furoshiki and a Pinoy Christmas

Yes, I'm feeling Christmasy already. 🎄

Let me tell you about these little furoshiki (cloth-wrapped) gifts, and why I'm doing this in the middle of November. Hint: It's probably because I'm Filipino.

diy: a bouquet of dried (paper) flowers

It seems dried flowers are here to stay, in more ways than one.

This is one of those trends that I wasn't really into at the beginning, but eventually got my interest a full year later. (It's like having an Ariana Grande song in your head: you find yourself singing it right when a different new single tops the charts.)

Lucky for me, dried florals and dried grass are still fresh in 2021, judging by the interior design articles that still call it the year's biggest trend. I guess people are still stuck at home and in need of low-maintenance coziness to fill their void.

So I'm halfway on-board, convinced that I want dead flowers in my home somewhere, but a few major peeves stopped me. First, store-bought dried flower bouquets are pricey, and second, most of them are frickin' imported! Like who spends that much money and burns that much fossil fuel just to transport lifeless plants from Austria?

"Fuck that, I'll make my own," I said, reaching for my stack of old brown paper bags.

Here's how that went.

a plastic-free Christmas!

For Christmas 2020, I challenged myself to decorate minimally and with as little plastic as possible. Some black and white paper here, a little snipping there, and ta-da -- this simple, starry mobile display.

Yes, these are all paper stars and 'baubles' that I just jazzed up with ribbons and lace.

Now adding to my list of things to be grateful for: Pinterest. 😁 Here are links to the DIY tutorials that I used as starting guides and inspiration. Some of these are non-English blogs, but you'll get their instructions with or without Google Translate:

• Eight-pointed paper star tutorial via Urban Comfort
• Another eight-pointed paper star tutorial via Gathering Beauty
• Paper Christmas balls
• Interlocked 2D Christmas tree via ShowHome Netherlands
• 
  

Happy plastic-free holidays!

37 not-quite love stories in film

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of hugot. Those trite movie lines, song lyrics, and social media posts, supposedly capturing the many hues of love and despair, have devolved into saccharine ramblings, terrible attempts at wordplay, and superficial sales hooks catering to the Wattpad teen demographic. Instead of expressing profound emotions and deep reflections, hugot now trivializes them. Annoyingly.

So with Valentine's Day now rearing its bright red head, I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of pandering hugot flicks as well as the subsequent Facebook posts quoting lines from such flicks ad nauseam. Or, more likely, I'll be holed up at home with the boyfriend, watching a non-romantic film as our form of protest to the culture of mush.

You with me? Here's my list of films that look like romantic love stories but aren't really. At first glance, they may seem like the usual boy-meets-girl BS, but then they take you somewhere else. They pan out to be masterful works of art, beautiful explorations of the human condition, colored by the many hues of love and despair.

5 Myths About Zero-Waste Living, Debunked

I recently saw a Facebook album showing tips for a zero-waste or low-waste lifestyle. It had a lot of really good ideas, but there were also suggestions in there that didn’t quite sit well with some people.

For instance, the post suggested that to lessen your buying of hygiene products with wasteful packaging, you could make your own toothpaste and deodorant(!). I know a few friends who cringed at that. It’s not that do-it-yourself toothpaste is completely gross; it’s that some of us have non-negotiable hygiene requisites that just can’t be sensibly replaced by homemade stuff.

Ideas like these, while doable for some, are a turn-off for others. They’re misconceptions that prevent people from even considering any waste-reducing change in their lives.

Let’s take a realistic look at some common myths about zero-waste living. Hopefully, the truth behind these misconceptions will change a few minds. :)

Days Like This: scramble some eggs and listen to a song

There are Days Like This: You wake up and the weight of the day rushes on top of you like a flash-flood. The anxieties you've been pushing to the back of your mind, the rent, the bills, the love lost, the pains you thought you've left behind. Sometimes, it's not even that -- sometimes, it's just a heavy nothingness. You wake up and you can't get your body to move.

