world tour sunday December 3, 2008
Posted by jr3 in Arts & Crafts, C'est la Vie, Friends & Family, My Fave Entries, Random, Travels.add a comment
11.30.08 | around the world in one sunday
we went to experience the pasig river ferry ride and we ended up in hong kong, shanghai, the middle east, spain, singapore, greece, the rest of europe, the united states… until our feet got us to holy cow!
how so? see for yourself and just enjoy this album:
http://kulitjr3.multiply.com/photos/album/416
locations: guadalupe, along pasig river, escolta, the post office building, dambana ni andres bonifacio in ermita, the underpass, intramuros, the national museum, robinson’s place
new things learned:
1. our group can make the philippines look so good (haha!)
2. taking pictures of malacanang palace is not allowed during the ferry ride
3. admission to the national museum on sundays is free
group composition: carlo, yoni, val, randz, jinx
breakdown of expenses (read: common damage to our pockets):
ferry ride fee from guadalupe to escolta – PhP45
kalesa ride around intramuros – PhP50 (this is better than having to spend pesos for a massage to soothe sore legs after all the “more walking” that we could have done)
this we can say: wow philippines! wow world! ;-P
my father’s song October 19, 2008
Posted by jr3 in Friends & Family, Random, Sappy.add a comment
see who’s the guardian of the mic
this weekend being a videoke weekend with my pals from work made me reminisce about the family videoke sessions in iligan and recall tonight the song that my father always gets to sing. i like the lyrics a lot… the song speaks of love that is always supportive, always sustaining, always reliable. in two words: ever there.
My Love Will See You Through
Marco Sison
When times get rough
And your dreams just fall apart
And sometimes you feel
That you can’t go on
Be strong, hold on
For my love will keep you warm
Through the coldest night
Through the rain, through the storm
When friends turn their backs on you
And you’re so helpless
You don’t know what to do
I’ll be on your side to comfort you
My love will see you through
When tears are in your eyes
And you feel like you wanna cry
Just reach out and I’ll be around to understand
When you stumble and fall
And you need a shoulder to lean on
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there with a helping hand
When the road seems so long and endless
And all you see is nothing but darkness
Don’t give up just walk on
Have faith in your heart
For my love will see you through
My love will see you through
When you reach for your star
When you cross the deepest sea
When you climb the highest hill
My love will always be with you
In everything you do
In every step you’ll make
In every road you take
Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams….
For my love will see you through
roadtrip! March 8, 2008
Posted by jr3 in Friends & Family, My Fave Entries, Random, Travels.2 comments
“A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act,
and life’s worthwhile.”
–Author Unknown
1st of march 2008 | saturday
gurls’ day-out in southern luzon
maybe together we can get somewhere
any place is better
starting from zero, got nothing to lose…
the plan was to drive from calamba, laguna all the way to pagbilao — one of the municipalities of quezon province nearest to bicol — and enjoy a pristine whitesand beach in pagbilao grande island. well, we had more than that!
from calamba to batangas to san pablo to nagcarlan to majayjay to lucban to pagbilao grande island and all those places in between that we had to pass by…
marked!
one car. five gurls. one long road trip. unexpected destinations. wonderful day. fantastic way to start a month!
first spur-of-the-moment stopover
san pablo city
multiply photo album: roadtrip: san pablo city stop-over
san pablo city of laguna is one of the philippines’ oldest cities and home to seven lakes — sampalok, palakpakin, yambo, bunot, pandin, muhikap, and calibato.
we made a stopover and went to see one of the said seven lakes.
03.01.2008. san pablo city stopover: one of the seven lakes
another spur-of-the-moment stopover
nagcarlan, laguna
multiply photo album: roadtrip: nagcarlan stop-over
03.01.2008. nagcarlan stopover: nagcarlan underground cemetery
nagcarlan underground cemetery was used as a burial site from 1845 until 1981. it also served as the secret meeting place of the revolutionary leaders in laguna in 1896. in 1981, it was declared a historical landmark and placed under the responsibility of the national historical institute.
ghost stories? don’t ask why we didn’t take pictures while we were underground. just visit the place and, if you want goosebumps, ask the site custodian 
by the way, nagcarlan is also famous for sweet lanzones.
03.01.2008. nagcarlan, laguna: all gurls
spur-of-the-moment stopover #3
majayjay, laguna
multiply photo album: roadtrip: majayjay stop-over
from nagcarlan, we continued with our trip, and passed through liliw — a place in laguna province known for very affordable footwear. we decided not to stop to shop around so we satisfied ourselves with just looking at the footwear shops through the car windows. we drove through slowly, eventually passed through more country roads, and saw more countryside sights.
then, we made another stopover.
03.01.2008. majayjay stopover: taytay falls
it was drizzling and all, the drive to the place wasn’t easy (thank God, we were on a 4WD!), and it’s a long walk to the falls but… the sight’s all worth it!
stopover for lunch
lucban, quezon
multiply photo album: lucban stop-over
for lunch, we swung by kamayan sa palaisdan in lucban, quezon. ambience there was great and we got precious memories of awesome-tasting food!
