Where the grass is greener

Is it always greener on the other side?

I had that burning question in my head too when I dared to take on a new job-an entry level position at a company with a global operation. The risk: I’m 34, it’s not exactly the best time to find out. And pursuing dreams and embarking on adventures for small paychecks are risky and lethal  especially when one plans to retire in a few years with some decent savings.

But for the last six months, I discovered that far more important than how a story will end (whether I succeed or fail) is knowing that I no longer feel like I’m in ‘autopilot.’ I do not feel like I’m marching towards an unavoidable slow death, I am actually looking forward to a lot of things.

“Uncertainty is where things happen. It is where the opportunities — for success, for happiness, for really living — are waiting.”


The difference: I am challenged and I am inspired. Three things: travel, photography and love.

Grand Cayman-with the Carnival Dream in the background, a dog day-dreams

Latched

New Orleans!

my sweet Carnival dream

countless selfies

Nassau

“Only those who dare to lose greatly can achieve greatly.”

thriller, filler and spillers

Exactly! 

something old, something borrowed

out of the deep blue

analog GPS

found the best person to be lost with

Checkmate

a colorful life and death

“It’s not vision or passion or a steadfast insistence on destroying every barrier between yourself and some prize you’re obsessed with. Rather, it’s the ability to adopt an unconventional approach to learning: an improvisational flexibility…”

the sun rising at Alanta

living the Dream

Jamaican find

fleeting

So let me begin with a profound excuse as to why I am not able to write or blog about anything- it’s because writing is something you can’t fake. It requires a genuine inspiration. And this time, I am writing simply because I am driven by my fears- of time perhaps and everything that’s fleeting.

Working in a cruise ship has a lot to do with it. Everything seems to happen so fast and somehow, it manages to affect my very perception of reality. The reality is I am about to spend my 2^nd month here at the Carnival Dream. Somewhere and sometime while sailing from the home port in New Orleans, Louisiana to the Caribbean Sea and back, I already managed to:

      1. Lock myself out of my own cabin

    2. Find my way to the morgue when I made a wrong turn (on my way to pick up my laundry at around 3am)

     3. Sleep for over 12 hours on days off.

   4. But I still haven’t met someone who is as enthusiastic as me about tennis or badminton or about DIY interior design, among other things

But here it is! My first attempt at getting a grip of my life here aboard and to conquering my fear.

I’m back in the game

Summer Siren

I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer yet. Hence, this is my ode to summer. I just can’t get over Kidwolf’s track that features Bea Valera which is also the Summer Siren Festival anthem. Love love this homegrown EDM!

let's bring back summer!

Para sa mga Hari ng Sablay

In an interview with Boy Abunda in Bandila’s Ikaw na! This was what David James Gandy had to say :

I think I quoted Winston Churchill who said, "Life is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

Smart or sexy?
He's definitely both.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDavidGandy

And, that's true. You don't learn...(I've found that) when things go well immediately for me, I never learn anything. I don't think you learn anything from that. You have to learn by failure and not be disappointed. Same in the fashion business, I suppose. If I had quit at the first hurdle--at the first 'no'--then I wouldn't be here today.

comfy with Lulu, foster dog & assistant ambassador for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Photo:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDavidGandy

When asked about what's the most important advice he can give to aspiring models out there, he said : persistence, believe in yourself, take advise from people. Don't be scared of taking the right advice from people. 

Dapper.
Photo:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDavidGandy

sight for sore eyes!

This is what I have to go through on a regular basis- the constant bottleneck traffic of vehicles passing through EDSA Rotonda. It is truly an exercise in patience and caution because this feat requires you to share the avenue with the notorious busses and jeepneys driven by manongs who most of the time lack road courtesy. Inhale. Exhale. I say, if you can drive at EDSA or in Metro Manila for that matter, you can drive anywhere. 

Take it from DJG and just keep it together.

the reveal

Make-overs are my favorite.  I especially like home make-overs. I always get the kick out of watching the myriad of reactions of the homeowners who are getting the treat. Overjoyed, overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised. I always love the part where the project is finally revealed.  

Not too long ago, I was able to move into a place of my own, mind you it is on perpetual beta: it’s a work in progress & I’m constantly in the process of improving it. Here are a few of the items/parts I am able to capture:

before

after

  

Research, research and more research. I try to scour the resources, the available materials around. J

before

after

before

after

after

before

after

this is an experiment. what do you think?

Explore

from Brainpickings.org (one of my favorite sites)

look of the day -1

I like how Anna De Leon, an up & coming Filipino make-up artist and fashion stylist in Dubai puts it, "It's just make-up really. At the end of the day, if it doesn't work, you can wash your face and start again.”

Today, it’s teen hit-maker Lorde from New Zealand. I think her look and style are as refreshing as her voice. 

As a rule of thumb, I always take it easy on the eyeliner especially for a day-office look. But this one can work if you pair it with a toned-down tint for your cheeks and lips just like Lorde did in her video, Royals.

lips: Revlon Colorburst Lipbutter in Papaya

cheeks: Human Nature Mineral Blush in Petal Bloom

eyeliner: 4U2 liquid eyeliner in 02-Glitz

2014

How to help typhoon Yolanda victims

Tulong na. Tabang na. Tayo na!

