I really NEED to get organized. My room is FULL of clutter… believe me! I have tons of work to do… I’m just so tamad! I’m thinking it all started after I got back from Baguio. I was able to accomplish very little after that. I don’t even go jogging anymore.

Ever heard of the Mozart Effect?

The Mozart effect can refer to:

* A set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart’s music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as “spatio-temporal reasoning;”
* Popularized versions of the theory, which suggest that “listening to Mozart makes you smarter”, or that early childhood exposure to classical music has a beneficial effect on mental development;
* A trademark for a set of commercial recordings and related materials, which are claimed to harness the effect for a variety of purposes. The trademark owner claims benefits far beyond improving spatio-temporal reasoning or raising intelligence, defining the mark as “an inclusive term signifying the transformational powers of music in health, education, and well-being.”

The term was first coined by Alfred A. Tomatis who used Mozart’s music as the listening stimulus in his work attempting to cure a variety of disorders. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, who trademarked the term, and is based on an experiment published in Nature suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily boosted students’ IQ by 8 to 9 points. As a result, the Governor of Georgia, Zell Miller, proposed a budget to provide every child born in Georgia with a CD of classical music. (Source: Wikipedia)

This is what I’m doing right now… listening to classical music. And this reminds me of CO. I remember we compiled a CD of classical music MPs. (Yep, I have a CD of just classical music. CO and I have Audio CDs of classical music and I converted it to MPs and burned it into just 1 CD. He also has a copy of the MP3s.) Then when we’d go on a road trip, we’d play classical music. Wala lang, trip lang… and we wanted to see how our friends would react. Haha! Okay naman. Of course, as always, they thought we’re weird but there were no violent reactions. Anyway, I’m trying to see right now if the Mozart Effect would actually work on my brain. So far, so good… my head is clearing. I remember when I was the one taking care of my niece when she was still a baby, I’d play her classical music while she slept.

And I also need to put some sense into my brain. Last night I had a breakdown… I cried… hard. I was thinking about my mom and dad, and AA, then bigla na lang akong umiyak ng umiyak… non-stop for about an hour. Parang lahat bigla na lang lumabas. Hay buhay… But I’m much better now but I’m still missing my mom. I’ve heard my cousins took her to a San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. I really hope she’s enjoying her vacation.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Popularity: 21% [?]

by Lea Salonga

After all the tears I’ve cried
You’d think I would give up on love, get off this line
But maybe I might get it right this time

I was there as passion turned to pain
Sunshine turned to rainy days yet here I am
Ready to begin once again

All my life I’ve been a dreamer
Dreaming dreams that always broke in two
But I still believe in love and I love believing
Maybe you can make my dreams come true

Here content with who I am
I’m reaching out my hand to him once again
At least I know I’ve made myself a friend

All my life I’ve been a dreamer
Dreaming dreams that never quite came true
But I still believe in love and I love believing
I’ll keep on dreaming because I still believe in love
I still believe in love and me and you
I still believe in love

Popularity: 28% [?]

Litratong Pinoy had it’s first EB last Monday, June 9, 2008, and it was called Kodakan para sa Kalayaan. This is in time for the Philippines’ 110th Indpependence Day and also perfect for LP’s theme for this week which is Kalayaan. There were three of us from LP, Pete, Lino and me, and we were joined by a couple of Pete’s friends, Julius and Mike. We met at the UP Oblation, introduced ourselves, shared stories, and then photo op for about 30 minutes. Then we had lunch at the UP Coop (thanks to Pete and Julius for the lunch) and decided to go to Binondo with Julius.

We took a jeep to Quiapo (we encountered a very masungit na mamang jeep) and took photos of Quiapo Church. We also dropped by FANS Digital Imaging to inquire about the planned LP coffee table book. After that we walked going to Ongpin, then Binondo, then Manila Post Office, and then the Bonifacio Shrine near Manila City Hall. It was a long and tiring day but it was fun and very informative! Thanks to Mike also who acted as our tour guide and explained the history of the places we passed by.

This is my first time to try out Lomography and I used my very first toy camera, Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim. I underestimated actually it’s capacity of being ultra wide. If you look at the photos below, the first photo is what I saw when I looked in the cam’s viewfinder and the second photo is what I came out when I had the film processed and scanned. Can you see the big difference

Here is the complete set of photos that I took, I posted it in my multiply account. Comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are welcome.

Camera: Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim
Film: Fujicolor YKL 100

Popularity: 63% [?]

