Lines In My Head

One random morning, C asked me details (specifically the title and the author) about a certain spy book she read a while back while staying at our place. I replied that I could only recall the title (World's Greatest Spies and Spymasters) but the author's name evaded me. Okay my love, she said. Later that day, I would discover the purpose for her query. The title was to be part of her yearly post chronicling all the books she finished during the course of one year (I still owe C, the author's name, by the way). Year-end categorized listings. Hmm, a good idea for a blog post, I thought. Here then are various stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed for the past year. Lists are in no particular order. Movies, TV Series, and Anime: 1. Frozen - Best movie I watched this year. Brought back lots of childhood Disney memories. Props to C for the recommendation. 2. Arrested Development Season 4 - Bluth family! Hilarious as always. Can't wait for the movie. 3. Game of

Hidden paradise. With the warmth of the scorching rays bearing down on us, we bid farewell to the diving house and took a quick hike (a challenging one for our lazy butts!) up the road to our next unplanned destination. Along the way, we noticed an interesting stretch of private (?) beach with a sign that indicated an entrance fee of 20 pesos. 20-freaking-pesos. Seriously. That famous ice cream commercial should fit well here. Further up, we passed by a Spanish tower (baluarte) and contemplated its strategic placement along the Southern Cebu coastline (probably to serve as a lookout for invading armies) while local vendors casually chatted us about potential sales and profit along the coast. C handled the communications here quite well *coughformerworkcough*. :) After ten (or twenty?) more arduous steps and one well-timed application of our bus-evasion-skillz, we arrived at Eden Resort, with its bushy, shrub-filled pathway welcoming us, and immediately proceeded

Happiness. <3 Just over a week ago, I was once again on my way down south for some 'me' time. This time, C and I were headed to a certain place that both of us have been extremely excited to go to ever since C stumbled upon a link about Granada Beach Resort on her Facebook feed.  Preview: A lovely room fronting the sea. A Spanish-era tower .  A poolside bar. A private stretch of sandy beach. A chance to see whale sharks. And favorable reviews on TripAdvisor. Who wouldn't be stoked given such lofty expectations, right? Day started with the usual early morning flight *yawns* (maximize time with C!), C and her brother picking me up at the airport (spooooiled!), and a quick breakfast at the "beehive" (company loyalty!). We, lovebirds, were then promptly dropped off at the southbound bus terminal where we wandered around for quite a bit, asking directions from people-who-looked-like-they-knew-the-routes, before finally boarding a bus with a sign th

Marlou Aquino or EJ Feihl? This coming Sunday (November 17), the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) returns with the 2013-14 edition of the Philippine Cup, more famously known before as the All-Filipino Cup. Among the 3 conferences, I personally like this the most since without the aid of imports, our homegrown talents get the chance to showcase their skills more in an even playing field (though technically, the imports DO provide more balance to the league). With the offseason highlighted by a flurry of trades and draft-day deals, a number of teams have bolstered their rosters with hopes of snatching what I consider the most prestigious crown in Philippine basketball. Let's take a quick look at the current rosters for the ten teams with details on key players and projected starting line-ups.  (Averages are from the 2012-13 season from www.pba-online.net) Air 21 Express Forty freaking years old. Ageless. Bulk of the scoring duties will fall upon the arms of KG

Mic swings. It's no secret that I am a big, unabashed fan of pop/punk/alternative bands ever since I got introduced to that one particular Taking Back Sunday song about a gun pointed to my head and wishful thinking. A quick scan of my Facebook feed and Twitter timeline reveals this fandom as both are literally littered with witty phrases and playful lyrics. Through years of downloading, listening and re-downloading, I have genuinely formed a unique bond between these well-arranged set of words and my life's current emotional state. Enter these one-liners and catchphrases. Perhaps the countless hours of listening to Tell All Your Friends or Take This To Your Grave or Deja Entendu  enabled me, in most cases, to pull out an appropriate song line for every mood. Given that I consider myself as a happy, cheerful, and drama-free person, for some odd reason, I resonated more though with the angst-filled, gut-wrenching, slash-wrist type of songs. These tunes ultimately b

Recently had a quick weekend visit to what has become my favorite island in the country and while this trip didn't involve any long rides, famed tourist spots or picturesque beach fronts, it certainly had its own distinct flavor in the form of an unintentional tutorial about life Down South. Thus, #cebuimmersion was born. An early morning flight (I'm seriously getting used to this first flight thingy) took me to Mactan Island where I was minutes away from being with She Who Makes Me Smile once again. The Ilocos Trip happened just a mere two weeks prior to this one, yet it certainly felt eons have already passed since then. Every single day of waiting was an excruciating one. Ugh. But upon the sight of The Girl Who Makes My Heart Beat, all the weariness of waiting wore off and I was taken back to the first time she picked me up at the airport: full of anticipation and excitement, yet this time, less the anxiety and uncertainty and with awkward besos replaced by sweet morni

*This is the last part on a series of posts detailing our trip to Ilocos. Now, read!* With the Vigan expedition done, we proceeded to the bus terminal to start the last leg of this northern adventure. Upon arrival to the terminal though, we learned that the trip back to Laoag was already fully booked and we will be accommodated as chance passengers only. Ugh. Luckily for us, a helpful security guard (people in the provinces are always waaaay too kind) gave us a nice, little tip: we can try our luck on the highway where all kinds of buses pass through on their way to the capital. And indeed, just after a few minutes of waiting, we caught a Farinas bus headed to Currimao, our final destination. Bless you, Kuya Guard! Probably due to the walking and strolling around the Vigan plaza, the ride to Currimao was a very sound one. A sound sleep for both of us, that is! If not for the good-hearted bus conductor waking us up at the junction, we, sleepyheads, would have probably ended up ba

This is not in the Philippines. Right? After a well-deserved and much-needed sleep the night before, the warm sunlight seeping through the high curtains welcomed the lovebirds to the touristy phase of this Northern adventure: a stroll around the infamous Calle Crisologo and the hunt for the crunchy Vigan empanada. After a homey breakfast, consisting of Vigan longganisa, fish bacon (remember these two dishes) and leftover Felicitas rice, preluded by the two Cs bumping into a hotel staff meeting along the staircase, the best-couple-ever, hands clasped together, happily hopped out of the hotel and into the heritage-themed streets. Relying mainly on their undeniably accurate navigation skillz and unmatched sense of direction, the geeky lovers marched along the Vigan-text-engraved sidewalk, turned around a corner, strode for a couple of steps, and voila, found Calle Crisologo, replete with Spanish-era designed houses and horse-drawn carriages! No wonder Hotel Felicidad had such g

After getting our beach fix care of the rough waves and clean waters of Pagudpud, it was on to the next stop of this 5-day vacation: the heritage city of Vigan. With our bags repacked (and I'm telling you, repacking takes some serious skillz) and ourselves refreshed, we were off to another three-wheeler adventure that landed us to what looks like an unused police outpost-slash-bus stop. Here, C noticed yet again the carefree provincial life in the form of a waiting passenger just leaving his belongings in the outpost while he chatted away with some of the tricycle drivers stationed there. A shout of "Ma'am" alerted us to an incoming bus bound for Laoag, readying us for the next phase of our Northern stroll.  Waiting for a bus on a Sunday. But before heading to Laoag City, we decided to have a quick stop into another fabulous site, the Bangui Windmills, which C, and in her adorable geeky fashion, termed as the "Isengards of the Wild North". Very clever