My Amnesia Boy

you broke my heart JLN (Janet Lim Napoles)

Mag-MEMO Plus Gold ka nga

Nega No More

Anti-Negativity Thinking Tips to get your Mental House in order:

(by Mark Tyrrell, therapist and co-founder of Uncommon Knowledge)

 

save the cheerleader, save the world

1) Stop thinking in extremes

Most of life isn't black or white, completely this or that, all or nothing. Negative thinking tends to view bad stuff in the extreme.

2) Stop over-generalizing the negative

Ask yourself: "If something bad happens, do I over-generalize it? Do I view it as applying to everything and being permanent rather than containing it to one place and time?"

take time to look-smell-instagram the flowers

3) Don't minimize the positive

Negative thinking stops people from seeing the positive when it does happen. It's as if there's a screen filtering out positives and just letting in stuff that confirms the 'negative bias'. Magnifying setbacks and minimizing successes leads to de-motivation and misery.

4) Stop mind-reading

Having to assign a meaning to something before you actually have real evidence makes you more inclined to believe what you imagine without question. Holding off assigning (made up) meaning to an ambiguous situation is a key part of overcoming negative thinking. When you become more positive (or just more comfortably neutral), you'll also be able to consider all possible reasons you can think of, not just the negative ones.

5) Stop taking all the responsibility

If you (or someone else) do something good or well, just accept it. Negative thinkers also tend to do the opposite. They will internalize - that is, blame themselves - for all kinds of negatives that have little or nothing at all to do with them. Look at how much control and influence you really have over things that you tend to think negatively about.

6) Stop forcing your own rules on life

This isn't to say that we shouldn't expect anything from ourselves and others, but rather that the rules need not be unreasonably inflexible.

If you feel disappointed or let down, then you must have been expecting something else. Examine what it was and ask yourself: "Was my expectation too narrow?"

toughen up

7) Stop making stuff up and believing it

Imagination is a wonderful thing, but not if you use it to scare yourself. Sometimes we need to be able to 'suspend the functioning of the imagination' (to quote Ernest Hemingway, no less).

Trees

fresh air over LTE

Project: Desensitize

• red facial flushing. check
• dizziness. check
• nausea. check
• increased body temperature and heart rate. check check
• physical discomfort. check
• and lightheadedness. Check

Yes, it is definitely the Alcohol Flush Reaction also known as the Asian Flush when drinking alcohol. With this, I usually get the attention for the wrong reasons - among them is turning beet red and scary-ugly usually without even finishing a bottle of beer or a simple alcomix. What’s odd is that only a very lucky or unlucky few (depends on how you look at it) have it. 

It is carried only by people of East Asian descent. Roughly one third of the eastern Asian population carries this mutation. “Alcohol flush reaction (also known as Asian flush syndrome, Asian flush, Asian glow, among others) is a condition in which an individual's face or body experiences flushes or blotches as a result of an accumulation of acetaldehyde, a metabolic byproduct of the catabolic metabolism of alcohol,” according to Wikipedia.

Technically it’s not an allergic reaction but a genetic issue. What’s actually happening is: “when you are breaking down ethanol in your body, there is a build-up of acetaldehyde. This reaches very high concentrations in individuals who suffer from Alcohol Flush Reaction and results in the symptoms you are familiar with such as red facial flushing, dizziness, nausea, increased body temperature and heart rate, physical discomfort and lightheadedness.”

Further, for people with Alcohol Flush Reaction, your body is not launching an immune response, but is actually suffering damage from a toxin when you are drinking. The Asian flush, sometimes called the “Asian glow,” refers to a common reaction to alcohol among East Asians. This facial flushing was found to be a result of a deficiency of a liver enzyme called ALDH2. This finding was revealed in a 1981 article in Lancet.

So it’s a gift as well as a curse

Acetaldehyde is a carcinogen in humans. Research has shown that facial flushing when drinking is indicative of ALDH2 deficiency, which can increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer by six to ten times. On the other hand, the flushing discourages people like me from drinking too much. Because, “the best practice to avoid these symptoms is to abstain from drinking.”

 

choose your poison wisely

Makulit lang

But,’ the “Asian flush” can disappear for some people later in their lives, especially if they continuously “practice” drinking,’ a related article also revealed. (http://www.gbhealthwatch.com/Trait-Asian-Flush.php) It is just me but I am hoping to still desensitize and ‘outgrow’ this condition soon so I choose to drink at my own risk.

Indeed

So let me think…

Basically Boracay

We braved the bagyo, typhoon Odette also known internationally as Usagi. Reports say that so far, it is the strongest storm to hit the entire planet for this year. So basically, there were just white sand, good food and a not so gentle breeze at Travel+Leisure Magazine’s 2^nd Best Island in the World. No complaints.

press play

white, wide, open

they come in three-s

too windy to sail

are you ready?

photobomber!