03.01.2008. lunch in lucban: kamayan sa palaisdaan
it felt nice to be walking on bamboo bridges to get to our choice of floating bahay kubo (nipa hut). all the food we ordered tasted way soooo good — and that’s not because we were just so hungry. it’s not a crime to admit that we’d been munching on the way.
for our lunch, we ordered ginataang sugpo sa pako, pork sisig, laing, spare ribs, sinampalukang manok, inihaw na tangigue, and rice. we got calamansi juice, green mango shake and fresh buko for our drinks. while waiting for our order, we had pilipit — a native delicacy.
i was beyond being “officially” busog because food tasted very, very good. i told the gurls, “help! busog na busog na ako pero gusto ko pa kumain. parang nasusuka na nga ako sa sobrang busog.” haha. actually, we all felt that way.
destination: pagbilao grande island
pagbilao, quezon
multiply photo album: pagbilao grande island
the drive after lunch got more exciting. we passed through tayabas, calumpang, sariaya, and lucena before we got to pagbilao and the whitesand beach that we were after.
pagbilao grande island is a beautiful place.
03.01.2008. trekking to the beach
to get to the whitesand beach, we parked the 4WD and went on a trek… first, through a narrow footpath, then through a walkway, down a riprap, on a rocky shore, up a hill, through a forested area, through the caretakers’ gate, down another footpath… until the beach, aptly named puting buhangin, revealed itself.
03.01.2008. experiencing pagbilao
the sight was… wow! we had fine white sand flirting with our feet! everything looked so clean and serene. the best thing was, for an entrance fee of PhP50 per person, we had the place (including kwebang lampas — the nearby cave) all to ourselves.
03.01.2008. destination: pagbilao grande island
when it was already almost sunset, we left the beach and went back to the hill where we spent a little bit more time watching the awesome play of colors in the sky.
03.01.2008. almost sunset in pagbilao
truth be told, i did not know of pagbilao’s existence before. southern luzon residents, especially those from pagbilao, ought to pardon me for my ignorance. i first heard of pagbilao only two weeks ago, when my certified gala officemate mentioned it and coaxed us to go there with her. she volunteered to do all the driving. fuel expenses? travel party’s responsibility.
03.01.2008. members of our travel party
all in all, each of us shelled out PhP750 for the trip. that amount took care of our contribution for the fuel that took us all the way to pagbilao (including our sidetrips) and back to calamba, for our sumptuous lunch, for entrance fees, and for the food & drinks we took with us on the road.
03.01.2008. all that in one day
in just one day, we went to see a lake, we visited a historical site, we hiked our way to a waterfalls, we had lunch on a place defined by floating nipa huts, and enjoyed spending time on a beautiful beach — all for a good budget.
03.01.2008. some sights along the way
…and the sights we saw along the way were priceless.
ever-there February 16, 2008
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“General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed but I don’t see that — seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified, or newsworthy – but it’s always there.”
– from the movie, Love Actually
there are a lot of people whom i can run to and be with. i have both family and friends.
during the past few weekends (throw in a few workdays, too), this is something i was made more aware of — when i had to move from one fun-filled overnight session to another just to make it from one circle to another. i am not complaining. why should i? so what if i had to dash from batangas to laguna to metro manila and vice versa?
it’s fun to be stretching my energy to the limits (but i’d like to believe i have boundless energy, hehe) and i always get to have a great time dashing through it all, anyway.
thank YOU so much.
02.01-02.08: weekend photo craze with the p6peeps
this overnight with the p6peeps was followed by an overnight with the ids99 peeps. ids99 pals, when do you think our pictures will be uploaded?
02.09-10.08: still looking sooo bright!
a two-day grand event, a celebration of 10 years… and still counting
i do have both family and friends and they are ever-there. with family, i do mean the whole bunch — papang, mamang, brother and sisters, cousins, uncles and aunties, and friends of the family — who do care and who make complete the very idea of family. with friends, i do mean REAL, trusted (and tested by circumstances) friends.
i do not consider myself lucky to have them — i consider myself BLESSED. very BLESSED.
i hope you are, too.
guess where i’m off to after posting this… i’m getting a haircut and will be spending time with EVER-THERE people.
beautiful people…. January 19, 2008
Posted by jr3 in Friends & Family, Random.1 comment so far
“Turn your face to the sun
and the shadows fall behind you.”
–Maori Proverb
…cast beautiful shadows
…deserve a marvelous sunset
…make an awesome photo even more awesome!
-¤-
more importantly, beautiful people…
…make a big happy family!
(eventhough quite a number have already migrated, we’re still that many )
note:
the first three photos are courtesy of albert who took photos of me and my friends while we were out savoring 2007’s last sunset in our hometown.
