Legazpi - Sorsogon Trip | October 8 – 11, 2022

 

Another trip for this year and my heart is happy!

Last October 8 at 3 am, we flew to Legazpi with my friends.

We actually had a problem with our van but later on, we found a new van

that took us to our destinations.

Our first stop was at Cagsawa Ruins in Legazpi.

We had our breakfast there and then some photo ops and we also had an ATV.

I’ve already been here last 2018 and it felt good to be back for another adventure.

I was actually not feeling so fine a day before our trip but thank God

I still pushed through to go with my friends.

After our ATV ride, we traveled to Matnog Port in Sorsogon.

And from there, we rode a boat going to Subic Beach.

Before riding a boat, we bought food first in the nearby market.

I enjoyed the boat ride a lot. My eyes were filled with nature –

the waves, the sun, the wind, the islands, everything!

I am grateful for everything that I see and feel.

I took some videos and it was not enough to share

and cherish the beauty of what I am witnessing.

Subic Beach is a part of Calintaan Island

and it was also called as Pink Beach because of the pink materials

that can be found in the sand.

I love our little island for three days.

There were also some locals living there

and there were also other tourists when we got there.

I took some walks on its beautiful beach whenever I had the chance.

I helped in cooking food for our late lunch

and then some of my friends had an evening swim.

I also swam on the beach for a short time before rinsing off.

I actually felt tired already when it was 9 pm

but I still joined my friends who were having fun by the beach.

Most of them were already drunk.

We all went inside by 10 in the evening and went to sleep.

 

The next day I woke up at 5:30 am to see the sunrise by the beach.

And the view didn’t fail me.

I had some alone time and I appreciated it.

We had our breakfast at 7 am and then we started our island tour at 8 in the morning.

We rode a boat again.

Our first stop was at Tikling Island.

It was also a white sand beach island where a lot of wild boars

can be seen roaming around.

We spent our morning there and we all dipped in the sea.

We also took our lunch there inside the boat.

And then we headed to Juag Fish Sanctuary where we fed some fishes

and they can be seen up close. 

The next part of our trip was at Calintaan Cave

and it was my most favorite part of our island hopping.

I’m still scared of water because I can’t swim but I still faced my fears anyway.

I still jumped out of the water and enjoyed our adventure at that time.

We entered a cave and a beautiful secret beach welcomed us.

The waves were strong but we loved it and we all had so much fun.

We even called ourselves as “kwekwek” since we

were all wearing an orange life jacket.

Our next destination was at a Fish Farm.

We caught Bangus here for our dinner.

On that same destination, we also went to an overlooking site.

We also had a short break wherein we bought

and drank buko juice fresh from the tree.

 

Just before the sun sets,

we finally went back to Subic beach and to our room.

We still had time to play and swim by the beach.

 

We prepared a birthday surprise for one of our friends and it was a success.

Then we had dinner.  But I don’t eat bangus so I just ate boiled eggs.

After dinner, we rented a videoke. We slept at past 11 in the evening.

 

The next morning, I woke up again at 5:30 am.

And it was a Me time again!

I took a walk on the beach.

And then breakfast time before we checked out.

We went back to the main island/ Matnog Port.

And then we bought food again at the market.

Then we’re off to our next resort just a few minutes away from the port.

 

We then prepared for our lunch. We all took a nap after having lunch.

Then I woke up at sunset.

And we had dinner and drinks.

I slept early.

Day 4 and our last day in Matnog.

I woke up again at 5:30 to see the sunrise

and spent a little time to walk along the resort.

At 8 in the morning, we finally headed to Bicol International Airport.

It was a three-hour trip.

We passed by pasalubong centers in Sorsogon to buy pasalubong.

We also bought Buko Pie. And it was yummy!

We were already at the airport by 11 in the morning.

We just had our lunch there and waited for our flight back to Manila.

 

I reached home at 6 in the evening.

This has been a wonderful trip for me and for all of us.

And I can’t wait for the next adventure!

My Antique Trip 2022

(Date Written: June 24, 2022)

It always feels good to have a place called hometown. This is where you go back over and over again every time there's a chance.

This is a home away from home. 

A quick escape from the busyness of city life. 

The vibe of provincial life is unexplainable in a good way.

A simple, peaceful, slow-living kind of life.

Where the sea and the mountains meet halfway and you live in between. 

People with the same face, then the culture and traditions that are still part of our lives.

And I am fortunate enough to have Antique, Philippines as my hometown. 

Last June 9, we flew to Antique. My brother and I traveled via Kalibo, then two hours of land travel going to our hometown.

My last visit here was way back on May 2019. 

It was nice to see familiar faces and places once again.

The following day, my brother and I went to the beach near our home to see the sunset. 

The waves were big as it's going to be a high tide later in the evening. 

And then the next morning, we went back to the beach to witness the sunrise. The sea was already calm and it's low tide just before the sun went up.

We rode on a kayak that we borrowed from our neighbor. 

