it’s bliss

i hate swervers.

they break my momentum, they ruin the free-flowing feeling while i’m cruising, they blast the happy and relaxed song playing in my head into a black hole of grouchiness and emotional peril. they’re a hazard to all other drivers, and even to themselves, too. most irritating of all, they think that waving their hand out of the window makes it all aye-okay, like, "hey, i’m giving you a signal that i’m about to swerve, padaanin mo na ako ‘no!!" na parang ikaw pa ang mailalagay sa mali dahil hindi ka nag-slow down at nagpa-singit.

gago ba kayo. kahit na anong pagsesenyas-senyas mo ng kamay diyan eh mali pa rin ang ginagawa mo. panira ka pa rin sa daan. (alam mo ba ang concept of "right of way"?) kung tumutubo lang ulit ang limbs ng tao (kagaya ng buntot ng butiki), matagal na akong dumire-direcho at sumagasa sa wumawagyway mong braso.

As inspired by one of the coolest programs in discovery travel & living—as well as dreaming to be one of the participants of this interactive reality show—here are selected Q’a (with my A’s) taken from the TJ’s (travel journalists’) profiles, found in the 5 Takes USA website.

3. What do you think is your best personality trait? And your worst?
Best personality trait would be my positive and open outlook—I always make it a point to see the good in every person and situation, and to try to understand personality differences. Related to keeping an open outlook, my worst trait is an almost-obsession with ‘harmony’ or conflict-avoidance. As a result, I am unable to directly tell people what I don’t like about them, having to resort to time-consuming, more “subtle” means such as signal-sending and cues.

7. Name your top 5 “must have” items when you travel.
Apart from passport, tickets and money…
(1) Pen & paper for writing down experiences and thoughts
(2) Tissue cos I always have colds
(3) Anything long-sleeved to protect against the cold (brr, I’m always cold!) or burning sun (who knows I might end up in a desert?)
(4) A good book to accompany me
(5) A photo of a loved one to remind me of home

10. What are the three main things you hope to take away from your 5 TAKES experience? (I wish!!!)
More tolerance. More inspiration. And a vision that will allow me to contribute to the development of my nation.

11. If you could be an animal for a day, which animal would you choose and why?
First thing in my mind is I want to be an animal that swims because I’m not a water person. Narrowing it down, I want to be a whale because appear to be such calm creatures. Mommy whales can be seen swimming with their young, and I aspire to be like this—to be a family person. But at the same time, a whale can also be a performer—a creature with cool tricks up its sleeve!

Do you think Ina will fail in source citation? Not in this one! http://5takes.travelandlivingasia.com

i’ve never been a fan of the christmas season but this year, i think my scrooge level is being downgraded.

thanks to work.

(hahaha. i never thought i’d be saying that "thanks" to work but well, i’ve said it before.)

eh kasi naman, it makes me more appreciative of the vacations and reunions cos work really deprives you of staying in touch with your loved ones. i continue to dread the shopping and worsened traffic situtations but i suppose the heightened cheeriness of the general public makes up for it. i swear, even my boss seems less masungit at the onset of the holidays (or is it just me who feels it?? ako nga lang ba?)

i also think i’d like to steer clear of my family’s negative vibes because they must be one of the most stressed persons come december. kaya nga yata ako naging anti-holiday dahil sa pagka-workaholic nila, apart from my mom’s tendency to complain about "social obligations" that spring up by the millions on this month of the year.

true, nakaka-panic ang bilis ng mga araw at walang oras na natitira sa pag-shopping at gift-wrapping, but if only i can learn to give importance to the more important things (i.e. spending quality time with loved ones vs. splurging on gifts) siguro mas-magiging masaya ako overall diba? mas-importante naman yun kesa sa mga regalo.

true, marami masyadong parties na hindi mo na alam kung ano ang ipa-prioritize/pupuntahan/di-pupuntahan, but the fact that one is invited to so many parties is a reason to celebrate in itself! my mom may argue here that not all those parties are sincere gatherings but mere social formalities…but even so…i am certain that there is at least ONE person in that group that she would like to see and greet a merry christmas, and that is already enough reason to attend the event and enjoy the company of that single friend. (sana maalala kong sabihin ito sa nanay ko!)

true, our family isn’t at its best state this season…ito hindi na maidadaan sa pag-change ng perspective…but the most we can do here is to treasure what we have left and make the most out of it, thank God that there is still *some* family left to celebrate the season with.

