Between Lenses Bloghop: Reflection

This month's theme: Reflection. This bloghop is initiated by Tara Victoria and of trees and hues.

For this month's Between Lenses, I need to reflect on my ways on reflecting.

I realize that because I am now without a prayer every night, I gave too little time to reflect on life in general. That's why every time I spent on that task is very fruitful, indeed. There were times when reflecting is necessary because they are turning points of life, like during birthdays and December 31. Also, there are times that there's no way that I could not reflect on life and how beautiful it is to live, e.g. when I'm in museums and art galleries, whenever I hear a song that pierces my heart with its lyrics and melody (witnessing art), when I'm swimming at a beach, or when I see a huge, glorious tree (with nature).

This photo, taken from Gulugod Baboy, Batangas, Philippines, is one of the examples where I felt that I can truly be alone with my thoughts and just enjoy life as it is. Being with the greenery definitely calms my soul down. Moreover, living near a beach when I was younger, bodies of water feel like home to me. Adding them up, it's the best place for me to reflect on my journey as a human being.

P.S. This bloghop reminds me to take note on how I live my life everyday. Thank you for a wonderful theme, Tara Victoria and of trees and hues. :D

Introduction: JENESYS 2.0: Disaster Prevention Course

One of the most sought for travel destinations today is Japan. Many travellers want to experience the rich historic culture as seen in their festivals, temples and pagodas, traditional wear and of course, traditional Japanese food. Moreover, some enthusiasts want to buy merchandise from their favorite anime, manga, or Jpop, and thus the reason to go to this country.

Last September 29 - October 7, I was privileged to be one of the delegates who passed the application to JENESYS Program.
(From over 300 applications, my 34 co-delegates and I made it to the cut.)


Japan-East Asia Network of Students and Youth Program 2.0 (JENESYS 2.0: Disaster Prevention Course) was  initiated Japan Overseas Cooperative Agency (JOCA) and the Japan Information Cultural Center (JICC) of the Japanese Embassy, in partnership with National Youth Commission (NYC), having these objectives:
 (1) to disseminate knowledge regarding disaster prevention and risk mitigation actions in which Japan operates since Japan is one of the countries that is most hit by calamities, and
(2) to deepen the delegates’ knowledge and interest in Japan and its culture and traditions through the COOL Japan brand.

To sum up, here's what we've done:
We visited Tokyo to observe the cutting-edge technology that the Panasonic Center caters, to visit Honjo Life Safety Learning Center to experience calamity simulations, and to experience Japanese culture in Asakusa and Akihabara. Then, on the third day, delegates went to Shizuoka Prefecture to visit some of the infrastructures built or being built after they were hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We went to Hamamatsu City Coastal Levee, tsunami evacuation tower, and in The Forest of Hope. Also, for cultural experience and exchange, we went to Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, Toumon Homeland, Green Tea Field and Factory and undergone homestay program for 3 nights and 2 days.


And because we had a packed schedule from Day 1 to Day 9, I will blog the detailed version of this unforgettable journey. Stay tuned!

Batangas Foodtrip: Barako (Coffee) Jelly

Original post at Batangas Foodtrip: Barako (Coffee) Jelly: It's Christmas season once again! Christmas parties will start filling up our schedules, and food will overflow like crazy! Good thing I have something new for you on your Christmas party menu! 

Try my very own barako-coffee jelly! 

Yummy dessert! Wine glasses for pictorial purposes only XD

The darkness of barako coffee mixed with choco chips and creamy milk is so good, one serving will not be enough. :) [I used black gulaman here, thus the darker-colored milk.]

Aside from being delicious, it's cheap too! Only 35php per 250ml! How cool is that?

Contact me at 0922-24-25-334 for orders. 

Hope to turn your party one level higher with these yummy desserts! :D

Between Lenses: Urban

Hola! Here I am again to join Between Lenses bloghop!

It's a bloghop initiated by Tara Victoria and of trees and hues

This month's theme is Urban.

When I hear 'urban', I think of tall buildings and perfect architecture. I have never really lived in a city filled with high rise buildings - I have been to a highly urbanized area but it doesn't look like what 'urban' sounds like - I just thought it's all a clutter of people and structures.