Ibon mang may layang lumipad
Kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag
Ang di magnasang makaalpas!
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko’t dalita
Aking adhika,
Makita kang sakdal laya!

Malaya nga ba ang ating bayan? Malaya nga ba ang ating mga kababayan? Ikaw, malaya ka ba?

Ito po ay parte ng mural sa Bonifacio Shrine na makikita malapit sa City Hall ng Maynila. Naisip ko na saktong-sakto ito para sa tema ngayong linggong ito dahil ipinagdidiwang nating ang ika 110 taon ng kalayaan ng ating bansa at ang mga ibon ay kadalasang nagsisimbolo ng kalayaan. Ito po ang aming huling pinuntahan nila Pete at Lino sa unang EB ng Litratong PInoy.

Popularity: 45% [?]

Continued from here. Well there isn’t much to tell about our Baguio trip for all we did was bum around. Haha! But here it is still anyway.

Friday (May 23)
We left La Union around 12 noon and off to Baguio we went. The trip was quick, took us only 1.2 hours, despite all those slow-driving trucks and buses that we had to takeover. It was rainy in Baguio and we were all joking about it cause all we brought were summer clothes. Haha! First thing we did was to go to SM to grab a bite. We ate at Tia Maria’s and it reminded me of CO and our TM’s Malate drunken adventure so I texted him and became my companion for the rest of our trip. And yep, we had Margarita with lunch cause we were kinda preparing for Tequila night. Haha! Then we went to the grocery to buy fruits and lemons and limes for the tequila. We also bought salt and a bottle of Cuervo. Haaaayyy. Tequila is my worst enemy talaga and after that night at TM’s Malate, I tried to stay away from it. But we had no choice cause it was UncleJoe’s request. AA hated it too.

After SM, we looked around for a place to stay. We actually had a hard time because it was a Friday and most of the hotels were already fully-booked. We were about to check-in to two different hotels, good thing the first one had one more extra room available. After settling in, we went to UncleJoe’s room for the tequila night. Haha! It wasn’t even dark yet, I think parang mga 2pm pa lang non. My gas! I prepared na nga and told AA to bring our huge water bottle with us. Haha! Water lang katapat nyan! That’s actually what I do when I’m drinking hard drinks… I drink lots of water after every shot. Siguro it kinda dilutes the alcohol kaya ndi masyadong malakas tama. As if! Haha! After the first bottle, AA and I went out to buy more lemon, some chips and 1 more bottle of Cuervo. Grabeh na ito! Imagine, they were only four of us and we consumed 2 bottles of tequila. Si Jess, whom we thought na malakas uminom ng tequila, eh parating nagpa-pass. So I had to drink her shot, kaya ayon dalawang shots sa kin. Hay buhay talaga! Parang best friend ko ata si pareng Cuervo that night. At eto pa ang malupet. When we were done na, it was still early so AA and I still went down the cafe to drink beer. Sus! I couldn’t say no… he didn’t ask me actually if I still wanted to drink more, he just assumed it. He asked me to go down to the cafe with him and ordered for both of us. Until finally, we were both sleepy na so we went back to our room na. It was a good thing cause I didn’t have a hard time sleeping.

Saturday (May 24)
AA and went out to look for McDonald’s to buy breakfast. PS was right that we should have just left the car and just walked or took a cab… the traffic was terrible! And we finally found McDo, we couldn’t find a parking naman. AA called UncleJoe and told him to just eat breakfast at the cafe and we just looked for a laundry shop. We had to get our clothes cleaned because we were out of fresh clothes already. Our original plan was we’d go home Friday, so we just bought clothes good for five days. After that, we got back to the hotel already and joined UncleJoe and Jess for breakfast. Then tambay lang ulet sa room to watch TV and for a little nap. After that, I went with AA to Session Road. He went to the gym and I was thinking of watching him but thought it could get boring kse 1 hour din yon, and medyo natatawa siya when he asked me if I was going to watch him. Haha! So I just looked for an internet cafe to check on mails. Sus! The computer I rented was sooooooooooooooooo slow. Siguro it would take about 3 minutes to shift from 1 tab to another. Grabe! So I just went back to the gym and waited for AA. After gym, we bought some DVDs and KFC for our early dinner. When we got back to the hotel, we watched Street Kings while we ate our dinner. Then after awhile AA went down to meet with Huge, MC’s cousin. Huge is based in Baguio and he was the one who helped us look for stash. Haha! I followed AA after a while and we just stayed in the cafe with Huge while waiting for UncleJoe and Jess. And then it’s Karaoke night! Haha! Grabe, wala talaga sa tono si AA!!! Hahaha! Huge has a very nice voice and I liked talking to him cause he sounded so much like MC, as in same tone and expressions, it seemed like I’m talking to MC, natutuwa ako kay Huge sobra! UncleJoe and Jess left early, and I think na-bore na din si AA kse kwentuhan lang kami ng kwentuhan ni Huge and siya lang yung kanta ng kanta. Hey, we didn’t see each other for like 8 years kaya! Haha! So after videoke night, we went back to the hotel and sleep.