At least, I like to believe it is. I don’t know. I just find it amusing how obsessed I am with the color, given that I’m usually a very flexible/open (?) person. No favourite number, no one favourite singer/movie/actor—it’s usually a range or handful of favourites. But when it comes to colors, ewan, (I think) I’d die for violet. Hahaha.

What’s more amusing is that everyone I know whose favourite color is violet feels the same way about the color, too. Like me, they collect all things violet, and buy things because they are violet—bags, wallets, clothes, notebooks, pens, accessories. We all shriek and get excited and smile goofily at the sight of objects that are violet. I (briefly) tried surfing if there are studies that show how violet-lovers are the most obsessive about their favourite color (versus green-lovers or red-lovers, etc) but found none. Nevertheless, this does not stop me from devoting my time to writing about my favourite color (kahit na walang point or meaning yung isusulat ko).

Shucks, nagka-intro pa tuloy ako. So to start again…

Violet Is My Destiny

My favourite gulay (and one of my favourite viands) when I was a kid was nilagang talong at bagoong (Salamat kay Lolo na nagtatanim ng talong sa bakanteng lote sa tapat ng bahay namin.)

For my 12th birthday (or in birthdays around that age…11, 12, 13), I passed-up chocolate cakes for blueberry cheesecakes (na medyo mukhang violet sa tingkad)

Mahilig ako sa ube halaya, and longest-running favourite cake is Red Ribbon’s ube cake (yes, until now! Yum yum!)

Look into my room. The walls are lavender (though now faded into blue!) I’ve a shelf devoted to violet-colored knick-knacks including old toothbrushes, a golf ball, pencils, mugs, crochet hook, among others. Oh, and a pin that reads, “I LOVE PURPLE”.

Hindi ako mahilig sa prutas (mahilig nga sa talong diba?), pero ng makatikim ako ng mangosteen, in love ako agad dito!

Meron lang mga kasablayan:
- Hindi ako mahilig sa grapes.
- Okay ang Purple Haze ni Jimi Hendrix pero hindi ako panatiko.
- Hindi ko pa nababasa o napapanood ang The Color Purple.
- Hindi ko naa-appreciate ang Purple Rain ni Prince.
- I am not an avid follower of the that have to do with the liturgical color of Violet (those that have to do with penance and expiation such as Advent and Lent 1).

Pero…chekdisawt!

Violet is used to symbolically represent the seventh (Sahasrara) chakra—the chakra of consciousness and master chakra that controls all the others. It secretes hormones to control the rest of the endocrine system, and also connects to the central nervous system via the hypothalamus. The thalamus is thought to have a key role in the physical basis of consciousness. 2 (Huwow!)

And dij ya’ know?…

As a result of its association with royalty and luxury, the term purple is often used to describe pretentious or overly embellished literature. For example, a paragraph containing an excessive number of long and unusual words is called a purple passage. 3

Sources:
1. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_colors)
2. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_(color))
3. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple)

List of things/services where my money goes to:

1. Travel
2. Meals* (take note: not food in general, not snacks, but the regular morning/noon/evening meals)
3. Massages*
4. Miel*
5. Books
6. Salon services
7. Casual footwear (sneakers, slippers)
8. T-shirts or casual tops
9. Gifts for family and friends (on Christmas and if I have time to buy one!)
10. Office attire (yup, as whole)

* ‘Spend on the most’ due to the frequency of purchase/use and not just price (because one pair of branded jeans can cost, say, P3,000 while 3 unbranded pairs can add up to P3,000 as well). Those not marked by an asterisk are included because of the actual (high) cost of the product/service, even if I don’t avail them regularly.
** I meant to list this before our Bangkok trip, pero ok din na ngayon ko siya talagang linista dahil na-reinforce ang mga bagay na iniisip ko na talagang pinagkakagastusan ko.
*** Listed in the order of my average monthly spend on the items–or at least as far as i REMEMBER or (admit to) spending on them