Batanes

I've always wanted to photograph Batanes. So, after having so much fun in Backpack Photography - Banaue, it was only a matter of time before we signed up for Backpack Photography - Batanes.

Batanes did not disappoint - it had power outages, our inn had problems with water supply, bottled water was a precious commodity and the sun was blazing so hot it activated my dormant sweat glands, but the views were so magnificent that I was always torn between just standing and breathing in the beauty of the landscape or attempting to capture them in photos. And the food, specially the daily serving of lobster and coconut crabs, was a treat to my  sleep-deprived body.

Here's the album I ordered from Artscow.com (you may also visit this site to see the album):



More pictures may be viewed here.

Sexy knows no waistlines

B has always been a fan of Jane Monheit. He would always check out her new albums and his mp3 player would always have at least 2 of her songs.

So when I learned that Jane would have a concert in Manila as part of the Philippine Jazz Festival, I immediately got us tickets. I thought it would be a perfect Valentine gift for B.

It was a perfect Valentine gift for me as well. It was the best organized concert I've ever attended. There were no long queues, and we were given seat numbers upon registration. The ladies at the registration table also informed us that there would be front acts and that Jane was expected to start singing at 9 PM. This gave us time to have dinner.

When we went back at the Rockwell tent, we had enough time to get a bottle of cava (Barcino's had a booth a few meters outside the entrance) before the front acts started to perform. And they didn't disappoint! It was nice to hear the raspy voice and easy rhythm of Art Manuntag again. The energetic moves of Brass Munkeys' bass player was also a delight to watch.

But of course, the star of the show was still Jane. When she entered, we were surprised at how large she was. But when she started to walk, she got us convinced that she was the sexiest woman on earth. As she started singing, it became obvious that she was in love with music. She had excellent control of her voice but this was nothing compared to the way she sang each song - she sang with her whole self. She seduced us to her world - we fell in love and felt her passion. We were convinced that we will find the rainbow connection and cross the moon river someday. She shared with us her love for her family and reminded us how love can make us fly. We were mesmerized.


We never wanted the evening to end. And it didn't, even if the concert did. Because we will always remember the music of Jane Monheit every time we close our eyes.

Removing Pencil Marks from Clothes

I am just so happy when things work.

I was wearing a new light blue dress last Friday and after happily prancing around in it, I accidentally wrote a 5-inch line on it with a pencil.

As soon as I got home, I googled about removing pencil stains from fabrics. I came across sites that mentioned using ammonia, pre-laundry treatment products and stain spray, which I do not have. I was just happy to come across this page in a quilting website. It suggests mixing:

1 cup water;
2 tbs alcohol; and
1 drop clear dishwashing liquid

and applying these mixture with a toothbrush.

I only had green apple-scented dishwashing liquid but tried it anyway. And it worked! I'm excited to wear my dress again =)

My Fan Girl Moment: I Miss You Like Crazy!

It's been years since I watched a movie on its first day of showing. But due to scheduling conflicts and our excitement to watch I Miss You Like Crazy, I found myself not only reserving for tickets for the first showing date, I also fell in line an hour before show time! It was actually fun, as we got to sit on the carpet and munch on our snacks while waiting for the guards to let us in the theater. It was just like having a picnic except that we were in the middle of a packed mall with all those tempting food stalls.

Anyway, sulit ang fan girl moment! I Miss You Like Crazy was a good movie - the script was well-written, the actors pulled off their roles and most of the time, the scenes looked beautiful (it made me want to visit Kuala Lumpur!)

The movie was about love and the perfect time for it. It involves a love square (as opposed to a love triangle) among John Lloyd Cruz (Alan), Bea Alonzo (Mia), Maricar Reyes (Daphne) and Malaysian actor Gerald Hans Isaac (Mir).

I loved the script - it wasn't perfect but there were no unnecessary scenes and there were very few lines that made me cringe. I loved that it made an effort to let the audience understand how the main characters reached their decisions. The story tackled infidelity and showed sides of it that made it still unforgivable but understandable. There were no villains but the circumstances of the characters provided enough conflict. There were just scenes where I found the conversations about love and relationships a tad too long. I guess I'm just used to Korean and Japanese dramas were philosophical conversations on love and life are reduced to just a line or two.

The director also did an excellent job in casting the roles - everyone, including the supporting actors acted really well. John Lloyd's character was a bit boring (no special quirks except for being conservative in his choice of wardrobe and his house), but he seemed so real. You can easily feel and understand his emotions. Bea, on the other hand, had a very quirky character, which she was able to pull off most of the time. There was one scene where she was trying to act like everything was okay, giving a fake smile while delivering lines that would end in a curse - she was able to pull it off and still look beautiful! The supporting cast only had a few lines (Bembol Rocco did not even utter a single word) but they stayed true to their characters, had perfect timing and made the movie so nice to watch (isn't it awful when they get support casts who don't know how to act?). I specially loved Bembol Rocco, Ina Feleo, Ketchup Eusebio, Maricar and Gerald. Even the horse knew exactly when to pee!

The movie looked so pretty most of the time - the shots of the scenery are so nice that I now want to: (a) ride a boat to cross the Pasig river; and (b) walk around the parks of Kuala Lumpur. I loved the contrast of the clean lines of Daphne's modern condo against the texture of Alan's old house. I also love the choice of angles for the shots - there was a scene where Alan was supposed to be stuck in traffic - they used a low angle that made everything seem so tight that even I felt claustrophobic. Ang galing!

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the wardrobe. Maricar obviously wore a wig. There was one dramatic scene where Mia had a huge wet spot on her dress, which was unfortunately at the crotch area. Even worse was a scene where they focused on Bea's hand with her nails painted a dull grey. I thought they mistakenly inserted scenes from a horror movie! Oh well, nothing really is perfect.

Still, it was a nice movie and it was a good decision to watch it on February 24, 2010. Why? Watch the movie and you'll find out.

And yes, I'm back to blogging.