hello world!

i haven’t posted from quite some time now because there’s nothing really going on worth mentioning here apart from:

• again, i don’t have my license right now due to a slight swerving in sucat area last thurs.
• first time to lomo manila activity last saturday in neo china town (near mall of asia). nice to have met people of same interest.
• still half-way with the book i’m reading at the moment, a non-fiction, "the looniness of the long distance runner".
• missed a lot of my audio japanese lessons (which i planned to go on one lesson per day)
• got started in this tv series called "battlestar galactica". very cool!
• watched "the motorcycle diaries", it was really profound and inspiring. i wish i could save enough money for travel in the far future.

today is holy thursday.

ai ya! let’s try to post something going on right now…

‘helped my mom do the marketing today…we have to rush as they will be fetching tita nora from the airport in the afternoon..i did not bring my camera because it would really be inappropriate! though there were really some nice subjects at the market like the pig heads, bloody floorboard, squashed vegetables, and people of course.

i live in binan, so, it’s binan public wet market. hehe. it’s the busiest, if not the biggest, wet market i have ever known. people from nearby towns even frequent binan just for its market. it’s 24-7, with supply coming in at about 3 or 4 am. for that reason, i find it a bit safe to go home even late in the morning (because of people everywhere).

i just have to follow my mom (me carrying our basket of goods) around, she knows several vendors she usually deal with. after getting meat (to cook probably for sunday onwards?, well, personally i don’t really care what i put in my mouth during this time of the year), vegetables, eggs, and some sea foods, we went to a rice dealer, but unfortunately it is closed. finally, we bought some bread, and head home.

(btw, it’s less than 2 kms from home to binan plaza, which is nearby the market i was just talking about)

and so, for the photo above…unbeknownst to a lot of people, i cook fantastic! well, that is, according to me. that’s seafood pasta (mussels and clams). sorry no olives, so just put in some button mushroom and leeks. also according to myself, it’s so al dente and genuinely tasty you would think you are in italia!

*anybody knows where to get tortellini here?* 

cat on the roof 2.

cat on the roof.

what ayala-makati looks like on a sunday.

south-east asia → philippines → metro manila → makati city

i worked in makati (on and off) for a total of more than a year but never really got the chance to take pictures. i happen to be in makati area on a sunday early morning, so took the opportunity to take pictures around these areas when it’s at its least busiest state.

photos up -> here

kiddo, eat your vegetables, you don’t know how hard it is to grow them..

south-east asia → philippines → benguet → la trinidad

la trinidad, the capital city of benguet, is about 256 km north of manila (around 290 km from home..) and is famous for its unique crops like strawberry, baguio string beans, broccoli, and cauliflower, which local farmers were able to produce because of the relatively cool climate year round. la trinidad is the next town after baguio, and the farm is just a few kilometers away. we picked some strawberries (for 200 pesos a kilo). we decided to pick just a kilo and share (just for the sake of experiencing picking, hehe), and just buy more strawberries from the market where it’s cheaper (80-150 pesos a kilo). i have some friends from the office asking for a kilo, so i bought 2 more kilos of strawberries nearby after farming. unfortunately, these goodies are very delicate that you have to carry them very gently and avoid bumping it against other things. but even being extra careful in handling them, i still end up with more than half of my strawberries bruised.

the farm is elevated and surrounded by mountains. a lot of houses in these areas are along side mountains as well. also, people here speak tagalog so no problem dealing with them. another good thing is that most of the farmers are not camery-shy! during our strawberry picking, the sun was high. luckily, i’m wearing a hooded sweatshirt so not much direct sun but still i got some sun burns.. and that being said, i realized how hard must have been a day is for our farmers. under the beating sun, tinkering the soil, cultivating the land, seeding, watering, and growing and finally picking the crops. these folks are truly doing a lot for a living and that itself is amazing. 

on the way back to baguio, we passed by a chinese buddhist temple called ‘the bell church’. the architecture is great, really like you’re in china! the bad thing is, i ran out of battery so not much picture there.

several photos -> here

PS

this is the final entry of benguet travel. and as summer is fast approaching, hope to see more of our wondrous country (if budget permits).

Another Holga 120GCFN using Fuji Superia - Baguio Version

http://yossarian22.multiply.com/photos/album/17/Baguio_City_-_120_GCFN_using_Fuji_Superia

Holga 120GCFN using Fuji Superia

napapadalas ang pasyal ni "jug" aka holga..

http://yossarian22.multiply.com/photos/album/16/San_Juan_Batangas_-_120_GCFN_using_Fuji_Superia

Holga 120GCFN using Ilford XP2 Film

‘tried ilford xp2 from my last trip. pictures mostly from baguio and la trinidad, benguet. film contrast is nice, but occasionally, there are bluish and brownish tendencies.

have yet to try bw400cn from kodak, but still, definitely will use more ilford 120’s!

since holga is manual, i have to rewind the film after every shot (so it’s always ready for the next one), and using the square mask, it should give me 12 shots in a single roll. however, there is an instance when i advanced the roll unknowingly that i haven’t exposed it yet! so this very first roll of my ilford, one frame wasted..

Save you.

I wanna rock-n-roll
I wanna give my soul
I’m wanting to belielve
I’m not too old
Don’t want to make it up
Don’t want to let you down
I want to fly away
But I’m stuck on the ground

So, help me decide
Help me to make up
Make up my mind
Wouldn’t that save you
Wouldn’t that save you
Wouldn’t that save you

Watched it all go by
was it really true
is that what is was?
was that really you?
I’m looking back again
tracing back the threads
You said I was a mess
or was it just in my head

Something’s gotta break
You gotta swing the bat
too many years of dying
why is that?

written by Matthew Perryman Jones & Neilson Hubbard

–> youtube link