That's why when I went to Japan last month, I was astounded and truly amazed to see perfectly designed urban area. It's like an OC-to-the-bone person measured everything and put all buildings, highways, and greeneries in the right places. It's heavenly.

Tokyo Skytree as background. Shot in a moving bus

This is one of the many breathtaking views as our bus drove along Tokyo. Look at how clean the water body is, and it's in an urban area! It's totally foreign to me,  having only seen Manila. My hopes to have a green Philippines was brought back to life.

Reaction: Abra and Julie Anne San Jose's Dedma

Browsing Facebook, I fortunately stumbled into this music video by Abra and Julie Anne San Jose's Dedma.

I was so shocked by how ballsy the lyrics are. Here are some verses:

Punto, san patungo ang relihiyon?
Sa katapusan ba ng mundo o sa Panginoon?
Ba’t ganun?

That's why it sparked comments regarding atheism, although that's really not the point of the song.
What I loved about the lyrics are:
[1] it made the listeners think and reflect about this country, and
[2] the topic is something that most of the mainstream artists would not delve into because of the negative association.


This is what we need right now - something to think about regarding our current situation. OPM is infested with love songs that have repetitive lyrics already - what they sing about have been sung better by Ariel Rivera, Basil Valdez, etc. Those lyrics made us think that love is the only thing there is, but it's obviously not.

If Dedma will become as famous and as mainstream as, say, Sirena by Gloc9, which is as good as this (or better), I will be as happy as f***. It will be one of the best moments of OPM this 2014.

NESCAFÉ Cappuccino is the most indulgent coffee I’ve ever had!

Hola there, bookworms and coffee drinkers!

I love coffee so much. I tried many types of coffee, depending on the availability and time of day.
When studying, I preferred having coffee on sachets because they're easier to prepare.

Recently, I tried NESCAFE Cappuccino, and it's the most indulgent coffee I've ever had!
Even if I have 3 cups or more, I still enjoy it because the coffee flavor is not too strong.
Also, the coffee foam and choco sprinkles make it a more indulgent experience! It's always fun drinking the first sip because of the foam. :D

Indulge. Drink  NESCAFE Cappuccino now. :D

Giveaway winners!

Hi guys! Thank you so much for participating and supporting my giveaway! October was such a hell of a good month to me, plus your support made it even better!

So... here are the winners!

Bundle of books - Ricalyn Sicad

Human Nature goodies - Kimberly Tiu

Congratulations! 

Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt

I saw this post on Pinoy Book Freaks United FB group last week, and I was thrilled to do it!

It's the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt, where there's a list of books one has to find.
Thanks for tagging everyone, The Nocturnal Fey!
The problem then was I was too busy, but now that I have free time (sort of), I plunged into it!

I'm this giddy right now.

Find an author's name or title with the letter Z in it

The Dapitan Correspondence of Dr. Jose Rizal and Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt compiled by Romeo G. Jalosjos
I love Rizal and his love for the country so much. This book is a gem for me.

Find a classic 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
It says so in the cover. :D This is one of the books which opened my mind about the real world. 

 Find a book with a key on it

Murder at the Abba by Isaac Asimov
My one and only book with a key. I haven;t read this one, though.

Find something on your bookshelf that's not a book 

50 yen, stress ball, two bean bags
I just went to Japan for some days, and these are the 'souvenirs' that I brought. It happened that I have no other place to put these on, so they're on my shelf. 

Find the oldest book on your shelf 

The New Lexicon Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, and Gulliver's Travels and Other Writing by Jonathan Swift
My first book, thus oldest book I own is the former. The latter's the oldest published book (1726, first edition).

Find a book with a girl on the cover 

Animorphs #48 The Return by K.A. Applegate
This one's easy because I have Animorphs collection. Picked Rachel because I love how her character grew. One of the best characters that I've read, ever.

 Find a book that has an animal in it

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett, and Animal Farm by George Orwell
Forgive me for not picking one, but I've got to show you these two lovelies. I love the book art of the former; I love the theme of the latter. Please read these two books. 

