Friday's Feast #8

Chicken Crepe at George's Cafe (Burwood)

Appetizer

How are you today?

I feel great! I had a good day at work. I had dinner at a Japanese resto and dessert at Lindt Cafe with newfound friends. Witnessed a fireworks display in Darling Harbour (it was spectacular!). Talked to hubby as soon as I got home.

Soup

Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.

I don't like watching TV shows on a regular basis as I hate waiting on commercials. I just wait for the season to end, then watch the series on DVD.

Salad

What's the scariest weather situation you've experienced?

I remember when I was in college when the Philippines experienced one of the strongest typhoon to hit the country. I watched in fear as the wind uprooted all the trees in our backyard lawn and blew the neighbor's roof off their house.

Main Course

If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?

Dubai, in the arms of my hubby.

Dessert

What do you usually wear to sleep?

Pajamas, sweat pants, comfortable shirts.

Shoutouts and Other What-Nots

I now have Facebook...if you are my friend, indulge me and add me up (if you do have one). Just search for Ibyang Sanchez.

This is what you call peer pressure...this time from Aussie workmates. Am I bored or what?

-o0o0o-

Long weekend starts tomorrow...Yeehay!!!!

Friday dinner with new friends. Saturday bonding with relatives. Sunday morning badminton, lunch at Bahay Kubo, birthday dinner of cousin Ina. Monday no work!!!! Sleep in and rest!!!! Opps!!! In between, i have to work on the TY cards.

-o0o0o-

This morning while inside the bus going to work, I heard a song that made my tears well up:

THE DISTANCE by Evan and Jaron

The sky has lost it's color
The sun has turned to grey
At least that's how it feels to me
Whenever you're away
I crawl up in the corner
As I watch the minutes pass
Each one brings me closer to
The time you're comin' back

I can't take the distance
I can't take the miles
I can't take the time until I next see you smile
I can't take the distance
And I'm not ashamed
That with every breath I take I'm callin' your name

But I can't take the distance

I still believe my feelings
But sometimes I feel too much
I make believe you're close to me
But it ain't close enough
Not nearly close enough

I can't take the distance
I can't take the miles
I can't take the time until I next see you smile
I can't take the distance
And I'm not ashamed
That with every breath I take I'm callin your name

I brave fire and I brave rain
To be by your side I'd do anything
I can't take the distance

I will go the distance
I will go the miles
That's how much you mean to me

'Cause I can't take the distance
I can't take these miles
I can't take the time until I next see you smile
I can't take the distance
And I'm not ashamed
That with every breath I take I'm calling your name
I can't take the distance

It's hard to remember
As long as you're away
When I find solace
There's only one YOU.

Being Proactive While Waiting

Due to the forgetting-our-monthsary brouhaha last week, I've decided to be proactive about things again. Since Saturday, I'm trying to shake off my being-in-denial phase. I'm perfectly aware that it's already the last week of September--pinagalitan ko na nga talaga ang sarili ko dahil heller naman, end of September na eh in denial pa rin ako. At na-realize ko lang na kung tuloy-tuloy ang pagdi-deny ko ay baka naman makalimutan ko na malapit na ang Pasko at hindi ako maging ready para sa gift giving during Christmas.

So this is what Chris and I planned to do while waiting for his visa (of course dapat kasama si husband, alangan namang ako lang hehehe):

Work on our Thank You Cards and send them before Christmas. The etiquette of giving out the TY Cards should be a month after the wedding. Obviously, we're very late, but then we do have a valid reason. Ang gusto ko kasi ganito, when we give out the TY Cards, we'll include a photo of us HERE in Sydney and our new home address IN Sydney is stated there. Sort of like telling our beloved guests that we have settled down in Sydney, that they can send snail mails to us via our home address. O diba, ang ganda sana ng idea ko? BUT it's not happening coz with or without THAT photo, I'm really gonna send out the TY Cards already coz my cousins' vacationing in the Phils this November and they're gonna bring it with them. My mom will be the one to send the TY cards to our wedding guests in Phils. As for my idea, it won't be put to waste, we still plan to do that but we just don't know when.

