Oh, Rejoice!

Q Paskuhan 2011

2011-12-27T18:02:00.006+08:00

I wasn't able to take much photos because I was busy finding my friends. And when I found them, we were busy rak en rol-ing to the bands. Haha

Mama and Rejean watches the Pakuhan concert every year since I entered the university. But this year, it wasn't just the two of them!

Mama and Rejean with Tasha and Tita Marisse

Watched the concert for a while when I felt a bit tired walking around to find my friends.

You would see a few paper lanterns floating in the sky once in while.

Found my friends! Actually, we really have a meeting place. I was just a bit hesitant to go there because they might went somewhere else already since it was 30mins-1hour past our meeting time when I went to UST. Haha

Lorraine (who obviously just cried), Jia, me, Louis

Jia, Jankiel, me (Jia and I in our favorite thumbs up pose. LOL)

Jia and I giving Lorraine a kiss to shoo her sadness away. Haha

Louis with Charie and Jakov

Gabby, Louis, Lorraine

After picture-taking, we went straight to Grandstand to enjoy the concert.

I didn't know that the pyromusical/fireworks display was scheduled at 9PM that night! Sobrang di ako prepared! Hence, fail fireworks photos.

If it isn't obvious, the photo I used for this blog post's cover photo is a fail fireworks photo. ;)

I think 3-4 bands played after the fireworks display.

Taking a photo of concert crowd is probably one of my favorites.

Waited for my mom + others at Lover's Lane, which explains this chandelier photos.

This year's Paskuhan was probably the most tiring Paskuhan I've been. It was a good night to sing-along to OPM songs I know. Nothing beats the Paskuhan when I was in my first year of college, though. For me, that was the best Paskuhan I've been.

UST at Christmas Night 2011

2011-12-27T14:41:00.004+08:00

UST Plaza Mayor has been packed at night since Christmas Lights were installed on various spots in the university. For this semester, I wasn't able to use my camera because I'm lending it to my sister for her Photography classes. But I was able to get it back for one week so I can shoot UST at night and for the Paskuhan festivities as well.

The last week of school was still hectic. I was so busy and stressed out running errands, doing paper works, reviewing for quizzes and doing school works related to either S.A.D. or Thesis. Thank God I was still able to find time to do a photowalk. So I scheduled my night photowalk two nights till Paskuhan. I thought it was the perfect night to shoot since the UST will surely be packed during the next two nights due to Paskuhan festivities.

Photos Take On: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Taken With: Canon EOS 550D + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Test shot...

I think I got it right on this one. Sticking to this white balance for the rest of the night.

UST Main Building

Hanging Lights

Santisimo Rosario Parish Church

Construction site at the former UST Gym in b&w.

It was really hard for me to take a photo of this scenery because I don't have a tripod. I didn't know my lens' IS was turned off! So this photo turned out to be a bit shaky. :|

This year's UST Christmas Tree! The base color's red and it was embellished with violet light balls and traditional yellow lights.

Semi-wide view of this scene + filmy effect

Another photo of the Christmas Tree. This time with stage light.

Arch of the Centuries

My photowalk wouldn't be complete without a walk in Lover's Lane (formally Rizal, Burgos and Del Pilar lanes, just so you know)

Rizal Lane was decorated with lovely chandeliers. No wonder this lane is the students' favorite spot to take their photos.

Personal favorite photo of Rizal Lane with UST Main Building. <3
Miguel de Benavides Statue

Hanging Lights along Quezon Drive in b&w

Thanks to that night's manong guard at the UST Main Building entrance for letting us in even if student's aren't allowed to get inside anymore. :)

Belen outside UST Museum

Faculty/College Logos

You've got to agree that UST is lovelier than it usually is during the Christmas Season. I'm so thankful that my dorm is just a street away from UST. Also, I have night classes three times a week, so I get to enjoy these lovely scenery almost every night.

Thank you so much to my all-around buddy, Jia, for going with me. :D

Enchanted Kingdom ♥ Part Three of Three

2011-12-17T23:50:00.001+08:00

I got a bit tired waiting in line so I sneaked away from my family and had a photowalk. EK was still lovely during the night.

Wheel of Fate at Night

EK Stream at Night

Up, Up and Away!

Flying Fiesta

Grand Carousel at Night

I'm really sad that I wasn't able to ride the carousel. :(

Brooklyn Place at Night

Night Show

/End of photowalk. Sorry for the grainy photos!

I still rode some rides after my photowalk. We even had a photo op with Santa after we rode Anchors Away. Define hagardo versoza! Hahaha

It was such a tiring day but we enjoyed it a lot! We had Serenitea on our way home. So refreshing!

[3/3]

Enchanted Kingdom ♥ Part Two of Three

2011-12-17T23:49:00.002+08:00

One reason why I wasn't able to ride all the rides was because of the long queue! Longest I've waited was almost 3 hours, I think. That was for the Jungle Log Jam.

Regardless of the long queue, I didn't ride this Ferris Wheel. You have no idea how I'm very afraid of heights.

I wasn't able to ride the Space Shuttle as well. My sister and cousins did but they waited for more than 2 hours!

Of course, we had to go to Brooklyn Place while the sun's still up.

It was a good timing because while we're waiting in line for that day's show in Rialto, the usual Cobblestone Street parade exhibited.

There were soapsuds for the snow effect. Instant lovely photos! Heehee

Clarisse and Karlin | Rejean and Karlin

Me and Karlin also known as Best Candid Shot. Chos! Haha

Tasha

My super kulit but cute cousin, Karlos. I named my camera after him because they have the same birthday.

Rode the Jungle Log Jam with Rejean and Mama.

I understand how they feel. Haha

The nature is so irresistible.

I couldn't resist these little greenery!

The sky that day was so bipolar! I had a bit of a hard time knowing the right settings. Thank God for the lovely photos! :D

[2/3]

Enchanted Kingdom ♥ Part One of Three

2011-12-17T23:47:00.004+08:00

My relative from Cagayan de Oro came here in Manila for our dear Nanay Lina's 78th birthday. They stayed here for 3 days. On their first day, which is Nanay Lina's birthday, we went to Star City. The day after that was for another amusement park. We spent more than half of the day in Enchanted Kingdom. It was such a fun-filled day with the whole family! ♥

The last time I went in EK was almost 12 months ago! To be honest, I have a great fear in heights. That's why I already conditioned myself to be "brave" when we were in Star City. Thanks to Tita Mabelle for my ticket! Heehee. Also, thank God for my cousins because they gave me the strength and the nerves to face my fear! Haha. I was able to ride almost every ride in EK! You have no idea how proud I am of myself. Haha :D

So I'm cutting this post into 2 or 3 parts because I've got a lot of lovely photos to share. ♥

Me and Karlin | Keith and Rejean

Tita Bubut, Tita Marisse, Mama

We first rode the flying fiesta. Good warm-up! Haha

Karlin with the pink monkey stuffed toy Kuya LJ won for her.

