Wireless Festival (part 3)

Just a few videos from Wireless. Excuse the crusty audio, it was an open field and a little bit kagulo with everyone dancing dancing and jumping around =) In some videos, you can hear the Spanish girls we've befriended singing. She was really getting into it. =)

One of my favourite moments has got to be the first video - David Guetta (who's not, contrary to those evil rumors spreading about, not died in a car crash!) joined the peas onstage and Fergie sings a snippet of With Or Without You and gets one of the back up singers to have a moment =) Happy days!

27 before 27 blog countdown: 25 more to go!

manila eats: the tom parker-bowles affair

I suppose most of you have read Daphne Oseña Paez's blog entry about Tom Parker-Bowles' Esquire feature on Filipino food/Manila. I've not seen the hardcopy yet, but I'm definitely hitting the newsagents later to grab one.

Photo grabbed from Daphne Oseña Paez's blog

When you're a Manila-born foreigner in London and you see the circled (in red) text on the cover of a well-known glossy, alarm bells would ring in your head. If you judge the book (or magazine) by its cover, the choice of preposition makes you a) wonder if it's a typo; b) pray it's not another jab at being funny about common misconceptions about the Philippines by someone who's 'not in the know' or c) hope the article may be some sort of redemption song or a testament that Filo food is quite special.

Wireless Festival (part 2) - The Black Eyed Peas

So after all the shenanigans here, it was time for the Black Eyed Peas!

The only photo I have of all the Peas as it's crowded!
Festivals should really have a section for short people, haha! 

Wireless Festival 2011 (part 1)

Went to this year's Wireless Festival with M, C+B and J for the show headlined by Black Eyed Peas.

mareng Liz

PART OF THE 30-DAY SNAP ATTACK CHALLENGE

Day 27 - A photo of last summer

HRH Queen Elizabeth II + HRH Prince Philip
Wimbledon 2010

Summer last year was eventful. Ending chapters, moving houses, new beginnings. Yeah, enough of that.

One of the highlights of summer 2010 has got to be the moment where I got to stand two feet away from HRH Queen Lizzie in Wimbledon (they watched Andy Murray's match against... er... I forgot). Unbelievable experience. She looked so radiant, so elegant and so - for lack of a better word - majestic. My heart beamed with pride when she waved at our crowd. I was really happy to be there and so blessed to be living in one of the most amazing cities/countries in the world.

Good choice.

off the network

Do you have a plus one?

So.. do we really need another one? I believe in the power of social networking, but I'm feeling slightly disheartened with what it does to human connections. I think it's brilliant for trying to connect with people far away/ people you've not seen for ages; since Facebook's gone mainstream I've been reconnected with heaps of people I've lost touch with. Catching up with them has been easier by sharing photos, PMs or wall posts. But it's not quite the same is it?

Okay. Don't get me wrong. I'm up for convenience and ease. But I also believe that there are some things you should put effort into. Like writing letters (as I've said before, nothing beats hand-written, heartfelt letters... although in these times I suppose good, detailed personal emails will do). Like self-preservation. Like human connections. Are we really in that day and age where clicking a 'Like' button is enough to tell a friend we appreciate their thoughts? Where 'tagging' friends is enough to show someone you're thinking about them? Where looking at photos is just as good as being in the photos? Where virtual beers and restaurants became better hangouts than sharing a beer and a burger with your mates down the pub? Really?

I've deactivated my Facebook account yesterday. I mean, I'm sure I'll reactivate it because my parents would probably want me to go back on it to know their kid is still alive, but I'm thinking of doing this initially for a week. I guess it's some sort of motivation to exert more effort into communicating better with family and friends - which should've come naturally, anyway. I guess if I really wanted to share something with them then I should really just send them a proper email/letter or give them a call rather than posting on their walls for all the world to see. Private conversations matter, too you know. It's more... intimate and more special. I'm still on Twitter because a) it's kinda like SMS only free, b) it's informative and I use it for work (ish) and c) it's more conversational that Facebook. But. I'll try not to overdo it either. So for now, if you want to contact me... give me a call or drop me a letter will you? =)

Let's see what happens, aye? There's no other connection than a proper human connection after all.

27 before 27 blog countdown: 29 more to go!

so happy for Nole!

The Djoker & I // Wimbledon 2009

I remember seeing him play in 2006 and since then I've been a fan. Like other tennis fans, I was highly entertained by his antics and his impersonations of his fellow athletes. Like other Nole fans, I was hugely waiting for him to win his first grand slam. When he won Aussie Open in 2008, I knew deep in my heart that one day, he'll get to live his big dream of winning Wimbledon.