Work on choosing the photos for the wedding album and songs for the video. Yes, until now, our photographer/videographer team is still waiting for us to submit the photos we like for the wedding album. Target date of doing this is really October (assuming Chris is already here in Sydney) but again, we're still not together so we have to do this thing apart. It would've been fun doing this together. I've asked Chris to take charge on this one since he's the artist between the two us.

Since the start of September, I never questioned God on why we haven't been approved yet. Asking God "why?" is something I can't do because he has been so good to us. Sa totoo lang, minsan nahihiya na akong humingi sa kanya kasi feeling ko ang dami na nyang blessings sa amin. I know there is a reason why this is taking awhile and I know it is something good. Instead of asking why, my question has always been "Is there anything else you need for us to do before you let us be together?" Everyday, that is my question. I try to be very sensitive of signs lately because He might be telling me (us) something that we need to do first before seeing each other.

So far, based on our schedule, these TY Cards and the photos and video are the things we need to do. I realized we need to this now because when we're together and settling down into our home, we'd be very busy and it might be harder to find time to do this post wedding activities. Other than these things, there's nothing much I can think of that we should do while waiting. If there is anything more that needs to be done, I'm sure God will lead us to it.

With October coming in and with things to accomplish at hand, a new hope arises in me--I'm feeling much better compared to what I was feeling the last four weeks. As long as there are tasks to accomplish, I really come to life, I feel more alive. No more denial stage for me. I'm back to reality now!

Results of Being In Denial

We forgot to greet each other on our monthsary this September!!!! Tsk tsk tsk...very bad.

When I woke up last Saturday morning and look at the date on my computer, it read September 22, 2007, and I said "Wow, it's the 22nd day of the month again, in four months, it'll be my birthday again". Then all of sudden I remembered, "Shit! Monthsary namin last Thursday!"

When hubby and I talked that night, I told him, "Uy, may kasalanan tayo....we forgot our monthsary." He was shocked as I was. He immediately apologized and I did too. We were apologizing at each other and at the same time we were apologizing to the date itself (gets?).

Honestly, monthsarries were never a big thing to us, but we just like honoring OUR day by greeting each other. Sometimes, we give each other a greeting card, sometimes we don't. There's no hard rules. Basta greeting lang, happy na kami.

Anyway, I totally understand why we forgot.

In my case, I was (and I still am a bit) in denial that it's already September. Until now, I still haven't fully accepted that our plans did not materialize. Based on our timeline, we visualized that we'd be together for his birthday already---and that he'd even celebrate his birthday HERE in Sydney. Ganun ang plano. BUT (the biggest BUT of all) we haven't received his visa approval yet :( We never thought the application would take this long. By the end of August, super duper in denial talaga ako, na parang ayoko mag-Spring season, na ayokong mag-September muna. I really wanted us to be together for his birthday. Sa totoo lang, sa sobrang in denial ko, muntik ko pang makalimutang makapag-send ng birthday card sa kanya. Ayan tuloy, late na nyang na-receive. Kalokohan ko kasi. Lutang talaga ang utak ko. So basically, sa pagdi-deny ko, parang iniraos ko lang ang birthday nya. The message I wrote for his birthday here in my blog was one of the most painful blog entries I've ever written. I was crying while writing that. Celebrating Chris' birthday was a struggle for me that's why i forgot the monthsary, and Chris knows this.

As for Chris' side of the story, he forgot because of his birthday and he really has tons of work right now which i truly understand. Plus, I know he also thinks about his visa approval alot coz we're really disappointed that our plans are getting delayed.

Eto pa pala, Chris called me on Thursday morning (which was the day of the monthsary) just to say hello and good morning to me. One of his habits is that when he wakes up in the middle of the night for no reason(it's called "naalimpungatan"), he'd call me. We were able to talk BUT we didn't have any idea what date it was. We really can't believe it. Technically, we talked on our monthsary but we really forgot to greet each other.

Hayyy buhay...hope it never happens again.

Get To Know Me More! (Tagged by Trinity)

I was tagged by Trinity and since I have a very busy week ahead, I answered this today so as not to forget.

Question 1:
What were you doing 10 years ago?