Karlin on Jungle Ladder

She was able to ring the bell but they didn't gave her the prize. Tssss.

Next ride was EK Stream! My favorite, but it's so bitin.

Thanks to Tita Mabelle for taking our photo. :)

[1/2]

Mercato Food

2011-12-17T21:13:00.001+08:00

I went to Midnight Mercato with my family and some relatives more than a month ago (November 5, 2011). I could have blogged about this earlier but, as usual, I'm a lazy blogger. Haha.

Double-layered pizza

Macarons

Strawberry, Pistachio and Cookies and Cream

Months ago, I asked my dorm roommate to buy me a slice of rainbow cake in Mercato. It was my pasalubong for Mama when I went home from school/one week in dorm. I was really looking forward to buying another slice when we went there. But I can't find it anymore. :(

When I had my first bite, I felt like I can barf rainbows! LOL

Oops! Sorry for the rainbow cake overload. I can't get over the it's awesomeness. Heehee

Dusty Angels

2011-11-10T20:13:00.001+08:00

Photos taken on: November 7, 2011

I got a curious about a certain photography technique so I searched for tutorials online. Apparently, I need an external flash to achieve it. So I practiced on these angel figurines we have at home. They're really dusty because they've been neglected at home. You can even see some hair strands on the first photo! (Ewww. Haha) But it complements a lot because I wanted a gloomy effect on this set.

All Saints' Day Skyscapes

2011-11-10T19:29:00.003+08:00

Photos taken on: November 1, 2011

And because it was an All Saints' Day, candles were a necessity.

Flash Experiment [Late Post]

2011-11-10T19:17:00.002+08:00

Photos taken on: October 12, 2011

I've been wanting to experiment with Karlos' (my Canon 550D, in case you don't know) built-in-flash, but I'm always hesitant about trying it because I'm afraid the photos might turn out crappy. But there isn't any way to experiment with it but try it, right? So one afternoon, I took the risk and snapped away! I thought of doing it in front of the mirror to have this bounce-flash effect whatever you call it. I just hope I didn't damage my lens or any part of my equipment by doing that, though! Surprisingly, the photos turned out nice! I must credit my dusty mirror for the slight glares and nice bokehs it added on my photos. :)

Yakimix on Mama's Birthday [Late Post]

2011-11-08T00:08:00.002+08:00

This is a really, really late post. I'm really wondering why I'm doing this post just now when I did a similar post on my photoblog two weeks ago. Anyway, these photos were taken almost a month ago (October 10, 2011) when Mama, my sister and I had lunch at Yakimix MOA for Mama's birthday. My mom loves Japanese food so much, so that's pretty obvious why we ate there. (Random Fact: Japanese food was my mom’s capricious desire when she was pregnant with me. No wonder why I love sushi and tuna sashimi so much!)

Mostly are food photos. I hope I this post leave you craving for some sushi or tempura. Heehee. :)

Blue Lemonade. Tasted like normal lemonade, only with blue coloring in it. :P

Raw seafood waiting to be grilled. That tasted so good!

(Not so) smokeless grill. Hehe

Hawaiian sushi (I think), siomai, deep fried potato and tempura.

Sweets with Rice Krispies for dessert!

Mama's wedge sandals.

Got fancied by the lovely bokeh produced by the restaurant's chandeliers.

Mama told me not to post any of our photos online because, as she said, "Wala namang maganda." Haha. But I'm posting two anyway. I hope she doesn't mind when she sees this. Heehee.

This is a late post, so Belated Happy Birthday, Ma! Love you! ♥ :*

Btw, I was planning on updating this blog tonight but I suddenly got lazy. Haha. I'll probably put up late posts sometime this week. Keep posted! :)

This Day Last Year: Two Days Late Edition

2011-10-19T19:56:00.003+08:00

I was supposed to put up this blog post two days ago but I forgot. (What a bad start to be late! Haha.) So I got this idea from Flickr's "A year ago today." I was thinking of using the same title, but opted to rephrase it instead. I think this is a good way of putting my old photography here.

Plants, Everywhere | October 17, 2010

Sprout of Life

Dry End

Green Yellow

Collective

Sturdy by the Sun

Foliage

Flimsy by the Sun

Green, Together
_{All photos were taken using my cousin's Canon A480.}
I told you, greenery has always been my favorite subject.

Bad Weather

2011-10-17T19:41:00.002+08:00

My fifth semester in college ended 10 days from today, but school stuff are still stressing the hell out of me. Grades were released on the 15th. My grades weren't bad, not at all. But I got so upset with some of it because I know I deserve better. I should start convincing myself that profs who aren't fair in grades DO exist. Le sigh. Adding to my afflicts was pre-sectioning. I got so stressed out deciding what section to pick, and I wasn't able to sign up on the first day! I nearly cried because of all the stress. I can't remember feeling so down. I guess I just wasn't prepared for all of this because of all the good things happening in my life before this. But thank God I was able to get through everything.

I thought it would be appropriate to upload these photos which I took when classes got suspended because of TY Pedring. October 17, 2011

Classes got suspended for two days. On the first day, power got cut for more than 12 hours! I was alone in dorm most of the time because my roommates were usually out. So I studied for exams, took photos and caught up on sleep. Oh, gloomy days.

Acquisitions: 09252011 // First Outfit Post

2011-09-25T19:09:00.004+08:00

Went on a little shopping earlier today after our community service for SCL3 (Sociology 3). Spent a lot on accessories since it's been months since I last bought earrings and rings. Scored a shirt that stated something like "Years of Community Service... blah blah" What a coincidence! Haha.

Anyway, my sister was holding my camera and started shooting me after I tried the shirt on. Hence, this random outfit post.

You have to know that I love owls to bits! It was an instant grab when I saw this connector ring. *hooooot*

I look like I'm going to be chased by a pressing iron because of all the crumple! Haha

I can tell that my sister has talent on photography as well. Love the photos! ♡
So it's my first time to put up an outfit post! I hope it's good for a first time. :)

Get Connected: Network + and Security+ (SEM1)

2011-09-13T19:31:00.008+08:00

Yesterday, our block hosted a seminar about Networking and Security. I wasn't able to take lots of photos because, aside from being shy, it was freezing cold in our venue. The cold was killing my fingers! Some photos ended up a bit out-of-focus because there were moments when I can't steady my hands.

Test shot.

Lei, Jane, Justine C.

Rellie, Justine, Jia

Jad, Lia, Michol

Technical committee

Kae and Lia

Jia

Loved the lighting by the window so much. Heehee

James, our MC (Well, I'm used to calling him Mr. Song)

We had an ice breaker before moving on to the next topic. Choosing the players had something to do with passing around two Angry Birds stuffed toys.

