.

i think the term "origami" which roughly translates to folding paper doesn't exactly apply to what Roldan of Dos Palmas creates animal art out of dahon ng niyog and tinging.


I love receiving fruits and flowers like the gumamelas in my hat from an employee in Dos Palmas (picture by: Jerry Joanino)


... but I felt really special when Roldan gifted me with lovebirds tweeting in a heart. It takes a little more effort and creativity than an uberly cute Taylor Swift hand heart or a < and a number 3 which to those who don't know please check out this mathematical equation:

< + 3 = <3
that's a heart by the way!



i love this grasshopper. a lot of people thought that is was real. the little boy in front of me was the happy recipient of this native insect toy =)



fish on a stick!
thank you to mama to for my hat and nicole who hand carried it from the US (i think!)...it has withstood many beach trips.

Whenever someone sees me eat for the first time, they usually say one of three things

1. "Kumakain ka pala ng kanin?!" (ask the waiters from Abe where good friends dine and where there is eat all you can rice. and my official abe partner-my sister Nicole)
2. "Ang lakas mo pala kumain!"
3. (at the end of the meal) "Kumakain ka pa rin? Tapos na kaming lahat"
This was first painfully evident the first time I ate in C Italian with my band Reasons. For I was still eating when they all gave up on Chef Chris' famous panizzas. It was the happy chef who pointed this out after spotting a very satisfied customer in his midst.

Yes, I eat a lot. And lately I finally joined the bandwagon of people who take pics of their food. ok, i am no @antondiaz but i really love to eat. and lately, i've had some pretty interesting finds for my tummmmy!


My band reasons and I went to Palawan for a concert with and for the priests (Padi y ang Pawalan Foundation). we had lotsa fun and ate lotsa food

1st STOP: INATO


me with piox, edwin and boj

the staff of inato

i love the paintings in the restaurant

here are some more...the paintings by the CR were also lovely but i didn't get to take photos of em.

i love this waiter...i love our re-enactment very much. iPad=bilao


Kinabuch Bar and Restaurant in Palawan :


a plateful of "tamilok" worms from the mangroves of palawan


the deep fried version


i was so brave during the "tamilok challenge" coz i was in a group that was predominantly male.



After i ate the worm...i had to run to my seat to grab my bottled water. it felt like the worm got stuck in my throat! ewww! haha

Later that night or early in the morning even...I woke up at 4 AM looking for my water because in my sleep I must've been thinking that the worm found it's way back to my throat.

Trip #2: ILOCOS


I went to Ilocos for a mall show and I ate at Bird's Nest right by our hotel in the gas station compound...


puqui-puqui

crispy dinuguan with bihon. This is very very yummy. i tweeted about this and i got a lot of inquiries as to where to find it. i actually wanna go back there to have this. what would've been more perfect was if i had the puto manapla from bacolod that night...but that came after 3 trips =)


I felt kinda guilty for eating too much so i went biking with ate mel of polyeast records, my record label

http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=598891.


SIDELINE JOB #1: Radio DJ



sideline job# 1 DJing with Boom Gonzalez (photos by Alvin Fadriquela)


this is me being totally in sync with boom gonzalez in our matching outfits. (photo by Alvin Fadriquela)


with my close friend DJ Suzy who helped me get my sideline job


radio DJ peg Mo Twister


i baked cookies and mini cakes for my officemates at magic on my last day at work


magic girls-jessica, mia, andi 9, suzy and karylle



SIDELINE JOB #2: Supermodel



a model in the making




at the metrowear 2010 fashion show in reian mata


modeling crash course by Principal Divine Lee and her faculty from L-R Veejay Floresca,Divine, Jigs Mayuga, student/author, Aleq Africa David Milan, Patrick Galang and Martin Bautista



with mama @zsazsapadilla in shang boracay =) this is what i like to call the padilla family pout








I did a pictorial for Bench China with international top model Rock Ji the day before the Bench Uncut show.

no this isn't a pic taken at the beach...it's a pic taken inside the room of the H20 hotel.



Most girls are afraid of cockroaches (like my friends who called their band "Flying Ipis" since they all fear said flying insect. hi @gaki_girl), some people have arachnophobia, and I.. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I am afraid of … fish.

I am perfectly fine at Shang Mactan where the fish are malusog from the bread that the guests feed them in abundance! They swim around you as you sit by the shore. At first I thought I was just scared of scuba diving. I cured this during my diving class by singing underwater. I figured that it was partly the fish I was uneasy with when I found myself singing while snorkeling in Bohol and in last week's trip to Dos Palmas, Palawan. I think my friends got weirded out by all the noise (I'd like to think it was music) I was making underwater as we saw all sorts of fish, a manta ray, an eel, Nemo (of course), starfish and a 1-meter long giant clam!


For those who have difficulty floating around open waters like me, Hotel H2O by Manila Bay is the perfect place for you. You can enjoy the screen saver-like aquariums on the walls of your hotel's Aqua rooms. I just don't know how you'd feel about the fish watching you while you take a bath though because the room is just a big room with no doors and partitions.

http://www.hotelh2o.com/accommodation.php

The corridors are also very pretty and perfect for picture picture moments for you facebook albums like so…

*this is a very old post ;)

I was home sick for a good four days. I snuck out to buy fresh milk and some school supplies to put me in a good mood. I found a must-have for this school year which are the LIMITED EDITION iamninoy iamcory Mongol #2 pencils. Man, I wish I could go back to school just so that I could show them off. I'll keep an extra box for the time I take my masters. In the meantime, I've sharpened the pencils with what could now be referred to as a vintage mechanical sharpener (www.officemuseum.com/sharpener_gallery_1800s.htm) and I'll give them away to my cute neighbors who play with my dog Mr. Kung Fu in the afternoons.

I was invited to go to adidas in Greenbelt 3 to design my own shoe! So, I got on the computer, clicked on a few colors, typed my name on the side of the shoe and tada! i suddenly felt like Missy Elliot with my very own adidas line. Maybe it's a good start. I'll have a running line one day =)

I have been planning my blog for over a year now. The best excuse I have found to dodge it was this: "I am working on a book!" But the heart knows no excuses -- especially when drafts and outlines can be found all over my desktop in folders that are in danger of being trashed, as opposed to being trapped and intertwined in the millions of blogs that shape our literary tradition today. Soooooooo, I finally...WRITE AWAY!