September 1997, I was in my Senior year in College at St. Paul’s QC. At this point, I was getting ready to graduate—I’ve passed my thesis already, I’m done with two On-the-job trainings (one in a school set-up and the other in a corporate set-up), I was getting ready for my 3rd on-the-job training at a rehabilitation clinic in QC, I’m done with my graduation pictorial and I was hanging out more with my friends since graduation was looming ahead. I was also into this guy that I had this mutual understanding thingy (more of like malabong usapan I reckon) that went on for like the next three years. Obviously, nothing came out of it.

1st Photo: My Grad Pic; 2nd Photo: (L-R) Teng, Hilda, Mrs. Delariarte, Ibyang, Badet)

Question 2:
What were you doing a year ago?

I was busy and preoccupied with wedding, honeymoon and going-back-to-the-Phils preparations. My thoughts were all about getting things organized for what's to happen in the coming months.

I was still unsure of alot of things last year and I was still trying to understand what the hell was I doing in Sydney. There were times when my reasons for living here were very clear in my heart and mind, then one moment, I'd forget all my resolves just because I kept missing my family and friends and my old life in the Phils.

Question 3:
What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Café Americano and Cheesecake
2. Shawarma
3. Banana Q
4. Fishballs
5. Goto with Tokwa’t Baboy

Question 4:
What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?
1. Crazy for You (Madonna)
2. Cry (Mandy Moore)
3. Your Love (Jim Brickman)
4. Part of Your World (from the movie “The Little Mermaid”)
5. Power of Two (Indigo Girls)

Question 5:
5 things you would do if you were a millionaire
1. Own a house and a car
2. Start a business
3. Invest, invest and invest
4. Travel around Europe & Asia
5. Give a part of it to an NGO I support in the Philippines

Question 6:
Bad habits
1. Procastinating
2. Forgetting things
3. Bad temper
4. Impulsive
5. Unpredictable

Question 7:
5 things that you like to do:
1. Spending time with loved ones
2. Reading
3. Blogging
4. Capture Photographs
5. Drink coffee with Chris

Question 8:
5 favorite toys:
1. My Computer
2. Our beloved cameras
3. Leggo
4. Coloring books
5. My Badminton Racket

Question 9:
5 things you would never wear:
1. Cheap lingerie
2. Fake shoes
3. Fake perfumes
4. Any neon-colored outfit
5. Bubble skirts

Question 10:
5 things you hate to do:
1. Waste other people’s time
2. Think negative thoughts
3. Get attached to superficial things
4. Wait for things to happen
5. Be angry

When Was The Last Time You've Been To A Library?

I really can't remember...I think the last time I visited a library was probably during my college years.

Today, I unexpectedly went to a library in Blacktown. I was hanging out with my Tita and cousins and they needed to drop by the library to return and borrow books again for schoolwork. Since I didn't have any agenda for myself today, I went with them.

As soon as I'm inside the library, I felt really at home. And then I went on instant "reminiscing mode":

1.) That I was a student librarian when I was in Grade School. Other than my love for reading books, love ko ding mag-serve sa library check-in and check-out counter, mag-welcome and goodbye sa mga estudyante na pumapasok at lumalabas ng library at mag-arrange ng books according to the Dewey Decimal System. Ayan, now you know how much of a geek I am.

2.) Na kahit lunch time ay nagdu-duty ako sa library, kahit hindi na ako maka-tsika sa mga barkada ko, okay lang.

3.) In school, the library is my refuge. If you can't find me in the cafeteria, laboratory or tambayan area, you'd definitely find me in the library. Even if there's no research work or assignment due, I'd still go there and bury myself with tons of books that interests me.

4.) I can stay for hours and hours in the library, I don't even have to eat. Just leave me there and I'll be fine. I'll just leave when it's time for me to go home.

5.) That one time I felt asleep buried under tons of Psychology books due to the comfort of the cool aircon inside the St. Paul's Library. And I was probably very very exhausted from thesis and Experimental Psych work.

6.) That I sometimes start and end my day at the library. Before going to class and before going home, I'm there.

Nowadays, my library is the internet. But sometimes it feels good to be surrounded by hundreds of books and be able to read some of them once in a while. More often than not, I just like going back to basics.