"So who got the angry bird?"

10 Players. Hep hep, hooray!

Ivan and Gerald

After the seminar:

Mr. Song, Johann, Darl

Me and Jia

View from BEATO AVR

Chairs

It's the first day of our two-day seminar. I can say that it was a success! I hope our attendees enjoyed it. See you on September 26, 2011 for the last day! :D

Unrelated: Attended another seminar in the afternoon but ended up leaving a bit early for something. Walked around UST with Jia.

The clouds looked lovely that day. ♡

Another UST Appreciation on a Rainy Thursday of August

2011-09-05T12:56:00.007+08:00

Wow, it's been three UST-related photo dumps(Because it's more appropriate to call it so than to call it a "blog post."). Simply because it's where I am five days a week. I would always attempt/plan to go somewhere else to give myself a break through little shopping sprees, but man, junior college is hectic a fuck.

The photos you are about to see have been sitting in my hard drive for some weeks already. I was supposed to post them last weekend but I left my tech bag(It's where I keep my netbook charger, EHDD, flash drives, card reader, USB mouse and phone charger.) at my dorm. The photos were taken on the same week as my Tuesday UST Appreciation post. Same reason of doing the photowalk, almost the same weather. Only difference is that I think I like the photos more in this post.

Greens are my weakness. Can't pass by a beautiful bush without taking a photo of it.

Water Reflections

Water Plants

Gloomy Angels

Grandstand

UST Chapel

We did a second part of the photowalk after our two classes in the afternoon.

The sun was up!

But it started raining. :(

Water Ripples

We decided to stay at the UST chapel while waiting for the rain to subside.

Jad and Lia

Quadri Square

Tending to nighttime

Finally, UST at night

I wasn't able to take lots of photos during the night because I was running out of memory space (Hello, 1GB!). You guys would have to agree that UST looks really beautiful at night.

Thank you so much to Gio, Jad and Lia for the company! :D

Tuesday UST Appreciation

2011-08-21T17:07:00.007+08:00

For this semester, I have an Art Appreciation class wherein I study art in different forms. Part of the course outline is photography and one of our projects is to do Landscape and Human Interest photography. Being a hobbyist photographer, I got a bit excited to do this project. But the idea of taking photos of my school doesn't interest me. Maybe because I've been in the university for three years and I've been seeing the usual things, the usual structures. Don't get me wrong, though. I love the historical structures. It's just that I'm already very familiar with everything which, in return, made the scenery look normal.

So this project made me look at the university from a different angle. It was really challenging because I'm trying not to do the cliché shots. Of course I still did some of it (which I think is acceptable).

I'm a bit hesitating if I should put up this post because I received a good number of heart-warming compliments on my previous post (Thomasian welcome Walk 2011). The photos here look so mediocre. Such a letdown. /sigh

So last Tuesday, August 16, 2011, I went on a photowalk with Gio, Jad and a bunch of other blockmates. I wasn't with them the whole time, though. Because when I take photos, I'm literally everywhere. It was a fail photowalk because it rained so hard. After our class, the weather was just a tad bit gloomy so I still had my high hopes that the sun would still show up. But it didn’t! Huhu. Worst part is, Karlos got wet and I thought my 50mm malfunctioned. Thank God it didn’t!

I've been wanting to take a photo of this greenery. The symmetry of the trees looks lovely.

Went to the Botanical Garden with Jia but we didn't went in all the way because it started raining hard.

It was so nice of him to allow us to take some photos even if he seem a little shy.

Gabby

Miguel

Jia's hair

They already left at around 4PM, but Jia and I were not tired yet so we still walked around.

Sneaked this photo of the construction near the Med building from a hole.

And then we spotted another construction site near the Quattromondial.

More greens

Tried to do this particular shutter priority technique but I can't do it. :(

My feet and legs hurt so much from that photowalk. It was such a tiring day.

Thomasian Welcome Walk 2011

2011-08-07T20:05:00.023+08:00

After several postponements of this year's Freshmen Walk, it finally pushed through last Friday! Went there to take photos for our project in ArtApp but I don't think I have any photos that would fit in the categories stated by our professor.

I was a bit overwhelmed while taking photos. I was shooting beside photographers with badass gears! I even saw THE Paul Quiambao(!!!) The Varsitarian's photo editor whose photos I've always admired since I entered the university. I feel so inept with Karlos and my 50mm. :(

But here I am showing off my selected shots from that day.

Test, test... Forgot to change my WB settings so my first photo turned out bluish.

Here we gooooooo!

There's a good mix of emotions among the fresh meat (freshmen). But half of them, I can say, were so ecstatic! Their happiness are so enviable. I wish I were that blissful when I entered the Arch of the Centuries.

Went inside the main building and this colors welcomed me.

Guess where I am!

This always reminds me of Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem.

I'm at the second highest level of the main building! First tiiiiime! Haha. I was a bit looking forward to going up at the tower but the lady guard told us that we need to have a permit from the SecGen.

CTHM babies looking cute with their fairy wings!

Arki kids filling up the seats.

Plaza Mayor's packed with "national treasures"!!

Love this photo to bits! I'm so glad to be studying at a university that has a good amount of greenery in it. <3

The ministers preparing the sacramentals for the Holy Communion.

If Eriela didn't ask me to go with her in front of the stage, I wouldn't be able to take these photos during the mass.

My lovely friend, Jia, looking dreamy. Thanks for patiently waiting, mate! Haha

The crew hurrying to cover the LCD screen as it starts drizzling.

Party tiiiiime! But Jia and I didn't stay for it because it strated raining really hard.

You guise, I want to be a V photographer.

Coming of Age Week

2011-08-07T18:53:00.005+08:00

I really feel the need to blog about the week I celebrated my 18th birthday. It wasn't as extravagant as throwing a formal debut party at some events place which, surprisingly, some of the girls I know still do. Actually, my Papa offered to throw a party and, of course, I said no. I think it's a complete waste of money and it simply isn't my type of celebration.