Sunday (May 25)
We ate breakfast and prepared to go Tam-awan Village with Huge. I think medyo natagalan ata ako maligo, when it was AA’s turn, Huge and TitoIran (Huge’s dad) were already downstairs waiting for us. Poor AA, hindi na naligo. Haha! So, we went to Tam-awan Village and UncleJoe and Jess had their sketch drawn by the local artists after touring the place. Me and AA naman had coffee with Huge, TitoIran and Huge also introduced us to his cousin Chit who resides there in the Village. Yummy coffee! Then we just got to the hotel and napped again. In the afternoon, AA and I went to SM. Nag-gym siya ulet and me naman I looked for a pipe for my stash. Haha! Yup we went back to the hotel with our stash! Then we also bought Don Henrico’s pizza and buffalo wings (yum yum) for dinner. We also bought cheapy speakers for UncleJoe’s laptop so the sounds would be audible when we watch DVDs. Then we tried our stash na. We put it in a cup of hot water and drank it like tea. It made me feel sleepy talaga (even the ones I bought home) and I had to back to our hotel room to take a nap. When AA returned to our room, we went down the cafe to drink beer. Andami ko pa din nainom! Grabe talaga yung week na to… everyday umiinom ako! We watched the Wedding Planner at the cafe and we got back to our room super antok na din kami… maybe it was because of the stash na din and of course the beer.

Monday (May 26)
It’s time to go home. I prepared my stuff early and took a nap again after breakfast. I was pretty quiet na lang na until I got home. I thanked CO for keeping me company the whole week, through text. Mas madami pa yata kaming napag-usapan ni CO kesa kami ni AA. Since nung inaway niya ko ko nung sa La Union tumahimik na talaga ko… that’s what he wanted eh so sige. When we reached my house, I just hugged and thanked UncleJoe. Si AA tinapik ko lang sa arms to say goodbye. Haha! He just reminded me na dahan-dahan lang with my stash. Kala niya siguro I’ll abuse it. Bad! Hay buhay!

So that’s it… my week-long getaway.

Popularity: 24% [?]

I really am tamad… especially when going to places. I always ask my dad or my sis or BIL to drive me whenever I’m going somewhere, or if there’s no one available then I’d take the cab. But since the price of gas went skyrocketing, I have to start being practical. Before, whenever I have a client, I spend P1000 on gas alone. That’s P500 on the way to the album supplier and P500 again when I’ll get the finished album and deliver it to my client. I think that’s too much and I just couldn’t afford it anymore, so, yesterday, I went to the album supplier by commuting. I went to Quiapo first to have the photos printed (because the album supplier won’t give me discount on printing services)… the trip was okay, except for the traffic because of a group that’s rallying. Bad timing talaga ko! It took me almost 2 hours just going to Quiapo but it only cost me P17 for the jeepney fare. Yep, I took a jeep because I’m scared of FX taxis, cabs are too expensive, and buses are rare. When I got to Quiapo, I had to wait for an hour for the printing to finish so I just walked around Hidalgo and looked for expired films for my new lomo hobby. I found one store which still had a few expired rolls available and the owner talked to me about lomography. She asked a lot of questions and I was patient enough to answer her, medyo makulit lang because she couldn’t understand what’s the art daw in lomo and ano daw mapapala don and why daw would lomo hobbyists invest on a P2000 plastic camera, eh plastic nga. Hay nacoo, kaya nga hobby eh. And I don’t get her… she’s interested in selling lomo cameras so baket kailangan pang kwestuyinin niya yung mga lomo aritst about their art. She should focus na lang on her target market… nangengelam pa eh. Haha! So anyway, I bought all of her expired films… that’s 7 rolls, 12 exp each. I couldn’t decide where to each lunch so I just went back to the printer to wait for my photos.