This is me on a Saturday morning, inside the library! (Do I really have to have a photo taken inside the library??? hehehe. The geek in me says "Yes!")

The book that I just had to borrow

Friday's Feast #7

T-bone Steak at Hi-Lites Revolving Restaurant (Blacktown)

Appetizer

What is your favorite type of art?
Photography because it's fun, easy and not easy at the same time, technical, gratifying and all other things in between to help you create something extraordinary with just a good, efficient and trustworthy camera.

Soup

When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?
My friend Hilda treated me to Indian cuisine when we watched Harry Potter 5 last July.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?
I'd give myself an 8...i can be highly emotional whenever I choose to (if it's something to be happy or excited about, i don't hide my feelings), plus, I have bouts of bad temper once in a while (I can be impatient sometimes). I am not afraid to say or show what I feel as long as I'm doing it in a graceful manner (read: ayoko ng iskandalo, takot ako sa away hehehe).

Main Course

Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?
Oh I respond to emails constantly throughout the day at work. For personal emails (if there is any), approximately an hour.

Dessert

To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?
During winter, it's about 27-28 degrees. During summer, it's about 20-22 degrees.

Photos by Larry Anda

Photos by Larry Anda (14 September 2007, Bicentennial Park)

These were taken after a long day at work, not to mention a long week at that. So bear with the paleness, haggardness and big eyebags.

before cross-processing

after cross-processing

Now for that silhouette shot...

50 First Reactions

I'm taking a break from stressful work at the office so I decided to play a meme. I got this from Janis Concepcion's blog...yeah, I tagged myself hehehe.

50 first reactions ...type what comes to your mind first whenever you hear these 50 words. Don't think and don't go back and change. Doesn't matter how random just type it! Repost it for all of your (bored )friends.

1. Beer: San Miguel

2. Food: Eat all you can

3. Relationships: should nurture you into becoming a better person

4. Your CRUSH: wala…walang cute dito!

5. Power Rangers: Bioman

6. Life: is beautiful

7. The President: GMA

8. Yummy: Sisig

9. Cars: I want one next year

10. Movie: 50 First Dates

11. Halloween: Trick or Treat

12. Sex: Male or Female?

14. Hate: waiting

15. Fear: Losing a loved one

16. Marriage: commitment

17. Blondes: tao din sila

18. Slippers: Havaianas

19. Shoes: Celine

20. Asians: petite

21. Pass time: people watch

22. One night stand: ayoko nyan

23. Cell Phone: I want a simpler one

24. Smoke: No cravings anymore

25. Fantasy: To have a Starbucks inside my garden

26. College: One of the best times of my life

27. Highschool Life: Marami akong kalokohan

28. Pajamas: pink

29. Stars: twinkle hehehe

30. Fitness Center: Gym

31. Alcohol: Tequila Queen

32. The word love: is the most used and abused word

33. Friends: food to my soul

34. Money: superficial

35. Heartache: aray

36. Time: is precious and should not be wasted

37. Divorce: magastos

38. Dogs: twinkle, kyla & rainbow (mga aso namin sa Phils)

39. Undies: Victoria’s Secret

40. Parents: supportive

41. Babies: coming soon

42. Ex: turned friend

43. Song: I’ve Fallen For You

44. Color: Red

45. Weddings: happiness

46. Pizza: Shakey’s Thin Crust Pizza

47. Hangout: Greenbelt

48. Resto: Casa Armas

49. Goal: to be a mom

50. Inspiration: Chris

Birthday Greetings to my One True Thing

TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE...HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

close your eyes and make a wish :)

what did you wish for?

ssshhhh....don't tell so it will come true.

now my turn to wish for you:

more happy memories

more sunsets for you to capture

more artworks for you to create

more opportunities for your personal growth

continued positivity in everything you do

the best of health so we can grow old together

lots of sandy beaches to walk on while holding my hand

thousands of small things that will make your heart smile

and last,

i wish for you to safely come home to me.

love you love you!!!!!

i miss you sooooo much!!!

wish we're in one place so we can spend your special day together.

mwah!!!

ibyang :)

Friday After Work Gimik

First Stop: Bicentennial Park

Photoshoot with Larry, trip trip basta makapag-shoot lang.