As I have said, it was sort of a one week celebration. It started on Sunday, July 3, 2011, when we celebrated it with Mom's side of the family. It was just like our family gatherings. We had lunch seafood lunch and then my cousins and I went on a shoppinggggg. Haha. Didn't buy a lot that day but I did get such good finds. The following day, Monday was when we celebrated it with Papa's side of the family, which I was able to blog about.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Start of school week. I can't remember what happened. It's probably one of my busy half-school day, so I bet nothing special happened. Ok, now I remember. It was, indeed, a busy and stressful day. I was a night-owl figuring out how different sorting algorithms work. And then I received my first birthday greeting from Papa (which was via text because we're cheap like that. Haha). It made me teary eyed. <3 Stayed up until 1AM of my birthday.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
It was CS101 Lab day, which explains why I stayed up late. Came to school a bit early because I'm excited! I don't even know what I was excited about. Haha. I passed through my blockmates and then they sang me the Happy Birthday song. It was the usual awkward moment when I don't know what to do when someone/people sing to me the birthday song. Haha. But it was really so sweet of them to do considering that I'm not really close to most of them during that time. And then one of my good friends, Lorraine, came. She seemed to be in a hurry and then she came to me and brought out a small cake and candles!! I was getting teary-eyed so I went to the comfort room because I couldn't stop my tears. I spent more or less 10 minutes inside a cubicle trying to stop myself from weeping. Grabe, my eyes were so red when I came out. And then my friends sang to me a happy birthday. I even told them, "Wag na. Nakakahiya, ang daming tao." But they sang to me anyway. I was just crying while they were singing. Tapos each of them greeted me individually. Ang saya lang kahit medyo late na kami because our professor was already inside the lab when they were about to sing to me. After that, we were back to normal. After class, I treated my friends to lunch at KFC. Our case analysis for DBM was due that week so we didn't spend a long time for our usual kwentuhan. After lunch, Jia and I went straight to our dorm. But Lorraine was with us. We played card games and more kwentuhan. It was my first time to play pekwa. We don't get to bond like these since we've been so busy. It was so much fun.

Mom came at around 3PM. I took a bath, then we went to SM Sn Lazaro for our usual birthday date. We just walked around and then we had dinner at Terriyaki Boy

The food mistakenly served to us. Of course, we returned it.

Chicken Yakisoba

Beef Terriyaki

Pork Tonkatsu

Mom knows I looooove froyo, so we tried the froyo at Tutti Frutti.

Mom insisted on a photo. Stressed-out look!

Blueberry + Raspberry + Kiwi + Walnuts

The store has such a nice interior

And on that day, I was a tired 18 year-old. Haha

Thursday, July 7, 2011
The day I received my gift from God. I SAW MY CRUSH!!!! I was totally giddy. It was my closest and longest encounter with him! OH. MY. HEART. <3333 Treated my roommates to dinner at KFC (Yes. Again. LOL)
My roommates: Ate Angela, Grace, Jia

Ordered bucket meal. Spicy chickennnnn!

Ang saya namin, diba? Haha

Friday, July 8, 2011
IM201 day = INFORMATION OVERLOAD = Sobrang boring subjects

Hit my bed as soon as we got back in our dorm. When I woke up, I saw a cake in our study table.

My I-just-got-out-of-bed look.

Thank you, roomies! <3

Saturday, July 9, 2011
Last school day of the week! Went home and the happy looks of my mom and sister greeted me when I entered our home. And loooooook! I have another cake! :D

So all in all, I had three cakes on my 18th birthday. Ang bongga lang, diba? Hahaha.

Amidst all the mental pressure that school gave me, I still had such a wonderful birthday. And it wasn't just for one day. It was a week of all sorts of lovely and being blessed. :) ♥
Thank you so much to everyone who made all the happiness possible! xo

18th Birthday at Yakimix

2011-07-31T19:46:00.004+08:00

So I turned 18 this month! I know this is post's overdue for weeks but I'm glad that I still managed to blog about this before my birthday month ends.

I'll save all the kwento about how I celebrated my coming of age on a separate blog post because this post (from what the title suggests) will be about me and my sister's pre and post (in my sister's case since her birthday's on June 28) birthday dinner.

We had dinner at Yakimix, SM Mall of Asia with Papa's side of the family. Eat-all-you-can, you guise! It was my first time! So basically, that's the night I had an overload of Korean, Chinese and Japanese food. We went there at around 6pm and left at around 930PM. More or less 3 hours of eating! Hahaha.

Yakimix @ SM Mall of Asia | July 4, 2011

Bought this black ankle-high boots three months ago and wore it for the first time that day!

It's not the comfiest pair of boots, but I still like it.

A semi-candid photo of mom I took while we were waiting to be called to get in.

Chairs outside Yakimix

Finally, we're in!!

Our table

They have really comfy chairs which made our eating experience more enjoyable and very satisfying.

When we got a table, I went straight to the comfort room to fix my hair and redo my fishtail braid. Heehee

The bathroom photo I took non-stealthily because there were two staff inside the comfort room after I did my braid.

Photos taken by my sister, Rejean! <3

I took very few food photos because I was more into eating than taking photographs that night. Haha.
Raw meat and seafood waiting to be grilled!

Tempuraaaa!

Sushiiiii!

Raw food being grilled. Do you see the mushroom wrapped in meat/bacon? It taste's soooo good! :P~

Out-of-focus family photo

This was supposed to be a family photo but Papa got cut out. :(
Also, the waiter we asked to take this photo kept on adjusting the focus ring because he thought it was the zoom ring even if I already told him that's it's not. Thank God my lens still works fine!

Mommy Lina enjoying the grill.

Happy grandparents are happy! :D

Rejean, Kuya RR, myself and Papa

Rejean, Mama and I

Rejean and Mommy Lina

Myself and Mommy Lina

Siblings being silly! :D

Kuya RR and I

Rejean and I

Rejean and I with ze grandparents <3

Rejean and I with Papa

Such a lovely photo of Rejean and Papa <3

with ze parents <3

Thank God my sister and I don't have Monday classes. We get to spend that night with the family. After that overly satisfying dinner, Papa dropped me to my dorm because I had classes the following day.

Green and Other Hues

2011-07-11T18:12:00.004+08:00

Green and Other Hues | May 30, 2011

Did a short photo walk while we were at Water Camp. Nature has always been my favorite subject. I love how nature seems so simple but tricky to capture.

Photoblog: http://rcmrny.tumblr.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joicemarinay/

Summer 2011 | Water Camp

2011-07-11T17:57:00.005+08:00

Another overdue post from summer! Haha. I haven't been able to update this blog due to laziness. So today, I'm keeping up with my blog posts before everything gets piled up and neglected.

Two days after Tita Lily's birthday party (May 30, 2011), we decided to go swimming at Water Camp. Personally, I don't like public pools. It's crowded during summer so I don't get to enjoy a lot.

It was a very sunny day so I almost didn't want to swim. Simply because I don't want a tan. Not when school is just one week ahead. But I figured, "Sunblock exists!" Although I didn't have my full trust on sunblock lotions, I still enjoyed the pool because I didn't want to spoil the day. But despite constantly applying sunblock, I still got an unwanted tan. /sigh

I brought my camera with me. But when we were already there, I didn't feel like taking photos anymore. Thank God Mom and Tita Bubut asked me to take pictures of them. If it wasn't for them, it would be a total waste bringing Karlos with me.