After getting my photos, I was thinking of taking a jeep again back to España then get off Lacson Ave. and take a jeep going to Tayuman. But I remembered the rally and thought I couldn’t bear to be stuck on traffic again so I took my chance and just walked going to Rizal Ave ext. and took a jeep there that would pass by Tayuman. It was my first time to commute going to Tayuman. I remember when I was in college, we were still living in Malabon so my main means of transport was the LRT. Then one day LRT was down because it was brownout, I think, and my friend had to guide me pa what jeep to take going to Monumento and where to get off. She was scared for me, baka daw masiraan yung jeep. Haha! Kakahiya! So anyway, I made it to Tayuman with no problem and walked a block na lang going to the album supplier. From the album supplier, I dropped by SM San Lazaro to look for something that I didn’t find. I wasn’t in the mood to eat lunch anymore so I just headed home. I took a jeep again going back to España, but the jeep had to take another way because it was really traffic, so I ended up walking 4 blocks going to España. When I was finally there, I could feel my migrane coming already so I just took a cab na on my way home.

I left home at 10am and got back at 4pm. I’ve been gone for 6 hours and spent P190 on fares. Not bad huh? I hope next time my trip’ll be shorter na without rallies. And I might start using na din sunscreen. Grabe! Nog-nog na since I went to La Union! Anyway, I haven’t posted yet anything about the Litratong Pinoy EB. I’m still waiting for my photos from DigiPrint. I used my Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim for the first time and had the negatives scanned and will be expecting it tomorrow. I’ll post about the EB and the pictures then, in time for LP’s theme - Kalayaan.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Wala po sana akong lahok para sa linggong ito dahil ang kasal ay isang bagay na nagiging dahilan upang ako ay malungkot. At pasensiya na kung magiging madamdamin ang akda ko para sa linggong ito.

Di naman po ako yung tipo na bata pa lang ay nangangarap nang magpakasal at hindi din naman po ako nangangarap ng isang engrandeng kasal. Dumating lang ang taong mamahalin ako ay sobrang ikakasaya ko na habang ako ay nabubuhay. O ang drama diba?

Kung ako ay bibigyan ng pagkakataon, ang gusto kong kasal ay simple lamang. Gusto ko ay sa tabing dagat o sa isang lugar na napapaligiran ng mga puno, at kung napanood niyo ang pelikula ni Kevin Costner na Robin Hood, gusto ko yung parang katulad ng kasal niya doon na maraming nahuhulog na mga dahon. Ayoko din ng pormal na kasalan. Gusto ko ay komportable ang mga dadalo sa aking kasal at kung sa tabing dagat ay gusto kong naka tsinelas o nakapaa ang mga tao. Gusto ko din ng mga dekorasyong isda sa aking keyk at ang dekorasyon sa mga mesa ay isang “fish bowl” na pwedeng iuwi ng mga bisita. Gusto ko din na ang mga bulaklak ay lilies at ang mga imbitasyon at favors ay ako ang gagawa. O diba sabi ko nga simple lang?

At isang tao lang ang gusto kong makasama habambuhay! Haha! Kung inyong nababasa itong aking blag ay marahil may ideya na kayo kung sino ang taong iyon, malungkot lamang dahil hindi ganon ang tingin niya sa akin at ako ay itinuturing lamang niya bilang isang kaibigan. Tinanggap ko naman na yon at minsan ay umaasa pa din ako na merong dadating sa king buhay na lalamangan siya at tutulungan akong kalimutan siya. Sa ngayon ang tanging pangarap ko na lang ay makakilala ng isang tao na magmamahal sa akin sa kung sino at ano man ako…. pero malungkot man isipin ay nawawalan na ko ng pag-asa at tinatanggap ko na na marahil ay  nakatakda talaga akong maging mag-isa sa buhay. Kaya eto, hanggang pangarap at panaginip na lang ako.

O siya, tama na ang drama! Para sa aking lahok ngayong linggong ito ay kinunan ko ang mga pahina ng isang aklat na aking binili dati para pagkunan ng inspirasyon para sa aking trabaho. Tuwing may bisita ako sa aking kwarto at nakikita ko ang aklat na ito sa aking bookshelf ay natatawa ako sa aking sarili. Naisip ko na baka isipin ng aking mga bisita na kaya ko ito binili ay dahil gusto ko nang magpakasal. Haha! Sana ay magustuhan niyo ang lahok ko ngayong linggong ito. Maligayang LP mga kaibigan!

