Friday, December 31, 2004
LOOKING BACK INTO 2004 - PART III
24 Best Memories of 2004 - #03 to #01
TWENTY-FOUR really is just a number. Unlike last year's "20 Best and Worst Memories of 2003", this year I decided to increase the number to 24 when I found out there's so much to deliberate on in my archives of pictures.
Each of the past twenty one memories (in PARTS I and II) were special in its' own right. They represented events this past year that I simply can't forget.
The following three, which are at the top, are memories that deal with intimacy. I've decided to place my trips to Baguio City, Banaue Rice Terraces, and Puerto Galera into a seperate category (see below).
TOP THREE MEMORIES OF 2004
The beach
Sometime between October 19 and 20, after a night of frolic and Mindoro Slings, I found myself on the beach talking to my classmate and friend Tope.
The trip to Puerto Galera that week was amazing. Sun, sand, and emerald seas. It was so submerged in the breathtaking view I didn't swim with my friends during one sunset and instead I just took pictures.
It was also a trip to reflect on where I am in my life. My spirituality was entering a new stage. My beliefs were being tested. I was wondering if my faith will get stronger or weaker based on recent events that challenged it.
It was the first of three intense conversations before the year would end. Tope lended an ear towards my insights in life. It was also the first time I had spoken about those things with someone. Everything would change "even more" from that day onwards.
--
It was at Dasma
These feelings started on a gloomy day in August. I had taken this one picture of a group of people when suddenly I entered a romantic state of mind. Days and weeks that followed, I only started to melt more. It was a constant, unending frustration. The thick black lines disappeared and I found myself swimming in an ocean of love.
Cut to the chase. On this certain and special day, I managed to corner the angel. And I said everything, I poured my feelings out. It was something I've never done to that extent before.
That conversation, where I confessed my feelings, was the third and last of the three intense talks before the year ended. That must mean this event happened very recently.
This event alone is most likely going to make my 2005 strangely more extraordinary.
--
Parallelism
One year ago on a post like this, my number one memory was my number one dilemma of 2003. It was the bullshit of loving and caring for certain individuals. Later on I found out each of these individuals had their own reasons. Overall, I believe I'm just too possessive for them!
My ultimate resolution for 2004 was to improve on ME surviving without OTHERS. Yes, it sounds so selfish. I turned cold towards intimate friendships and instead continued happily into 2004 without expecting too much from someone else. It was freedom from my own past desires.
Then somewhere down the line, in 2004, I encountered an event that triggered my need for someone to share that "event" with. It couldn't be just anyone.
Eventually I told Tope about that event (see Memory #03) but during the first week of the 2nd semester (3rd Year), I found myself telling it to Tom.
The second of the three most intense conversations I had before the year ended was with Tom. We spoke at Inazalle BBQ one evening. It was reminiscent of me talking with Tope on that empty beach beyond midnight in Puerto Galera. This time, I was talking to Tom. Someone who has been my friend since first year and my HF colleague since second year.
His generousity embraced me. It shocked me. It went through me like the love of two long lost brothers. There's no such thing as perfect, but the days after that intimate conversation with him, things started to slide into place.
He's Leah's boyfriend. He's a co-editor at HF. He's my dormmate with prospects to be a future roommate. He's hard working and dedicated. And his past hardships with bestfriends is parallel to mine.
Almost nothing, among all the people whom I had as bestfriends or wanted to have as bestfriends, can surmount to what I've found in Tom. I treasure those past friendships I've had, because they really were the best I could have at that time. But none of them really wanted to possess me as much as I possessed them.
But now, it's different. I've found someone who can be just as possessive as me.
A year ago, I was suffering from those frustrations. I don't blame anyone for those frustrations, it was me who made myself frustrated. But that's a part of me I can't change. I've tried.
But who needs to change that. Because this year, I found myself at the complete opposite of those frustrations. Now, I am grateful and thankful to God. God brought two factors in: The "angel" I'm talking about and Leah.
Without Leah, Tom and I wouldn't be this intense as friends. Without that "angel", I would still be blind to realize that Tom is someone who can make me feel very real and loved.
I am also happy to say that this will mark the end of all the sappy bestfriends' sobs and sorrows talk in my blog. I am a happy person now. Very very happy.
--
TOP FIVE JOURNEYS OF 2004
I love going places. I love venturing off into new territories and exploring different cultures. Wait, I'm starting to sound like I went to Thailand. Hehe.
I've decided to put these in its' own category this year.
--
Endangered tahongs
Location: Coastal Community in Bacoor, Cavite - March 2004
For our article for then Features' editor Joanna, Tom and I immersed ourselves into the coastal community in Bacoor, Cavite. We interviewed them and spent a night at this abandoned little house which had tiny brown bottles taped into the ceiling corners. It was strange.
We were brought to the shore which was very polluted. But pollution wasn't our issue, it was their livelihood being dramatically changed by the expansion of the Coastal Road to Cavite City from Bacoor.
My classmate in Broadjourn, Jenie, was also with us. She brought a digital camera. She's also an activist and an active supporter of Gabriela. Earl was also with us.