Tasha and Rejean, opkors!

Seesturrrr

Tasha, Tita Bubut, Mama and Rejean

I wish I was part of the photo. /sigh

Tasha and Rejean again!

Tita Bubut and Mama

They're at the wave pool!

They went to the other side of the place. So while waiting for them, I tinkered with my camera and tried Shutter Priority

Rejean trying to look kawawa. Haha

Mama and Rejean

Lovely photo of Tita Bubut

Tasha

I got tired taking photos of them so I hang out with Clarisse.

We went to a stall to buy candies.

Peek-a-boo! Hahaha. That's me when I was still three or four tones fairer.

And then that's how I looked like (third from left)! Dark and tired.

Summer 2011 | Tita Lily's Birthday

2011-07-11T16:57:00.004+08:00

Tita Lily celebrated her 51st birthday with a swimming party last May 28, 2011. I know that's almost two months ago, but I still want to blog about it. Although, I don't think I will still be able to blog about it in detail.

It's a swimming party, so obviously, we just basked under the sun and swim swim swim! And because swimming alone is boring, we played frisbee in the pool, jumped in the pool and played this wrestling game whatever you call it. Basta it's a 2-on-2 game, and the other sits on his/her partner's shoulder tapos tulakan sila ng opponent. Haha. But the most enjoyable thing we did was backflipping! Hahaha. It took me a lot of convincing before my cousins were able to make me do it. I was so afraid I might hit my head on the gutter.

Because we are a family of good cooks and food lovers (in embarrassing terms, eating is our favorite past time), a family gathering like this won't be complete without food. Haha.

I'm running out of words to say, so let's proceed to the photos!

First photo: Grammies! Nanay Lina and Nanay Senang

Evryone's favorite tita, Tita Marisse :)

Kakatanggal pa lang ng shirt, backflip agad! Haha

Kuya LJ doing the backflip

Wooooo! Splaaaaaash!

The birthday celebrant, Tita Lily!

Thank God I brought my 50mm with me! Lovely portraits. I'm glad Ninang Lily liked her photos. :)

Fooooooood!

I think I'm adjusting my bikini top in this photo. Haha

Tasha, Rejean and Clarisse

Rejean and Tasha

Cacha siblings (minus Tita Connie because she doesn't want to swim and Tita Mabelle because she's in CDO :( )

I wish I was part of this photo. /sigh

Clarisse and Rejean doing the backflip

Favorite photos:

Still Water

"Can I fly my plane in the pool?"

Splash!

Thank God Tita Lily organized this party. I nearly thought my summer 2011 will consist of staying at home, hanging out at cousin's place and reading books. We even thought the Saraos won't make it. Thank God they decided to come. Fun, fun day with Mom's side of the family! Although we weren't able to hang out with our other cousins, it was still fun. All the back aches and sun burns were worth it!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2011-04-28T20:17:00.010+08:00

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
Started: April 21, 2011
Finished: April 28, 2011

I knew about this book through someone I was following on Tumblr. I have a thing for long titles and when I read the title, I knew I was going to like the novel.

As proclaimed by Christopher (protagonist and "writer" of the book) and as categorized by Wikipedia (I don't really care if you judge me for using Wikipedia as a reference.), the book is a "Murder Mystery Novel" (refer to Chapter 7 if you have the book). Well, it is a murder mystery of sorts.

The story is written in the first-person perspective of Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old boy who describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties’ living in Swindon, Wiltshire. Although Christopher's condition within the autism spectrum is not stated explicitly within the novel, indeed, the words autism or Asperger's are not used by Christopher at all (source)

Seeing things in Christopher's point of view was a very interesting reading experience for me. In fact, there are so many things to love about the book. I like how Christopher, despite his mental illness/behavioral problems, is very ambitious and demonstrates great confidence in himself and in his ability.

It's a really good read and as clever as how the chapters are in prime numbers. Since I've been reading the novel through my phone and in PDF, I decided to copy-paste my favorite lines to notepad so I can share them here.

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them (Chapter 19)
I wondered whether Mrs. Shears had told the police that I had killed Wellington and whether, when the police found out that she had lied, she would go to prison. Because telling lies about people is called slander. (Chapter 23)
The second main reason is that people often talk using metaphors. These are examples of metaphors
I laughed my socks off.
He was the apple of her eye.
They had a skeleton in the cupboard.
We had a real pig of a day.
The dog was stone dead. (Chapter 29)
Mother used to say that it meant Christopher was a nice name because it was a story about being kind and helpful, but I do not want my name to mean a story about being kind and helpful. I want my name to mean me. (Chapter 29)
Father was standing in the corridor. He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me. (Chapter 31)
I said that I wasn't clever. I was just noticing how things were, and that wasn't clever. That was just being observant. Being clever was when you looked at how things were and used the evidence to work out something new. (Chapter 47)
I think people believe in heaven because they don't like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don't like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish. (Chapter 61)
I think I would make a very good astronaut.
To be a good astronaut you have to be intelligent and I'm intelligent. You also have to understand how machines work and I'm good at understanding how machines work. You also have to be someone who would like being on their own in a tiny spacecraft thousands and thousands of miles away from the surface of the earth and not panic or get claustrophobia or homesick or insane. And I like really little spaces, so long as there is no one else in them with me. (Chapter 83)
Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems, and these problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer at the end. And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers at the end. I know he meant this because this is what he said. (Chapter 101)
And this shows that intuition can sometimes get things wrong. And intuition is what people use in life to make decisions. But logic can help you work out the right answer. (Chapter 101)
...because loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth. (Chapter 137)
Because time is not like space. (Chapter 193)
And this is why I like timetables, because they make sure you don't get lost in time. (Chapter 193)
A thing is interesting because of thinking about it and not because of being new. (Chapter 223)

I hope I didn't reveal so much about the book through all those passages.

I just love this book that it's already in my list of favorites. Mark Haddon didn't win the Best First Book award on the 2004 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for nothing. He actually has another book, and I'm definitely going to read it.

Just because I'm a little OC when it comes to book covers, here's a link to the different editions of the book: http://www.markhaddon.com/editions.htm

To top it all off, I'm leaving you with an illustration of one of Christopher's thoughts.
(I found this while looking for a photo of the book cover)

Recent Acquisitions: 04252011

2011-04-27T16:30:00.010+08:00

March 25, 2011 Shoppping Day

It's been a long time since I last went shopping. I've been asking Mom to accompany me but she's always busy. I was thankful when one day, I woke up and she told me we can finally go.