Popularity: 35% [?]

by The Beatles

Two of us riding nowhere
Spending someone’s hard earned pay
You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving on our way back home
We’re on our way home, we’re on our way home
We’re going home

Two of us sending postcards
Writing letters on my wall
You and me burning matches
Lifting latches on our way back home
We’re on our way home, we’re on our way home
We’re going home

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
Standing so low in the sun
You and me chasing paper
Getting nowhere on our way back home
We’re on our way home, we’re on our way home
We’re going home

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
Standing so low in the sun
You and me chasing paper
Getting nowhere on our way back home
We’re on our way home, we’re on our way home
We’re going home

——————–

I’ve been blabbering non-stop about AA, it is about time I talk about somebody else. This week’s song is somewhat a happy song… for me, that is. It reminds me of one of my best friends, CO. He’s my forever platonic friend, people wonder why we’re just friends. Haha!

My Duet
We’re the official “songers” of our group. Our voices blend perfectly together when we sing and he’s good with second voices. I remember in college we’d sing the Philippine National Anthem, yep, complete with second voice, just to piss off our friends. Ang kulet! We’d sing on the phone until dawn. We like the same songs. We’d sing songs even on emails (when we’re far away from each other and couldn’t talk on the phone). And our favorite song? Ikaw ang nasa isip ko. Hinahanap-hanap kita. Walang ibang champion ang buhay ko. Nais kong malamam mo na ikaw ang tanging champion ng buhay ko. Champion talaga! Hahaha!

My Enemy
CO and I fought a lot of times already. We fought because of birdwatching, because of a comment he made, because of a book, and our biggest fight was because of a set of nagatives. Haha! I always start it… except for the book. He got mad at me over a book that I gave him as a gift. It was a book about birdwatching and since we just had a fight, I still gave him the book but told him “mag-birdwatching ka mag-isa mo!” He was tempted to return the book, said it was useless because we’re not going birdwatching together. As in nagalit siya talaga sa kin and that scared me. Since then, I’m already careful not to get him mad. Inis and pikon okay lang, but not mad.

My Confidant
CO knows almost everything about me. Tip: if you want to blackmail me, befriend him! Haha! He’d stay awake until the wee hours of the morning just to listen to my stories, secrets, vents. I’d even call him sometimes and just cry my heart out and not say a word. He keeps me sane… I could talk to him about anything and he wouldn’t find it awkward or weird or boring. He know the secret affairs of my heart… my hidden desires, my heartaches, etc. He’s the one I run to when I’m troubled and I always listen to what he has to say and almost always follow his advices. Masunurin akong bata eh! Haha!

My Drinking Buddy
He’s one of my drinking buddies, mine and AA’s actually, and yes we can be trusted to be alone together when we’re drunk. Platonic nga eh! Haha! I remember when we went to Tia Maria’s in Malate one time. It was open bar night and tequila shots kept arriving on our table. We were so drunk we just sat on the floor outside TM’s and kept on laughing because we both couldn’t stand up anymore, as in nakalupasay kami don. Haha! Then after a few minutes, he was missing already. AA looked for him and found him inside a somebody’s car, sleeping. Buti na lang it belonged to AA’s friend. Then when he got CO already, ako naman yung nawala. Haha! He found me inside TM’s again dancing. They went crazy that night because of CO and me! Haha! Same thing also when we went to Quezon. CO locked himself inside the bathroom and fell asleep and I was crying naman on one corner. Para silang may alagang mga bata.

My Activity Partner
Yes it’s fun to travel with friends, with a big group… but sometimes it’s also fun to travel by twos or threes only. CO and I went to Palawan for 9 days with JT. And then we went to Thailand and Cambodia for 14 days. Sometimes we traveled with our other friends MC and JE, who were based in Bangkok that time, but most of the time it’s just the two of us. We went to Majayjay with CB, and then one holy week, we explored Makati and Intramuros with CB also. I don’t have to think and I’m not scared when I’m with him, he takes care of everything for me. And even if we’re with our other friends, it feels like we have our own little world where kami lang ang nagkakaintindihan. We could stay awake on an 8-hour bus drive without getting bored. We’d play mind games, etc. Yun nga lang, he’s too intellectual I sometimes feel stupid. Haha! Too bad I wasn’t able to go Myanmar with him, he went alone. But he was thinking of me lots of time, imagining what would happen if I were there. He missed me! Haha!

Some of our famous lines:
AFM ako eh. (Alcohol-Free Month)
Pano na friendship namin ni AA pag wala ka?
Wag kang matulog! Wag kang matulog! (It’s a song. Haha!)
(In response to wag kang matulog) Hindi ako natutulog. Pinapahinga ko lang mata ko!
Wait lang, may too-toot! (referring to the beeping sound when there’s call-waiting on the phone)

Popularity: 30% [?]