Next, we went to a river resort that is owned by our relatives. 

And it felt amazing to be back here. The relaxing vibe was an overwhelming feeling. The cold river flow was easing all the stresses and pressures I had at work. When I was here, my thoughts and worries about work in Manila were nowhere to be found and I'm grateful for this short and quick escape.

And I may say that this was a much needed break.

I invite everyone to visit our province. 

Discover Antique! Kruhay!

There's a lot of places and tourist spots to visit here. 

And I will never get tired of going home here. 

One Proud Antiquena here! (two hands both raised)

This short break from my usual busy life is a blessing I am so grateful to have.

See you again soon my favorite hometown!

Oops! I only have one. :)

Coffee and Best Bud

Let me share with you a quick back story. 

The other day, I thought of looking for writing prompts on the internet because I didn’t know what to write as a blog entry or content. And then it came to my mind to print out the prompts that caught my interest. I even already imagined writing those prompts and turning them into a full content. I already had ideas on what to write out of the topics I read. And so, I printed almost a hundred prompts, cut it per topic and put those in a jar. So, next time I will be suffering from writer’s block or procrastination, I’ll pick at least five to write it down.

And here’s my first entry! But I hope to write more. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Date Written from A Writing Prompt: July 16, 2022

My social love tank is always full whenever I go out with my best friend.

There’s this moment that we went out together (just the two of us) when he visited me near my place. We hung out around Eastwood Mall. We ate at my favorite ramen place. He usually talks loudly as if he doesn’t care about other people around us. I always ask him to minimize his voice for some privacy.

But when our stories are getting better and juicier, we both just don’t care and talk as loudly as we can! Oops, sorry to those we disturbed!

After our late lunch, we then went to our favorite coffee shop! I was so happy when we bought our favorite Frappuccinos.

Maybe to some, it’s a small thing but it means a lot to me.

Small things always matter to me and those are actually the big things when walking back to our Memory Lane. It always feels good to reminisce about happy moments. And most of the time our happy thoughts came from those sweet, little events in our life.

After having our coffee date, we even roamed the mall and nearby parks after.

We just talked and laughed and sometimes our topics were getting serious.

And as the sun went down, we had dinner at his favorite restaurant.

We parted ways that night with happy hearts and full love tanks.

I’m grateful for having him as my go-to closest buddy. He would always love listening to my stories, rants and even not so worthy thoughts.

And I do the same for him. I’m his favorite human diary and I’m so honored to be like it. 

It’s always a life update session with him as we only get to see each other twice or thrice a year. And those moments are worth it. We laugh loudly over our favorite food and coffee and we talk nonstop. I always feel like I’m my real self when I’m with my closest friends. I only have a few friends but I make sure that I cherish and treasure them. It’s always a nice feeling when you’re at your favorite place with your favorite people.

Time would always pass swiftly when we are enjoying it and yet the memories remain in our hearts.

Life is short. Let’s always choose our time to spend it not just wisely but with full of happiness and most specially, we must spend our time with the people who truly matter to us and as much as we matter to them.

We tend to always focus on our own life because every day, we need to survive but let’s also remember to keep in touch with our loved ones and closest friends.

Who knows what a simple call or text from us could do? Maybe this would make someone’s day a little brighter and better. And it might be the best day ever if you spend it over a cup of your favorite coffee or a plate of your favorite meal.

Indeed, it’s the best thing ever!

P.S. Shout to my best friend, Marcelo.

I love you with all my heart! Half of my life was already spent with you and I don’t mind spending it forever as your bestest friend! Love you always and so much!

One Year of Marriage (An Open Letter For My Hubs)

One year.

It was bliss. 

Who would have thought that a year has swiftly passed? 

And as they say, it was a roller coaster kind of ride. 

Same day last year, I saw your most joyous tears when you saw me walking down the aisle with my mom and brother towards you.

And for me, the happiest part of our simple wedding ceremony witnessed by our close family, relatives and friends was when Reverend Jay announced that we're officially husband and wife and then we kissed and then we hugged each other so tight with full of happiness in our hearts. I consider this as one of the loveliest moments of my life and this forever rewinds in my memory lane. Whenever I am stressed, burned out, feeling hopeless or mad, I just keep on refreshing my mind  that certain special day of ours and it makes my day lighter and brighter. That is my happy vibes pill! 

Our wedding day was not perfect. It was the simplest as it could be (and budget-friendly actually). 

But it was what I prayed for and I couldn't thank you enough for making one of my dreams turned into reality - and that was to marry you. 

Our journey as a married couple for the past year had its ups and downs, challenges, happiness and celebrations. 

To highlight some, one of us got Covid and had to be isolated for 14 days - it was the most challenging that happened this year actually. We were in LDR for 14 days. 

And then another not so good highlight was when one of us packed the clothes to almost run away (true story - this actually happened). 

There were petty and huge fights, and then there were tears but by God's grace, most of our moments together were laughter and craziness  (in a good way) and just love. 