I'm not really into expensive brands because whenever I shop, I always spend my own money regardless if I'm with Mom or any close relative. I don't like asking my parents for money to by my wants. I only ask money for my needs. Which is why I told Mom to go thrift shopping with me. Gah, it's been a long time since I last when ukay (and God knows how much I miss it). Fortunately, I have a mother who enjoys thrift shopping the way I do. Heehee.

All in all, these are what I bought:

Now, let's go into detail.
Casual Tops

Blouses

The blouse on the right would go really well with the blue skirt (next photo). Instant bohemian look!

Skirts

The day wasn't spent on thrift shopping alone. I heard that our family (Mom's side) will go swimming. So I decided to look for a new bikini.

The colorful swimsuit caught my eye because of it's yummy neon colors. The blue one was intentionally for my sister. But it didn't fit her nicely so I ended up having it. Yay!

My shopping won't be complete without buying accessories.

It was so unusual that I only bought one ring. Another unusual thing is that I bought earrings. Haha. (About this photo: This was the hardest to post-process. I hope it looks fine on your computer screens.)

I was about to pay when I saw this softball keychain on the rack near the counter. Suddenly, I miss playing softball. /sigh

The football earphones Tita Bubut gave me isn't working anymore. So I made it a point to buy one. I ended up buying on wholesale — three for me, two for my sister and one for Mom.

I'm currently using the earphones in the middle (white one with left and right signs). Fact: Those left and right signs were interchanged. Haha.

I've always wanted a screen/LCD protector for Karlos. But I was almost running out of money. Thank God I was with Mom! She paid for it but I told her I'll pay her back when we get home.

That was a really tiring day. My legs and thighs hurt from all the walking. My weariness brought me into thinking that I bought a lot when in fact, there isn't much.

TMI: I had a hard time deciding if I should post-process the photos or not. Thank God for the internet people. They were so helpful! But my drama~ didn't end there. It was so hard for me to post-process because even if I was using the same Photoshop action for all the photos, I can't get them to look like each other. When I finished processing the photos, I thought of doing a test viewing on my netbook and on my sister's laptop. The colors look so messed up and it's annoying me. So I really do hope my photos look fine on your screens. But I'm also hoping that most of you are reading my blog with matte screens.

Back and Forth and Back

2011-04-19T19:09:00.007+08:00

See, I told ya! I'm fickle-minded.

I've been tweeting days ago about this "blogging decision" that I've been thinking over. It stirred my mind for days because I can't finalize my decision. The blogging decision I'm talking about is if I should go back to Blogspot.

I've been blogging in Wordpress for two months (IKR) when one day, it hit me that I'm starting to not like Wordpress (I'm talking about the .com, not .org). Don't get me wrong, I like writing (I mean, typing) in Wordpress' posting format because it's so smooth like yeah. In Tagalog, swabe. But it sucks on most parts. (I won't go into detail anymore.)

I weighed all the components, compared and contrasted the two blogging platforms. It was so hard for me to decide. As in! But in the end, I decided to go back to where I started. So...

HELLO, BLOGSPOT! WE MEET AGAIN.

And to my readers (Akala mo marami eh. Pero sana meron, kahit less than five masaya na ako dun. Haha), sana hindi kayo nahilo sa palipat-lipat ko ng blogging platform. I know that this time, I'll be able to stick with this one.

Cheers!

P.S. Since I set my Wordpress blog to private already, I manually imported my posts there so you can still read them here. That's six blog posts plus one more that I just posted (not this post).
Enjoy backreading! :D

Floral Prints in Mom's Closet

2011-04-19T18:13:00.012+08:00

Floral Prints in Mom's Closet | April 18, 2011

Yesterday, I was about to take my usual afternoon nap. But I can't get myself to sleep so I decided to "raid" my Mom's baul. Joke lang, walang baul ang Mama ko. Haha. But she has a cabinet of her old clothes, bedsheets and other fabric-made items that we don't use anymore.

First thing that caught my eye is this silk skirt with floral print on it. It's actually a long skirt so I was a little hesitant with it. But I tried it on and I loved it on me. I wish I taller, though so I was able to pull it off better.

I remembered Mom showed me two floral dresses before. I looked for it and I found it! (First and third garments)

Closer look at the prints of the two dresses.

I'm actually thinking of turning those two dresses into long skirts instead.

I was really unhappy with how the photos turned out. Thank Adobe for Photoshop. Haha.
Since it's summer already, I decided to post-process the photos by color grading it with warm colors. I just hope it's not too warm to stare at. Or is it?

Gah, I miss going ukay. I was convincing Mom the other day to go thrift shopping with me. Earlier today, she told me we might go this Saturday or some time next week.

Four Sundays Ago

2011-03-27T20:05:00.002+08:00

Four Sundays ago in random photographs | March 6, 2011

Lotte Crunky Strawberry that I absolutely love.

My kisslock Emily the Strange coin purse that I started using since I left my wallet and Hello Kitty coin purse at Tasha's house.

Azkals baller that my sister gave me.

Philippine flag printed on the other side of the baller.

My most recent UST Quadricentennial baller. I like how my faculty's logo is beside Architecture's. <3

I haven't been taking photographs lately because I've been so busy with school works. Thankfully, it's almost vacation. This means it's my time to focus on photography and go beyond still life photography.

In a slightly related note, I put up a photoblog on Tumblr. I can't believe it's one month old already with 19 photographs, as of now. If you like my photographs, kindly follow rcmrny.tumblr.com :)

2nd Philippine International Pyromusical Competition: China and France

2011-03-27T19:38:00.009+08:00

When Tita Maris told Mama that another Pyromusical event will be held, Mom immediately told my sister and I that she wants to watch even just one of the five nights. Studying at a university where fireworks display is a staple for every occasion and event, I didn't feel any excitement when Mum told us her plan to watch.

I have class on Saturdays and school works are piled up in my desk but I figured that it won't be a mortal sin to relax and find entertainment amidst all the busyness.

We watched on February 26, 2011. Tita Maris and my cousin Tasha tagged along. It was Tasha's first time to watch a Pyromusical so I know she enjoyed it.

We decided to reserve seats at Coffee Bean since Tita Maris, who is an expert when it comes to these things, said that it's best to watch it from there. So we did!

I've always wanted to take photographs of random people. So while we were waiting for our reservation to be confirmed, I took photos of the people inside the coffee shop.

We strolled around the mall to pass time out. Also, we decided to eat dinner early since it would be hard to look for somewhere to eat around at 6PM.

More pictures when we got back at Coffee Bean! This time, we're outside already.

Tasha's Domo Bag

Mom

Her boyfriend left her for a while to buy nachos.

We were not yet in the mood for coffee so we decided to buy frappes instead.
Caramel for me!

Tasha looking tired while having a drink.

Before the show started, I spotted this Korean with a silly sticker on his Mac.

Finally, the Pyromusical begun. There were two countries to perform. China came first.
My first shots were really bad because I was still experimenting with what settings to use.

