And it was all yellow

It used to be just another holiday marked in our school calendars and I barely knew much about it, with its tale taking up only a third of a page of my age-old Philippine history book, but the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution was actually a huge deal. And who knew that one day I'd find myself working for a Commission whose sole purpose is to celebrate the said shiniest event in our country's recent past which toppled down a ruthless, decades-long dictatorship. Let's blame it on the generation gap or that Hekasi was never my favorite as well as strongest subject (obviously) and leave it at that...

This happy madness

My free time—the much-awaited weekends, occasional days-off, and generally what's left of my life aside from my oftentimes-more-than-nine-to-six job—is obviously sacred to me, usually spent catching up on my shows, crossing out items on an endless romantic comedies list, seeking for new music or blogs to obsess over, or hanging out with friends over a good meal at either a recently-discovered restaurant or an old favorite. It's both an exciting and boring life, my heart sings with joy at the thought of it all the same. The first couple of months this year had a few notable moments and I was glad I mostly had my trusty though sickly camera with me wherever I go.


Waffles and lattes at such a hip and artsy cafe with the sisters-for-life during "Christmas break" at home | Korean barbeque for an advanced 22nd birthday dinner with the family after our little portrait session


The cutest interiors of the quaint pasta and burger nook we had our high school barkada's rather late annual Christmas get-together | Back to reality, after-church brunch with the then-baby girls now-kolehiyalas in our 'hood


The heavenly goodness of locally-made durian and strawberry-banana ice cream, a treat from the sweetest bosses | Babysitting these not-so-baby big boys once again, during their short trip home for our cousin's wedding


My no-goodbyes-only-see-you-laters cake date with Gelibean (ala mode for me, of course) | Chopped off ten inches of my long locks for charity, reminding myself that #itgrowsback, and the #tfiosfeels began


Our most important Sunday meal and somehow taking our sister brunch game up a notch by coincidentally showing up in dresses | Got a bouquet inspired by sunset hues delivered to a best friend's office on her special day
Hope you too have enough reasons to smile every day, and don't you ever stop adding more to that list. Have a good one!

"Keep good company, read good books, love good things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can." — Louisa May Alcott

Humbled

Not so long ago last year, our dear country has faced many a tragedy in only a matter of months. But we have proved time and again that no earthquake, siege, or typhoon can weather the Filipinos' resilience and bayanihan spirit. We've seen their strength, hope, and willingness to help one another amidst the adversities, and it's at moment like these that make me proud to be a little brown sister. And to be immersed on the ground and to witness then document these said inspiring stories makes me love my job even more.

"There are no strangers"

We were welcomed to the Circle with open arms and felt right at home. And by dusk to dawn, we graduated from sharing bunk beds that go as high as three levels, sturdy swinging hammocks, sleeping bags comfortably lying on the sand, common bath and charging/hangout area filled with paint materials, card and board games, ukuleles, and beanbags, and the sea with its roaring waves to surfboards, sunblocks, rash guards, and cover-ups, overpriced no-frills meals and unhealthy munchies, and secrets we'd rather keep to ourselves.

Puppy love and pastels

My beautiful cousin married her best friend and the love of her life last January and I had the privilege to be one of her bridesmaids. The wedding was simple, lovely, and rather intimate (considering how big a family we are) you couldn't tell how crazy the weekend prior was for our entire clan as we "lived under one roof," just like old times, and bonded nonstop over microwavable potluck meals, all sorts of competitive card games, and walkathons in the mall or trips around metro.

With arms linked and hearts for the nation

It's been a long time coming when finally our most-anticipated and thoroughly-prepared-for Salubungan Workshop has seen the light of day in mid-January. Hundreds of student, youth, and government leaders from across the country made their way to the heart of the nation to learn more about taking their nation-building advocacies to the next level. Along with our commissioners, we gathered experts on the field of advertising, media, community development, and business to impart to the participants on how to up their causes. We also had a few tricks up our sleeves and a couple of surprises in store for our guests.

Excuse me as I process my feelings

By the end of this week I found myself in a State of Grace and let me tell you, I am more than Okay. The experience truly deserves a real-time update before these thoughts and emotions I hold dear will inevitably be lost in the void, so I'm putting the eventful half a year's worth of interesting stories waiting to be written with wonderful photos waiting to be shared on hold for now.

Clear as day

We started the year brighter than usual, with a lovely portrait session during the golden hour(s) thanks to our awesome photographer friend, Nong Von. His works are beyond amazing and it had been a habit of mine to browse through his Tumblr and Instagram back in college, when I was bored and oftentimes in the comforts of the dorm room. I can't help but swoon at each and every photograph, especially those shot on film. So as you would have guessed, this shoot was a dream!