crazy.

Had a good start today. Got up without hitting the snooze button more than twice, started doing sun salutations to cure the back pains, did a bit of exercise and arrived at work within the grace period. Ha!

Completed urgent work tasks, then headed home before 7, excited on what I could do with the rest of my time. Start on the Ink catalog entry? Browse illustrated books and online galleries for inspiration? Sketch? Start painting on the pieces that Eloi ordered?

After 2 hrs, Im still sitting in front of my laptop, uninterested and uninspired. Waaah!

2007, in summary

Got excited over:
+ Trips. Not all successful, but new places mean new things to learn, new food to try, more things to see. Made my first overseas trip alone this year. Exciting!
+ BIYAHE, the traveling travel journals exhibits. First exhibit outside the Ang INK annual thing. Launched at Chocolate Kiss Cafe in Roces QC., and it made its first stop at Baguio. Thanks to Biyahe, I rubbed elbows and shook the hands of The Kidlat Tahimik.
+ Giclee print repros of my artworks. First time to sell a print to a total stranger. Sold a few to some of my friends too. (yayy, friends!)
+ Meeting Heather Champ at the manila leg of flickr tour.

Frowned on:
+ *Those* pounds. Those pounds attracted some new friends too. >_<
+ Back pains. :(

Spent precious moolah on:
+ Local trips. Overseas trips made this year were all expense paid, which was the best part of the trip. ;p
+ HP 500 notebook. Nightly companion. Good friend.
+ An investment worth 12K pesos which I wish I never made. >_<
+ Tele conversion lens which was 3x more expensive than my mini ref. ;p
+ Tons of magazines. Real Simple, ReadyMade, Blueprint, Oprah, Craft.

Spent loooong hours on:
+ Korean telenovela/movie marathons. I heart Jewel in the Palace. Lovers in Paris made me laugh and *kilig.*
+ Browsing magazines more often than reading actual content. ;p
+ Evil internet. ;p Got connected in Oct. Never slept early since.
+ Traffic. Ugh. All officials decided to rehab the roads and bridges at the same time. The 15-minute commute from work turned to 2 hours on bad days.
(Notice how 'work' did not eat too much of time? It's coz I don't get over time pay now. So everyday I pack my bag at 6 and just tell myself I'll finish work at home. Who am I kidding? ;p)

Went to:
+ Sagada, Apr 2007. Love the weather and the Sagada kids. Food prices were surprisingly high. My legs suffered at the Sumaging cave but it was difintely worth visiting.
+ Taiwan, May 2007. Not much to say. >_<
+ Baguio, Oct 2007. I've been to Baguio several times but this is my first trip that is not restricted by a tight sked. (Hello, college plant tour!) Most of my stay was spent at Bliss Cafe where we held the exhibit. Met some great souls (did I mention Kidlat Tahimik?) and an adorable pet named Dimsum.
+ Shanghai, Nov 2007. Thanks to XJL, my Chinese tour guide/ work mate, was able to see majority of Shanghai's sights and taste great treats and purchase souveniers at super great prices. Galing mag-haggle!

2008 commits: trips! better investments on time, moolah, friends. healthier living. (And this is from someone who have stayed til 4am 3 days in a row first week of january to complete Coffee Prince. *kiliiiig* ;p)