I think I got the right settings on these. Needs a lot of improvement, though.

So Tanduay was one of the sponsors. HI!!!

There are times when I want my photographs to have this bluish tone. Which is why I like how this photo turned out. I also like how those white spots seemed like fireflies. <3

Up, up...

...and awaaaaay!

So there's this lamp post that ruined our sight and my photographs. Tssss.

China's entry was really beautiful. There wasn't any dull moment at all. It's just so spectacular. It totally lit up the dark sky.

I was already low on battery after China's show so I decided to went inside to charge.

Being a photographer who is always itching to shoot, I took my battery out of the charger for several times. The socket was beneath this corkboard that has photos of this certain program called Kythe.

Hopefully, I will be able to become a volunteer to any program similar to this.

So while waiting for my battery to get fully charged, this cute little girl (girl on left) approached me and started asking about my camera.

According to how I understood her American accent, her name's Andrea Schimmer (sp?). That's Andrea and her sister whose name I forgot.

Next on the line-up is France.
For some reason, the settings I used when China performed doesn't fit well with France's fireworks display.

I got bored with the firework shots so I took advantage of my 50mm.
Bokeeeeeh!

I didn't enjoy France as much as China. It was a bit boring for me but I must say that their fireworks display went well with their choice of music.

China's entry was really grande! While France's was more of a relaxing type of fireworks display. Obviously, I liked China better.

The show ended at around 10PM. We have to commute but there were no more cabs available at the Taxi bay. So we had to ride a bus. It was Tasha's first! What a memorable night for her. Hahaha
As for my Mom, I think she enjoyed it a lot. I'm sure we'll be watching it again next year.

GaleENG’G: The Engineering Faculty Showdown 2011

2011-03-08T22:23:00.001+08:00

This post is soooooo overdue. I was actually discussing in my mind if I should still blog about it. But I thought that the output of bringing my heavy camera with me to a venue that's 15+mins. away from my school via commuting shouldn't be put to waste.

Before I officially start, here's a little story about why this blog post got so delayed:
Days after the event, I'm already set to putting up this post. But I was being OC so I searched around the internet for a digital version of the poster of the event. Apparently, I found none. Being the makulit girl that I am, I still searched around. But I still found nothing. So I resorted to taking a picture of the ticket which I did 10 days after the event.

I had second thoughts of going because the price of the ticket increased by 43%. LOL. I just had to do the computation, ok. But I'm thankful to have friends who spoil the tightwad side of me. That happens very seldom. But still. Hahaha.

I watched with my friends Justine, Lorraine, Louis, Gabby, Rellie and Jenina. It's our first time to watch the Faculty Showdown, except Louis.

We were seated at the upper box of the venue which resulted to boring photos of the show. But I'm thankful we watched the show from that distance because we were able to see everything onstage. Yun nga lang, not up close.

Since all of the show photos posted here look dull because of the insipid stage lights, here's the colorful ticket.

Louis' ticket. Thanks for lending!

We had to wait for more than an hour before the show starts, Filipino time talaga. Tsk.

The audience while waiting. Chos! I took this picture in the middle of the show. But this is most likely how they look like while waiting. Hehe.

The Faculty showdown has been a tradition in the Engineering department that takes place during the Engineering week, which is usually during the first week of February. It is when the different departments of the faculty compete to showcase their talents besides all the maths, sciences, computations, technical designing and other Engineering-related activities. The Faculty showdown is the highlight of the Engineering week. This is when students are able to watch their professors perform on stage and (as I quote my professor), "make fool of themselves."

This year's theme was "Glee." So the faculty members we're teamed with selected students of their department.

Chemical Engineering Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

ECE was a real showcase of talents!

Information Systems Department

Engineering Sciences Department

The second man from the right is Mr. Acqui. In fairness, nag-g-gym si sir! Haha.

Their production was my favorite. It was really entertaining!

Electrical Engineering Department

That's ENGward Cullen and EE-lla

Mga Taong Lobo (Lame joke for a name but made me laugh a bit. Haha)

I swear, they were really funny! Thumbs up to the crew, especially to the narrator.

Their production was off the theme but, it's all good!

Mecahnical Engineering Department

Computer Science Department

It's my department so I know almost all the professors performing.
So this is the reason why Ms. Acula invited us to watch. Bida pala siya! Hahaha.

Mr. Delfinado (second row, first man from the left) looked cute on stage. He was so full of energy!

Information Technology Department

ECE won 1st Place this year. ES got the 2nd place while EE won 3rd. Those there were my favorites. No doubt because they were all really good and entertaining.

According to Mrs. Lopez (my IT103 prof), CS got the 6th place. Ok lang yan! But I really think CS, IT and IS would do better if they weren't split into three (from being one as the ICS Department). I heard ICS was the overall champion last year. Sayang!

But it's not about winning, but what's important is we were able to have fun and enjoy the show. It's a good break from all the stress numbers and programming languages are giving me. Haha.

Unrelated note:
Lesson after viewing this post: I will never resize my photos to 1000x667. :(

Para Kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-Ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa Atin)

2011-02-15T13:20:00.001+08:00

Para Kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-Ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa Atin)
ni Ricky Lee
Started: February 13, 2011
Finished: February 15, 2011

The book came out two years ago. I knew about this book when one of my Blogger friends made a list of the first books he read on 2010. It didn't get my interest that time. But look at me now, finished the book in not more than a week and is about to do a review about it. Haha!

This is my second book of the year. I could have finished this in three sittings if I wasn't very busy with school works and cleaning my room. I like how the long, quirky title tells us a lot about the book, but still vague.

For his first novel, the award-winning scriptwriter has opted to deal with the most universal of all themes: love. Lee, who knows the Filipino reader and audience like the back of his hand, says that the book is a sure winner with its theme, because almost everybody likes falling in love.

The novel illustrates the construction, manifestation, and mystery of love. Using a formula he himself devised, Lee reveals that four out of five people who fall in love eventually get broken-hearted. Which explains the novel’s full title: “Para Kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa Atin).” (Sunday Inquirer Magazine, December 21, 2008)

The blurbs written on the cover of the book weren't lying. Bb. Joyce Bernal's was my favorite. I agreed when she said:

Buong-buo ang mga character - nakikita ko na pati ang itsura nila, ang suot nila, pati mga location alam ko na. Parang nanonood ako ng movie...

Irene's story is my favorite. It was really cute. Actually, it's the only story that got me kilig. Hehehe.