Some of my shots:

Second Stop: Dinner at Bahay Kubo, Lidcombe

I finally got to eat authentic sisig here in Sydney (woohoo!) :) Dream come true :)

Sisig (Photo by Erick Guerrero)

After hanging out at Bicentennial Park with Larry, we went straight to Bahay Kubo in Lidcombe to meet with Erick, Fred and Jojie for an authetic Pinoy dinner.
Fight ito :) Fight sa pagkain hehehe. Here's the list of authentic Filipino dishes we ate that night: Sisig, Crispy Pata, Bulaklak, Kare-Kare, Pancit Bihon, Tocino, and Adobo. Okay diba? Puro pampabata ang kinain namin. Not to mention that there were only 5 of us, tapos 7 ang putahe. Kainan galore talaga :)


For drinks, we were very happy that they serve San Miguel Beer. Pale Pilsen nga lang at walang San Mig Light (sayang!). And they also serve coconut juice, oh ha? Pinoy na pinoy.
Another fun night for me, educational too coz I learn a lot about photography when I'm with them (which I'm very grateful) and they make me laugh my heart out. Busog na, happy pa. :)

Photos from my camera and Larry's camera. Thanks to Larry for letting me publish his and Erick's photos here.

Some of my favorite photos that night:

To see more photos, please click here:

Bicentennial Park Photos

Dinner at Bahay Kubo Photos

Friday's Feast #6

San Miguel Beer, Philippines' best tasting beer and probably one of the best beer there is.

(photo courtesy of Larry Anda & Erick Guerrero)

Appetizer

When was the last time you visited a hospital?
November 2003. I had to undergo a major surgical operation that ended my career in badminton.

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you? I'm an 8.

Salad

Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

Everyone yearns, everyone sees.

Main Course

If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

I'd like a Health and Well-being Club for Wives and Mothers in order to help maintain the physical and mental well-being of busy women who takes care of a family and household. I'll probably call it "Women, be well" Club.

Dessert

What color is the carpet/flooring in your home? The carpet's color in the home I'm living at is sea green.

Guilty!

Edsa Dos, January 2001 (source:wikipedia)

I was there in Edsa Dos. I was there twice, first was during a long lunch break from work and second was on that Friday night when everyone from all walks of life gathered to fight for what they believed in. After six years, the Erap verdict is out.

Guilty on the charge of plunder.
Not guilty on the charge of perjury.
Sentenced to reclusion perpetua.
First President of the Philippines to be convicted.

-o0o0o0o-

On a personal note:
Husband and I haven't been emailing for the past couple days because he's busy with his company's ongoing exhibit in Dubai. So I was touched when he texted me this afternoon saying "Guilty si Erap...". I know that this is not the most romantic text ever (hehehe) but I'm touched by his thoughtfulness. Ganito kasi yun, when my husband is doing something really important at work like launching of new product, exhibits, coming up with a company catalogue, etc. I never bother him and I never expect him to email me back or text me back. When it comes to his career, I support him by taking a backseat sometimes because I understand how he works as an artist. So when he unexpectedly texted me about Erap, I was touched because in the midst of him being busy, he even remembered to text me that news. He knows that those kind of news are things that I really care to know about. When I read his text message, I just laughed and said "he really knows me well." And it also made me feel that he respect and gives importance to the things I believe in. Something to smile about today.

Being Married, Maintaining Friendships, Having Fun

Sometimes you just have to breathe out and relax. Sometimes you just have to chill. When you're tired and slowly losing all your energy to even smile, you just have to call your friends and say, "Anyone who wants to have dinner with me?"

The past few weeks were totally exhausting for me. So many things going on at work plus I've got familial issues (like my husband's much awaited visa approval--the waiting is endless and it's killing me) hanging, so I emailed my girlfriends so we can celebrate the APEC --joke! :P

I wanted to feel good, happy and worry-free and I'm glad I have girlfriends whose willing to laugh off life's what-have-yous with me.