Tom and I later had the article published as the writers' trip for the LSXI special edition. The cover of which has the picture I took of the fisherman (see pic above).
--
Flying island
Location: On a tall hill in Calamba, Laguna - March 2004
Jezire invited some friends in class on an early summer trip to this beautiful rest house that sits on top of a tall hillside community in Calamba, Laguna.
But it wasn't just the antique retreat, it was the sumptuous food that Jezire's mother had prepared. Going to that location was relaxation. We went to Los Baños just to buy food at McDo since we ran out of snacks at the isolated rest house. We got stuck in horrible traffic upon returning to Calamba.
We wanted to stay overnight but the group decision was to go home even if it was late. Former classmate Jerson joined us for the summer occasion.
--
Haunted condo
Location: Baguio, Benguet - May 2004
This would mark the third time I've been to Baguio. We stayed at Upper's grandparents' old condominium. This trip was different from the first two because we really saved up on everything.
We barely ate out, instead we cooked at the condo and just enjoyed the cold air. Then during the evenings we were terrified by the strange things we were feeling. It turns out that the condominium we were staying at was really haunted or occupied by ghost children. Confirmed by the people at the office and by Apple's senses.
--
Chocolate over stairs
Location: Banaue, Ifugao - June 2004
I was enjoying the hot chocolate while gazing at the breathtaking rice terraces from the Banaue Hotel. What was I doing there? I was part of the new Editorial Board and we were out on our Year-End Planning Workshop for HF (and also USC).
The place was wonderful. The food was fine and watching American Idol on Star World at the projector screen in the hotel lobby was memorable. The place brought together the EB for the first time.
--
Paradise isn't lost
Location: Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro - October 2004
The two hour boat ride from Batangas City Port to White Beach was fun at first but devastating to the stomach in the end. I got off the boat dizzy but arrived on what appeared to be as Ibiza.
I was with my classmates and gimmick tropa on this trip. Everyone except Katz was here. Upper, Leah, Apple, Kay and her sister Ate Karen, Tom, and Tope were here.
Everything about our trip to Puerto Galera remains one of the greatest memories that will live on even after 2004. The beach was a beautiful place. I got a henna tattoo of a scorpion, I enjoyed Mindoro Slings, and our island hopping was fun.
One memory was when my life jacket tried to eat me while we were snorkeling at the large coral reef in this one cove. It was a frightening experience with the sharp corals which I couldn't see properly since my goggles also bothered me.
--
THE PEOPLE NEAR ME, 2004
To be posted..
24 Best Memories of 2004 - #03 to #01
TWENTY-FOUR really is just a number. Unlike last year's "20 Best and Worst Memories of 2003", this year I decided to increase the number to 24 when I found out there's so much to deliberate on in my archives of pictures.
Each of the past twenty one memories (in PARTS I and II) were special in its' own right. They represented events this past year that I simply can't forget.
The following three, which are at the top, are memories that deal with intimacy. I've decided to place my trips to Baguio City, Banaue Rice Terraces, and Puerto Galera into a seperate category (see below).
TOP THREE MEMORIES OF 2004
The beach
Sometime between October 19 and 20, after a night of frolic and Mindoro Slings, I found myself on the beach talking to my classmate and friend Tope.
The trip to Puerto Galera that week was amazing. Sun, sand, and emerald seas. It was so submerged in the breathtaking view I didn't swim with my friends during one sunset and instead I just took pictures.
It was also a trip to reflect on where I am in my life. My spirituality was entering a new stage. My beliefs were being tested. I was wondering if my faith will get stronger or weaker based on recent events that challenged it.
It was the first of three intense conversations before the year would end. Tope lended an ear towards my insights in life. It was also the first time I had spoken about those things with someone. Everything would change "even more" from that day onwards.
--
It was at Dasma
These feelings started on a gloomy day in August. I had taken this one picture of a group of people when suddenly I entered a romantic state of mind. Days and weeks that followed, I only started to melt more. It was a constant, unending frustration. The thick black lines disappeared and I found myself swimming in an ocean of love.
Cut to the chase. On this certain and special day, I managed to corner the angel. And I said everything, I poured my feelings out. It was something I've never done to that extent before.
That conversation, where I confessed my feelings, was the third and last of the three intense talks before the year ended. That must mean this event happened very recently.
This event alone is most likely going to make my 2005 strangely more extraordinary.
--
Parallelism
One year ago on a post like this, my number one memory was my number one dilemma of 2003. It was the bullshit of loving and caring for certain individuals. Later on I found out each of these individuals had their own reasons. Overall, I believe I'm just too possessive for them!
My ultimate resolution for 2004 was to improve on ME surviving without OTHERS. Yes, it sounds so selfish. I turned cold towards intimate friendships and instead continued happily into 2004 without expecting too much from someone else. It was freedom from my own past desires.
Then somewhere down the line, in 2004, I encountered an event that triggered my need for someone to share that "event" with. It couldn't be just anyone.