The imagery, the humour, the flow of the story are all very remarkable. I marked some lines that I surely will read over and over. One of my favourite quotation is:

...hindi mo puwedeng mahalin ang isang tao nang hindi mo minamahal ang hilaga, silangan, timog at kanluran ng kanyang mga paniniwala. Kapag nagmahal ka’y dapat mong tanggapin bawat letra ng kanyang birth certificate. Kasama na doon ang kanyang libag, utot at bad breath. Pero me limit. Pantay-pantay ang ibinibigay na karapatan sa lahat ng tao upang lumigaya, o masaktan, o magpakagago, pero kapag sumara na ang mga pinto, nawasak na ang mga puso, nawala ang mga kaluluwa at ang bilang ay umabot na sa zero, goodbye na.

Mama told me she'll try to read it when she's not busy. She would tell me this whenever I recommend a good book to her but she never read any. Haha!

I'm looking forward to reading Ricky Lee's "Aswang." I've read the excerpt and I think I'm going to like the book. The fact that it's a political satire excites me.

TMI: After months, I'm back to reading novels in print! Yay! Honestly, I can't remember the last time I bought a book. This one's a good start — Filipino novel and something about love (timely 'cause it's love month). Can't wait to read more books in print. But first, I have to save more moolah. Haha!

Quadricentennial Thanksgiving Mass and Quadri Fiesta

2011-02-07T13:27:00.004+08:00

January 28, 2011 at the UST Grandstand and Open Field - A Concelebrated Mass was held that was held by the Papal Legate led by Zenon, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Grocholewski.

The people I attended the mass with. L-R: Iona, Justine, Gabby, Louis, Jia (and Jankiel, John and Rellie who aren't in the picture). Mama also attended the mass, but she was with her college friends.

The lovely Iona Chiu.

Iona's mesmerizing brown eyes.

My stressed out look in my college uniform. Ugh...

Gabby and Justine

Jia and Iona seemed to have a serious conversation.

Fake tiger tat I saw worn by a student. It was drew with a pen!

I was really itching to take a photograph of the Papal Legate. So I asked Jia to come with me to this part where they will walk to the stage.

All types of imaging device. Which is yours?

My 1611th shot. Coolioooooo!

A photo of Pope Benedict XVI's video message taken by Mama's friend.

Lumina Pandit

Spread the Light

This is not a rice-in-a-box box. Hahaha

I love this shot. The fact that it's an accidental shot made it tres cool-er!
He's not Zenon Cardinal Grocholweski, though. But he's the cardinal who's very approachable and friendly. I even get to hold his hand when he was in the car already! Sweeeeet!

Iona playing with the candles.

I'm guessing they are alumni because they are in their formal clothes. They asked Iona to take their picture.

Of course, stage lights.

After the Mass was the Quadri Fiesta. The faculty that I belong to (Faculty of Engineering) was designated at Beato Angelico. Took photos while we were in line.

One of my close friends, Jia. She usually wouldn't want her picture taken, but she was nice that night.

Check out John's eyebrows.

Jia had to go home before minutes after the mass. We had a feast consisting of pork lechon, lechon baka and roast chicken c/o Max's. Busog!

Mama went out with her friends somewhere in Timog so I had to stay at Louis' place after we ate. We got home at 1:30 in the morning already. Thank God classes were suspended the next day!

Quadricentennial Grand Program: Countdown to 400

2011-02-07T11:33:00.008+08:00

January 27, 2011 at the UST Grandstand and Open Field - The Royal, Pontifical university of the Philippines had it's countdown party to 400 years.

Here is the list of performers:

Gary Valenciano
Sarah Geronimo
John Lapus
Robert Seña
Air Dancers
Hotlegs
Manouevers
Archie Alemaña
Ramon Agusan Dancers
Apple Chiu
Jamie Rivera
Aiza Seguerra
Itchyworms
Erik Santos
Mr. Fu
UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe
Salinggawi Alumni
UST Action SIngers
UST Orchestra
Gigger Boys
Gab Valenciano
Piolo Pascual (Unveiling of Quatrommondial)
Charlene Gonzales (Unveiling of Quatrommondial)

I spent the night with Louis, Lorraine, Gabby, John, Joie and Jankiel. It's sad that our two other friends, Justine and Jia, weren't able to come. Justine wasn't allowed while Jia's grandmother passed away earlier that day.

We missed more than half of the whole program. I kind of regret it because the funny Mr. Fu was there. And I really want to watch him live. But I think the whole program is being showed at Tan Yan Kee. It wouldn't be convenient for me to watch there, so I hope they'll release a copy of it.

(Because I don't know how to change the "Read More" tag) Photos under the cut!

The unveiling of QuattroMondial - a ten-meter-high structure made by artist Ramon Orlina, a UST alumnus.

Piolo Pascual and Charlene Gonzales, together with the two other QuattroMondial models, Rev. Fr. Rector Rolando V. de la Rosa and Monina Orlina, witnessed the unveiling of the sculpture located at the park right behind the historic Main Building.

Miscellaneous shots

Fountain shots. I need a lot of practice on this!

The photo that made my friends ask me to take their picture. Heehee

The students watching at Plaza Mayor.

The oldest UST almna. If I heard it right, she's 99 years old already!

We watched a bit of Mr. Fu's segment then we had our dinner at this barbecue carinderia in P. Noval.

According to Lorraine, this is "The Perfect Cover for the Perfect Magazine" But according to John and Jankiel this is the "Sipag at Tiyaga" photo. Hahaha.

John's devil-ish smile according to Jankiel.

The first picture na silang dalawa lang. Hehehe

Thanks to Louis for taking this picture of Lorraine and I

Cute version. Haha

Barbecue meal for Php55! If you'll eat this, I suggest you don't order for extra rice. Kahit half lang, wag na. Hehe.

The giant balloon that's so tempting to pop. Hehehe. I want to have one of the two white balloons.

Fact: I have a fascination on concert stages and stage lights.

RJ Jimenez singing his self-composed song "Miss Kita 'Pag Tuesday."

Sarah Geronimo

Gary V. It was really nice of him to even share a story to the Thomasian Community.

College of Commerce performing their winning piece at the Quadracentenniel Cheermania

Another stage photo. Please don't judge me, but I really like bokeh shots.

Parade of Colors with the different flags of all the colleges and faculties of the university.

3, 2, 1...

FIREWOOOOOOORKS!

I think I'm getting better at fireworks photography.

Up, up and awaaaaay!

There's a fanpage in Facebook that says "UST: The Fireworks-Capital University" I think I agree with it. I think the fireworks lasted for 15mins. Shorter compared to the precious firework shows in UST but very beautiful.

Picture-taking muna before we go home. Haha

Louis and Lorraine looking really cute. Heehee

I'm still having a hard time taking photographs at night. But I guess I'm starting to get the hang of it. I just need to read more about taking photographs at night, and of course, more practice.

Unrelated: I had a hard time inserting photos. But next time, I already know what to do. This post consumed 12MB. Cheers to 3GB capacity! :D