You know the email advising a woman getting married to never, EVER, forget your girlfriends? I totally agree with that one. I for one, wouldn't leave my friends hanging just because I am busy being a wife (that's why there is such a thing as time management). I'm totally amazed at how my married girlfriends manage to maintain a home and still be there for their friends at the same time. Not everyone can do this, I know so coz I've seen lots of married women isolate themselves from friends. I don't blame them, maybe there are women built that way. But for me, it's friends who give me additional strength and positivity to carry on everyday. It's the company of friends that rejuvenates me.

(L to R: Yyoni, Ibyang, Rachelle & Hilda)

Anyway, so last Thursday, we decided to hit Chinatown for dinner. We had four entrees and thought we would never be able to finish them all. But lo and behold, we didn't have any take aways. We thought we'd be able to bring home some leftover food so that incase we get hungry at Hilda's place, we'd have something to eat. But we were wrong hehehe. It's either we were just very hungry because we came from work or we are just matakaw individuals.

After dinner, we decided to celebrate some more by drinking at Hilda's place! Woohoo! Vodka to the max!

Oh how I missed drinking. It's been a long long time. So long that I can't remember the last time I got drunk or even got tipsy. Puro kape sessions kasi lately dahil sa Starbucks eh. And, my alcohol tolerance wasn't as good as before. After three shots, i got a little dizzy and lost count of shots I've dranked. All I knew was that the four of us finished the whole bottle.

But even if I'm tipsy already, I was still able to talk sense. I remember telling my friends about the robbery in our Taytay home and I was able to even answer Yyoni's question "What's good about being 30?" But I can't write down my answers here now coz I forgot hehehe. Basta, all I remembered was Rache and Hilda agreeing to what I said so my answer must have been sensible.

We all ended up happy and red from all the alcohol we consumed but more than anything, I think we were all happy because inspite of all of us being busy with work and personal lives, we were able to be there for each other.

Sober and drunk photos here: Girls Night Out (6 Sept 2007).

Friday's Feast #5

Super Bowl's Salt & Pepper Spareribs (Dinner with my girlfriends at Chinatown)

Appetizer

Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?

Wifely. :)

Soup
What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?
The falling of leaves, nostalgic and very romantic.

Salad
Have you ever had any bad experiences online?
Yes, I made a serious blog entry and then somebody just mocked it or made a joke out of it.

Main Course

Name three things that make you happy daily.

1. Knowing that I am loved by family and friends

2. Accomplishing tasks

3. Doing good deeds

Dessert

What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?

A very effective Dishwashing Liquid Cleanser as I'm very particular about cleanliness of dinnerwares, cutleries, pots, pans, etc.

Against Bigotry

For the past two weeks, I’ve been following the story of a certain travel writer/columnist who wrote about not wanting to be in the same airplane with OFWs which instigated several (I think that’s an understatement) negative comments from all parts of the world.

Much has been said and written about the controversy. She resigned from People Asia and Manila Standard Today (MST) last week and so I thought it’s all over. However, last Monday, she wrote an article again at MST who confirmed that they did not accept the writer’s resignation due to personnel issues.

I’m an HR Practictioner and my question is: What personnel issue is there when an employee files a resignation? Anong issue doon? If an employee willingly resigns, the only thing that the manager of the employee and HR can do is to accept it.

If there is indeed a personnel issue, why can’t MST tell the public about it when this controversy started in public anyway?

With so many loopholes in MST’s side of the story, I’m therefore supporting Tingog.com’s campaign against them. “Do not go to their website, do not buy their paper, and anything that they write.”

I sincerely support OFWs all over the world, thus I’m making a stand on this. I’m not putting OFWs on a pedestal nor I’m supporting this just because I am one, I’m simply against anyone or any organization that belittles Filipinos in general. OFWs or not, we must always respect each other, period. What was written on the writer’s article had BIGOTRY and DISCRIMINATION written all over it. And I’m not a supporter of either thing, nor am I a supporter of a newspaper or website that published such.