I've struggled with Days Like This for years, and while they still incapacitate me every now and then, I've learned two important things.

One, I can outlast them. They're just days. Sometimes, just hours. Over and over, I've found that if I hang on, if I let myself survive for just a little longer, I'll open my eyes after a while and the weight will have lifted. I just need to outlast it -- perhaps with a friend, with a book, or yes, with a song.

Two, I can scramble some eggs.

Let me explain the eggs.

70+ movies that messed with my head (or at least made me think)

I absolutely love films that offer some mental exercise. I also love lists. So here, a list of films that offer some mental exercise -- whether they're mystery, sci-fi, romance, or even comedy; whether they're good or bad or ugly. I've added my own amateur comments for fellow amateur viewers. :) Also, despite its length, this list is far from definitive -- Shutter Island isn't even on it. With your recommendations, who knows, I might make a Part 2.

Here goes. My top three:

1. Coherence
• Quick synopsis: A dinner party takes a turn for the bizarre when a comet passes close to Earth.
• Keywords: Schrodinger's Theory, doppelgangers
• Quick review: This neat little low-budget gem is easily one of my favorites in the mind-fuck category. In turns cool and claustrophobic, chilling and exciting, it poses both mind-boggling questions and moral dilemmas that last long after viewing. Supreme goosebumps delivered.
2. Primer
• Quick synopsis: A group of friends invent a time machine but soon face consequences that change their friendship and their lives.
• Keywords: time travel, friendship, secrets
• Quick review: Another low-budget film that has become a personal favorite, mostly for the sweet, sweet complexity of it. I really have a thing for movies that make me want to view it a second or third time (with pen and paper in handy just to make a chart of the plot) – and with this one, a second viewing is definitely required.
3. The Prestige
• Quick synopsis: Two competing magicians try to beat each other with escalating tricks that affect their personal lives.
• Keywords: magic, rivals, love
• Quick review: This is my favorite plot-twist movie so far. Sleek, simple, yet effective story-telling, great acting from a great cast, and refreshing plot devices that are far from overused.
  The rest of these titles are in no particular order.
  

quick getaway: Sagpulon Falls

One of the best things about living in the Philippines is that you're never far from places that take your breath away. You get spectacular sunsets right outside your window, inviting beaches by the side of the road, and rivers and lakes and waterfalls just waiting after a little hike.

Knowing that, we often skip the more tourist-ready destinations and explore a place we've never even heard of before. We like to get a little lost.

Thankfully, we don't have to be so far away from home (nor break our budgets) to wander. From our city hideouts in Cagayan de Oro, we can just hop on a bus to somewhere like Sagpulon Falls in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.

the quiet side of Cebu

Like thousands of other travelers, we went one summer to the province of Cebu expecting to bask on white beaches and sip chic little cocktails. Okay, we didn't exactly plan that, but at least one beach trip to the island of Mactan -- which is crawling with hotels, resorts, and foreign tourists -- was on the itinerary.

Let's just say that "beach trip" didn't go so well. In summary: We got kinda lost and spent the whole afternoon commuting through half the island. Getting lost like that was actually nice, but we wanted to be somewhere more... chilled.

And we found the perfect chill. Not at the beach, not at a resort, and definitely not in an urbanized area like Mactan.

South was the way to go.

city on the verge

There is something fascinating about living in a city that is just on the verge of growing up. You get to watch the buildings grow taller than the trees, the night lights grow brighter than those from the fireflies you used to watch as a kid.

The river that runs through Cagayan de Oro has always throbbed with the promise of the city's booming, but now, it glows, too, with the lights of the young bridges and the new parks. The soil that flanks it has turned to concrete -- an urban jungle where old meets new: motorelas sharing the road with SUVs, typewriter services at the street corner just across the computer store.

if you must do one thing in Camiguin...