Men's Singles, Round 3 // Wimbledon 2009

The next couple of years were... okay. The impressions kind of stopped but that didn't mean he wasn't entertaining the crowd anymore. Off-court he showed how much of a showman he truly is by singing songs with the Bryan Brothers, doing parodies and funny music videos, and experimenting with tennis machines. His press conferences were a delight to watch. He showed us how much of a charmer/publicists dream he is. He was playing well but was still trekking behind the greatness of Roger and Rafa. So he knew he had to make a couple of changes (although his decision to switch racquets brought a few speculations and reasoning behind his 'slump'). He switched from powerhouse Adidas to Sergio Tacchini. He dropped Todd Martin from his coaching team and took in fellow Serb Marian Vajda. All these tweaks done to hopefully claim that coveted spot at the top.

Bring on 2011. If you're a tennis fan you probably know that he's had a winning streak since winning his second Aussie Open (defeating Andy Murray) and so far has only been beaten once: at the French Open semis by none other than Roger. That, however didn't stop him from gearing up well for the ultimate grand slam of the year. Once again, he had an amazing run which landed him a spot in the finals against Nadal and the top spot in the ATP rankings (even if Rafa won the slam). I was super nervous about this because obviously, Rafa is bionic on grass and Nole has much to lose.

But he proved everyone wrong. He was so good and all the time I was watching I couldn't help but feel nervous for Rafa because Nole was nailing every shot. The first set was exciting because both men were returning and serving well until Nole broke Rafa's serve and grabbed first set. Nole took the second set as well which bore an unusual 6-1 result. Rafa hit back with a 1-6 third setter. But during the fourth set, I felt that it was going to be a new Wimby champion this year. And he proved us right. =)

Source: Reuters Africa

Such a well-deserved win for a really strong player. I'm so happy for Nole, not because it's his ABSOLUTE dream to win Wimbledon but because he's displayed how much maturity he's gained through the years and how dedicated he is. For love of the game.

27 before 27 blog countdown: 30 more to go!

is that a trick question?

PART OF THE 30-DAY SNAP ATTACK CHALLENGE

Day 20 - A photo of something you enjoy doing

I <3 eating.

Caerdydd, Cymru

PART OF THE 30-DAY SNAP ATTACK CHALLENGE

Day 19 - A photo of you on a school trip

Cardiff, Wales

When I was in Bournemouth, a couple of us 'internationals' went on a school trip to Cardiff, the capital of Wales (another country in the United Kingdom). I won't bore you with the facts - you can go to Wiki for that anyway. However, I can say that going on a trip with people who do not speak your language is an interesting thing because it makes you realise how much you can either a) get lost in translation (and that how it all can boil down to semantics) or b) explore a city and have fun exploring other cultures as well. I went with my Finnish buddies Turkka, Kata & Ilari (whom I've been to a few trips to as well) and we went with some German and Spanish kids as well (Sarah & Rebecca and... er, I've forgotten the others). I'm still in touch with the Finns but I haven't seen the others since second term.

Every now and then, I love travelling with random people. It makes the experience more special and more exciting to build connections in such limited time. And though you know that's probably the only time you'll ever see them again (despite the bond you've formed), you know in your heart that when you look back at pictures and memorabilia you've collected from those trips.... "We'll always have Paris". Or in this case, Cardiff. =)

class act

PART OF THE 30-DAY SNAP ATTACK CHALLENGE

Day 18 - A photo of one of your classes

I purposely skipped Day 17 (A photo of you drunk) because a) I was at Wireless Festival and b) despite the many drinking parties we've had in both my universities, I've never really gotten drunk enough to allow myself to be photographed haha! (or at least my heavily tipsy moments were never really documented). So I'll give you two photos of my classes.

Shame this is the only (digital) photo I have of my classmates in UP. We entered UP Diliman in 2001 for the BA and BAA programmes and called ourselves Whattabatch. This photo is so cool because this was during Bacbacan 2 where different orgs competed in different sports. It was quite competitive but I love how we all took time to have a batch photo. And our different uniforms look so cool against each other, yet somehow everything seemed to fit.

I had an absolute mint time in my year in Bournemouth mostly because of this bunch. We've had rad study sessions and lectures over laughter and food and wine and dance. Dissertation discussions that started from 8pm spilt over sunrise and tiny drives along the coast. I miss being a student in Philippines, but being an international student was another experience of its own.