Eventually I told Tope about that event (see Memory #03) but during the first week of the 2nd semester (3rd Year), I found myself telling it to Tom.
The second of the three most intense conversations I had before the year ended was with Tom. We spoke at Inazalle BBQ one evening. It was reminiscent of me talking with Tope on that empty beach beyond midnight in Puerto Galera. This time, I was talking to Tom. Someone who has been my friend since first year and my HF colleague since second year.
His generousity embraced me. It shocked me. It went through me like the love of two long lost brothers. There's no such thing as perfect, but the days after that intimate conversation with him, things started to slide into place.
He's Leah's boyfriend. He's a co-editor at HF. He's my dormmate with prospects to be a future roommate. He's hard working and dedicated. And his past hardships with bestfriends is parallel to mine.
Almost nothing, among all the people whom I had as bestfriends or wanted to have as bestfriends, can surmount to what I've found in Tom. I treasure those past friendships I've had, because they really were the best I could have at that time. But none of them really wanted to possess me as much as I possessed them.
But now, it's different. I've found someone who can be just as possessive as me.
A year ago, I was suffering from those frustrations. I don't blame anyone for those frustrations, it was me who made myself frustrated. But that's a part of me I can't change. I've tried.
But who needs to change that. Because this year, I found myself at the complete opposite of those frustrations. Now, I am grateful and thankful to God. God brought two factors in: The "angel" I'm talking about and Leah.
Without Leah, Tom and I wouldn't be this intense as friends. Without that "angel", I would still be blind to realize that Tom is someone who can make me feel very real and loved.
I am also happy to say that this will mark the end of all the sappy bestfriends' sobs and sorrows talk in my blog. I am a happy person now. Very very happy.
--
TOP FIVE JOURNEYS OF 2004
I love going places. I love venturing off into new territories and exploring different cultures. Wait, I'm starting to sound like I went to Thailand. Hehe.
I've decided to put these in its' own category this year.
--
Endangered tahongs
Location: Coastal Community in Bacoor, Cavite - March 2004
For our article for then Features' editor Joanna, Tom and I immersed ourselves into the coastal community in Bacoor, Cavite. We interviewed them and spent a night at this abandoned little house which had tiny brown bottles taped into the ceiling corners. It was strange.
We were brought to the shore which was very polluted. But pollution wasn't our issue, it was their livelihood being dramatically changed by the expansion of the Coastal Road to Cavite City from Bacoor.
My classmate in Broadjourn, Jenie, was also with us. She brought a digital camera. She's also an activist and an active supporter of Gabriela. Earl was also with us.
Tom and I later had the article published as the writers' trip for the LSXI special edition. The cover of which has the picture I took of the fisherman (see pic above).
--
Flying island
Location: On a tall hill in Calamba, Laguna - March 2004
Jezire invited some friends in class on an early summer trip to this beautiful rest house that sits on top of a tall hillside community in Calamba, Laguna.
But it wasn't just the antique retreat, it was the sumptuous food that Jezire's mother had prepared. Going to that location was relaxation. We went to Los Baños just to buy food at McDo since we ran out of snacks at the isolated rest house. We got stuck in horrible traffic upon returning to Calamba.
We wanted to stay overnight but the group decision was to go home even if it was late. Former classmate Jerson joined us for the summer occasion.
--
Haunted condo
Location: Baguio, Benguet - May 2004
This would mark the third time I've been to Baguio. We stayed at Upper's grandparents' old condominium. This trip was different from the first two because we really saved up on everything.
We barely ate out, instead we cooked at the condo and just enjoyed the cold air. Then during the evenings we were terrified by the strange things we were feeling. It turns out that the condominium we were staying at was really haunted or occupied by ghost children. Confirmed by the people at the office and by Apple's senses.
--
Chocolate over stairs
Location: Banaue, Ifugao - June 2004
I was enjoying the hot chocolate while gazing at the breathtaking rice terraces from the Banaue Hotel. What was I doing there? I was part of the new Editorial Board and we were out on our Year-End Planning Workshop for HF (and also USC).
The place was wonderful. The food was fine and watching American Idol on Star World at the projector screen in the hotel lobby was memorable. The place brought together the EB for the first time.
--
Paradise isn't lost
Location: Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro - October 2004
The two hour boat ride from Batangas City Port to White Beach was fun at first but devastating to the stomach in the end. I got off the boat dizzy but arrived on what appeared to be as Ibiza.
I was with my classmates and gimmick tropa on this trip. Everyone except Katz was here. Upper, Leah, Apple, Kay and her sister Ate Karen, Tom, and Tope were here.
Everything about our trip to Puerto Galera remains one of the greatest memories that will live on even after 2004. The beach was a beautiful place. I got a henna tattoo of a scorpion, I enjoyed Mindoro Slings, and our island hopping was fun.
One memory was when my life jacket tried to eat me while we were snorkeling at the large coral reef in this one cove. It was a frightening experience with the sharp corals which I couldn't see properly since my goggles also bothered me.
--
THE PEOPLE NEAR ME, 2004
To be posted..
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