If you want to know more about what I'm talking about, here are some related links:
1. Fire Malu Fernandez
2. Statement of the Filipino Press Club in Dubai
3. Media in Focus
4. Renewed Boycott Against Manila Standard Today

Lomo I Love

My first lomographic experience was simply different. Since the tool I chose to "play" with is the plastic BUT mighty mighty Holga, which is all low-tech and very manual art. I repeat, very manual. From choosing the format (whether you want your photos to turn into a 6x4.5cm or 6x6cm), to the loading of the film (which was very tedious at first), to the taping of sides of the Holga to avoid light leaks, to focusing (there are certain meters to consider), to winding up the spool for the next capture of photo/s, ‘til the unloading of the film. And since I use a 120mm film, there's also that challenge to find a processing lab where I can have my films developed (good thing I found one near Central Station). It's a whole lot of adjustment especially when you're used to the ever-reliable and automatic digital camera.

Very manual indeed, but very satisfying. Like literally making art with your bare hands. And then waiting, waiting and more waiting to see what your creation looked like. There’s something about the discipline of lomography which makes you unhurried, patient and romantic. You shoot…you think or you don’t…shoot some more… anticipate what your photos would look like in print…shoot again and again…ahhh, your roll of film is over. And then you take it to the lab for processing…waiting, excitement and more anticipation, like waiting for a child to be born or waiting for a loved one to come back. And then it’s handed over to you, fresh and still warm. Now you see your work of art and then you smile, giggle, almost laughing…surprised to see that it didn’t turn out bad at all. Yes, that’s how my first lomographic experience turned out.

For my first roll of film, the lab was able to process, develop and print nine photos. I was aiming for at least 15 but since half of the time, I was making a lot of errors and forgetting to set up the camera properly, only nine were acceptable enough to print. Not all nine photos were good though. There were about four that was better than the rest.

One Lonely Tree (Bicentennial Park)

Left photo: Multiple Exposure shot-1st shot: tall structure; 2nd shot: the dome (Olympic Park)

Right photo: The Telstra Stadium (Olympic Park)

This is my favorite from the lot: Hilda in Holga

To achieve this, I had to use one of the split image lens I bought.

I'm now on my second roll of film and still very clumsy with use of the Holga. But I'm definitely enjoying the learning part of it. And I'm looking forward to lots and lots of happy accidents with my Holga.

Before I end, let me just share with you the 10 Golden Rules of Lomography (which will also serve as a reference for me):

1. Take your LOMO everywhere you go and whenever you go.
2. Use it any time - day or night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but a part of it.
4. Shoot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you've captured on film.
9. You don't have to know afterwards, either.
10. Don't worry about the rules. (source: Wikipedia)

Note:
Special thanks to Larry Anda for photographing my Holga.

I got photographed!

This was my first crack at modelling! hehehe. Just kidding :P I was just very fortunate to have talented friends who can make me look 'acceptable' in photos :)

Now about the dog (he's cute!), no I can't mention his name because I don't even know what it is. We were at the park right? The group on the other table brought their cutie little pet dog with them. Fred (our pseudo photoshoot director, naks!) told me to sit on the grass at doon daw ako mag-emote, when all of a sudden, the dog sat infront of me and stayed for a couple of minutes. Yay! I have a lot to thank for for that dog, if not for him, I wouldn't feel comfortable infront of erick's and larry's cameras. So thank you doggie!

Special thanks to Erick and Larry for letting me share the photos on my websites!!!!

More photos here, please click: Photoshoot at Bicentennial Park

Related Links:
Bicentennial EB entry by Ibyang
Bicentennial EB entry by Larry Anda
Bicentennial EB entry by Erick Guerrero

Castle Hill Heritage Park

Celebrated Father's Day (yup, Father's day here in Australia is every first Sunday of September) with my Tita's family friends at the Castle Hill Heritage Park today.

There were more or less 15 families that got together today to honor the Dads of each family.

The Dads enjoyed an afternoon of food, drinks and laughter while playing poker.

As for me, I had a relaxing afternoon catching up with my cousins, lying on the grass and communing with nature.

Lying on the grass made me very very lazy. For days, I've been looking forward to this event coz I planned to walked around the park and explore the place but I ended up lying on the grass, looking at the blue sky and trees hovering above me. But it never stopped me from taking photos though.

(1st photo: I was lying on my back and saw these trees hovering over me; 2nd photo: I looked on my side and saw someone's shoe with trees at the background)

For more photos, please click here: Castle Hill Heritage Park