 Find a book with a male protagonist

Smaller and smaller circles by F. H. BatacanMany of my friends nudged me into reading this, and when I did, I knew why. 

Find a book with only words on it 

How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie
This helped me cope up with the world.  

Find a book with illustrations in it 

Instructions by Neil Gaiman
Given to me by my boyfriend after graduation, this book is wonderfully illustrated by Charles Vess. Don't miss this book if you're a Gaiman fan, too.

Find a book with gold lettering 

Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
I bought this without a jacket, let's just assume the lettering in the jacket is gold, too. This is my first (and only aotm) Atwood, and I enjoyed every story in this book. 

Find a diary (true or fictional)

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
This inspired me to bits. After reading this, I needed my diary to look as intellectual as hers. 

Find a book written with a common name (like Smith) 

Kung Baga sa Bigas by Jose F. Lacaba
Just like Marie for girls, Jose is one of the common names for boys in the Philippines. (I have three Joses in this list.)

Find a book that has a closeup of something on it 

Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
My first Pratchett book (that I've finished)! Been looking forward to read him again ever since.

Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Set in 16th century. I must reread this. 

 Find a hardcover book without a jacket

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
Given to me by my boyfriend without a jacket. He memorized most of the passages of the book so he gave it to me. One of his favorites. Became one of mine, too.Find a book with stars on it

The Joy of a Peanuts Christmas by Charles M. Schulz
There's this need in me to have books that can be read by children. This is one of those.

Find a teal/turquoise colored book

Viajero by F. Sionil Jose
Lots of information from this book. 

 Find a non-YA book

New Poems in Pilipino edited by Federico Licsi Espino Jr. 
I have many non-YA books, but this one is such a gem (a Marcos-era project), so I picked it. 

Gods, I enjoyed it so much that I'm tagging everyone who reads this, to spread the fun!

Typecast album: Word Sits Heavy (won from Jam 88.3)

I love Jam 88.3. And I guess they love them too in a random manner because for the second time, I won something from the station's contests! 

Plus Jam 88.3 stickers! 

I reblogged this post from the amazing Russ Davis' Fresh Filter tumblr, and I was one of the winners! Thank you, Jam and Typecast! 

The album cover, plus pick! Sad thing, I don't have a guitar.

Oh yeah!

Awesome, intricate album design. Good job!

I listened to the album tracks after a hectic day, and they were soooo good! I love headbanging sounds since elementary, and this album was a fresh reminder about that love.

I specifically enjoy "Gasoline" more because of it's intro and all the drum beats in between. 

You can listen to them for free here!

BETWEEN LENSES: MORNINGS

It's almost November! Thankfully it's still October - though the list is now closed, I will still make an entry for Between Lenses bloghop by Tara Victoria and of trees and hues

.

I'm not a morning person, but when I do wake up before 6am, I always look at the sun and see the colorful clouds around it, and it makes me feel alive.

So I chose this photo as my morning photo: the sunlight near the upper center just hit the spot for me.

"I put my face in the flowers and breathed deeply. They smelled good, like sunshine."
- Stephen King, Bag of Bones

Different shades of green in Benguet: Photoblog

It was not a sunny visit to Benguet, I must say. And because of that, I saw marvelous formations in nature that one can only get from this side of the country. Though I did not enjoy the weather (I was made for the beaches), I enjoyed my photos. :)
I hope you'll enjoy as well!
(It was an acad-related 2-day visit.)

On our way to Philex, we stopped for a while for me to take pictures.

When we arrived at Philex, the first stop to get samples. Trekking was required to go to the sampling location.

This was taken before the trek. Water droplets

Lovely tree hidden behind the fog. We had to wear raincoats because of the drizzle

In the middle of the trek.

There were many spiders like this in the path. Also, dragonflies. It was a grassy mountain.

Pambasan bridge

Bolok - Agno river confluence. I thought of American valley photos when I saw this. 

The tailings pond.

Fishing at the tailings pond. 

Lovely morning sight. But, swearworthy weather. 

Life

Underground mine