To put it bluntly: get off your butt. J

Sure, you may be looking forward to unwinding in this little piece of paradise. Or, as most tourists do, to hop in a van and go on a road trip around the island, stopping by the usual attractions like the Old Church ruins and the hot and cold and soda springs. Or, as most tourists also do, to beach-bum on White Island or its more ecological sister, Mantigue Island.

But would you really rather be just another tourist when you could see and do and experience so much more? As a born-and-raised Camiguingnon, I commonly get people asking for advice for their planned trip to the island. There are plenty of tips any islander could give you, but here’s my biggest one:

The known tourist spots are a must, of course, especially if it’s your first time visiting. But don’t fall asleep in the van! Open those dull tinted windows and don’t hesitate to get out LOTS of times. Camiguin has plenty of underrated sites and snippets of local culture just a bit off the road, and discovering these makes your trip a hundred times richer.

Take your time to walk around, commute a bit, talk to locals, and match the laidback-but-eager pace of the island. Just. Be. There.

Ready to soak it up? Here are my favorite non-conventional Camiguin spots to visit… and then some.

notes to strangers

For Valentine’s Day, I'm going to give out a special note. Or 12 of them. And I'm not going to give them to my boyfriend, or to my crush(es), or even to my closest girl friends whom I love from the bottom of my heart.

I'm going to give these notes to you.

if these stone walls could talk... (pt. 2)

Part 2 of a photographic collection of quiet, time-tested structures. See the first part here.

The interior of Our Lady of Assumption Church in Dauis, Bohol, with frescoes dating as far back as 1916. This is one of the churches currently undergoing restoration after suffering from the 2013 Bohol earthquake.

if these stone walls could talk...

Churches, dungeons, cafes -- there are few things more humbly steeped in history than these structures, unexpectedly standing on some bustling street corner. These places of magic, if they don't captivate you with their time-tested beauty, will make you wonder about the stories of old witnessed by their quiet, enduring walls.

The facade of the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral bears the inscription "Tibi cordi tuo immaculato concredimus nos ac consecramus (We consecrate to your immaculate heart and entrust to you (Mary) for safekeeping)."

the life-changing poetry of William Stafford

I once chanced upon a Tumblr blog called "You Reading This... Be Ready" and was so taken by its blog name that I googled it to see if it was a reference to something. And what a something the reference turned out to be. It was a poem by William Stafford, an American poet whose works are described as pacifist.

Like many poets, Stafford wrote about a spectrum of themes, including the western US and the environment. But the poems that captured me most are his grand explorations of personal concepts such identity, human potential, and the future. Using everyday words, these poems have built for me wide-open windows into my self, with visions so magnificent, I can't help but be inspired.

Here, my five favorites from William Stafford:

a letter to my pre-graduation self

Dear self who’s about to graduate,

Not to be vain or anything, but congratulations! You experienced the bone-crushing pressure, the sleep-deprived nights, and the psychosis-inducing anxieties of tertiary education, but you survived. You struggled, you cried, you commando-crawled through it all, and now, you’re here! You’re victorious! You’re free!

Right?

carousel of sacred places

Free-versing to start the year with. >>>

i hope you don't mind my holiday recycling (wrappers, that is)

I forgot to buy giftwrappers this year.

Fortunately, I tend to keep the ones I get. And not just giftwrappers, but paper packaging, plastic bags, brown envelopes, even tags from various stores.

So here, a Starbucks brown bag meets a wrapper of a gift I received in... oh, I don't know, maybe 2011. :D

No re-gifting, just re-wrapping.

Oh, and happy holidays, everyone! :)

escape: Samal Island

Let's make this clear right off the bat: I'm a cheapo traveler. That means you can tuck me in the corner of a jampacked jeepney and I won't complain, as long as it's much cheaper than an air-conditioned van.

But that also means I will rummage through 50 pages of Google search results just to find that perfectly priced getaway when I need it. And that, friends, is how I got to stay in the famous Samal Island for less than Php4,000.

the camouflage man

This is not my poem, but the sentiment in it reflects mine -- and maybe yours.