Yes there were bad days, but there were also happy days like salary increases (pa-SB ka naman dyan!), new job acceptances, new gadgets/stuffs for the house, dining outs - the Al Fresco type, grocery days (Yes, those are happy times for us because we have money to spend on), running or walkathons together, modifying and improving our future plans, more cuddle times, and a lot more! 

Marriage is truly a lifetime of hard work and one thing I've learned this year is that it should also be smart work.

Wise enough of who should do the laundry and dishes (Ha-ha-ha!). 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my husband for accepting the lifetime duty of taking out the garbage.

I may not be good at cooking (because it's your job by the way) but at least I'm the best wife in helping you prepare for work. 

You are brutally honest actually when I tried cooking but it didn't taste good. You'd say that you couldn't swallow the food but you'd still eat it anyway.

I also do the laundry when I know that you're tired from work. 

Since you love cluttering and I'm the one who cleans your mess, thank you for sweeping inside and outside of our home when I told you to do it. Keep up the good work!

Our marriage is also a lifetime learning experience and I'm happy to learn new things and improve more with you. 

I will be forever grateful to the universe and to the Lord because I've got to get married with the love of my life since I was 18. 

Our paths have crossed in one of the most famous fast food chains in the country and since then both our lives have changed forever. 

Our first meeting and dating place also reminded us of our humble beginnings. 

It is still a long journey though but I will be forever grateful to have this lifetime spent with you. 

Cheers to our goals waiting to be reached! (The soonest, praying and claiming it!)

Happy 1st wedding anniversary, Mahal! 

This is me showing and telling what 'I love you' means. 

One down forever to go!

Yours, 

Lablab.

After More Than 2 Years, I Volunteer Again

Date Written: May 15, 2022 Sunday

I missed doing something good. Something that I am proud of. And that is volunteering or helping others. I can’t donate any financial goods right now and all I have is time, effort and love so that’s what I share. 

I woke up at 5 am. And then I’m off to my usual routine during pre-pandemic weekends.

I met the other volunteers at McDonald’s Tayuman at 7 am and then we’re off to Helping Land, Tondo, Manila. 

I saw the same faces and places again. I volunteered again just like I used to before. 

The first part of the program was orientation of volunteers. Many were first timers and some were old volunteers. We introduced ourselves and then the major activities began. 

People were already lined up outside the courtyard for food. 

Elderlies and kids were there to have a decent meal. 

We assisted them. 

After the distribution of food was the next activity. This is the ASP or After School Program wherein the kids were grouped according to their current grade level and then volunteer-teachers were assigned per table to teach these kids. 

I was assigned to teach pre-school and our subject for today was Math. 

At first, I introduced myself to them and then I also got to know each of the kids I was handling for the day. 

My students for that day were Jessa Mae, Princess and Belen. Their age range were 5-7. 

We started the lesson by asking them if they already know how to subtract. They said yes. 

We discussed Subtraction and tried subtracting using our hands.

And then they answered my sample questions. 

 

Apparently, when I handed them the activity papers, it was only Jessa Mae and Belen who already knew how to write and could answer it. 

Princess only traced the numbers and texts written on the paper. 

I did not pressure her though so I just let her color the pictures and trace the numbers. 

I guided Jessa Mae and Belen to solve the Math problems. Belen is also having trouble writing the numbers so I helped her.

By the end of the session, we gave the kids chocolates as a reward. 

I also had some selfies with them when we were done. 

When the kids were already out of the courtyard, we cleaned the place, stacked up the tables and chairs and returned all the learning materials that were used.

A group photo of volunteers was also done. 

And then it’s time to go.

It was a three-hour worth of time, sweat and effort. 

 

It really felt so great to be back in Tondo to do one of the things I love, which is volunteering. 

Tondo, Manila was a happy place for me. I interact with kids, nanays and co-volunteers which eventually became my friends/family. 

I have also practiced my writing and Social Media skills before when I was part-time working for Project Pearls. This is the NGO I was supporting. So, it was really a passion I was happily doing before and until now.

My last volunteer activity was December 2019. And only now that I was able to go back. 

I started my volunteering life as a volunteer-tutor. 

I was scared to go alone at first but I was able to do it. Those were the days that I am checking each box on my bucket list and this was number one.

I’m so grateful that because of a broken heart, I was able to do things that scare me. 

And also, I met different kinds of people and found new friends. My horizon has expanded. I have gone to more new places and tried new adventures. 

It all boils down to being a volunteer.

I wouldn’t trade my mid 20’s experiences to any other. 

I am always grateful for all the lessons and learnings I gained during those times. 

And now that I’m in my early 30’s, I hope to see more of life. 

Even though I am already married, I still have a lot to fulfill as an individual. 

I still want to try new things and to go to more new places I have never been yet. 

And I still want to volunteer and then to write down all my experiences, feelings and thoughts. 

Until the next volunteer!