I Keep Coming Back to Dagupan!

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Last week, I went to Dagupan City. My main purpose is to attend the wedding of Ruby, one of my closest friends in high school. I admit feeling lazy to travel by bus again since I want to just work on my laptop the whole week, but this is an important event in a friend’s life that I shouldn’t miss.

Lost in Tebeng but still smiling =)

Together with Maire (another close high school friend of mine), we rode the 9AM Five Star Bus trip from Cubao to Dagupan. I stayed in their place and it is my first time to visit her house in YEARS. I am quite surprised that there’s a lot of CCTV cameras around! I guess it’s for safety purposes since they have some apartment spaces for rent on the third floor. This seems common in apartments like Toronto Apartments for Rent. One time, I got caught dancing via CCTV 0_o Still thinking if I should upload that part or not =))

Anyway, I want to share what I did in Dagupan last week. I am planning to write about the different establishments I’ve been to in Senyorita and will write a longer entry about Ruby’s wedding soon.

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The Music of Alessandra de Rossi

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Fil-Italian actress Alessandra de Rossi doesn’t need to prove herself in terms of acting. With a number of Best Actress & Best Supporting Actress awards and nominations under her belt, she is truly one of the most versatile performers in the Philippine showbiz industry. She is one of the few stars who can do mainstream and independent films at the same time. You always see her on TV either making the life of the protagonist as miserable as hell or she’ll make her life with her badet antics.

Alex de Rossi - Photo grabbed from http://misisdef.tumblr.com/

She is also a well-loved personality on Twitter (@msderossi) together with her Yaya. I guess the tag ‘Babaeng Bakla’ perfectly suits her. Playing the role of the street smart Bernadette in Legacy, it seems like she was able to pull of an antagonist role yet instead of despising her wrongdoings, you just can’t help but laugh and be endeared with her charm.

Anyway, did you know that Alessandra de Rossi is also a singer/composer?

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On Turning 25 and Other Concerns

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I am suffering from mild headache as I type this entry here in my ‘office’. I slept at 3AM, woke up at 12noon for lunch with my grandparents and went back to bed at 2PM. My supposed short nap was extended to four hours. I think oversleeping is the cause of this sudden headache of mine. I thought that a Jollibee meal and a dose of my favorite Iced Mocha can cure me. I guess I’m wrong.

Smooth-sailing at 25.Â

Heavy rain. I want to buy medicine, but the rain is making me lazy. I just finished a Mother’s Day post and the fact that I have a lot of travel-related backlogs makes me want to hit my head on the wall. How can I not blog about these wonderful memories from the past months?

Now that I am stuck here, I will just write and write and write whatever hits my head.

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Before I Turn 25

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It’s 10:40PM and I am seated at the top bunk of a dorm room with my travel buddies waiting for the time when I will officially turn 25.

Yikes. I am about to turn a year older and to be honest, I am just thankful with all the blessings. I want to write a very serious blog post now, but I just can’t especially with the fact that I am surrounded by my fun-loving friends.

Random photo with my beloved DFAT friends!

Anyway, I am here right now in Davao City – a place I consider special. I am a participant for the Davao Food Appreciation Tour (now on my 3rd consecutive year!) and I just arrived early morning today. While we were at the Agong House by Kublai Millan in Kapatagan this afternoon, I took some pictures and sat down while looking at the scenery. I remember my trips on the previous months – Ilocos Norte, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Chiang Mai, Bohol, Siquijor and South Korea. I met some wonderful people along my journey and learned a lot from it. There are some instances that reminds me of things ‘lacking’ in my life or shows some of the responsibilities I need to face in the future particularly in the family and career aspect.

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Dance With My Father

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Some girls turn sentimental whenever they hear this classic hit from Luther Vandross. To be honest, I only know the title of this song. I never bothered to read the lyrics nor look for the song on YouTube or any other music site.

Until that awkward moment came along.

In one of my recent trips, I shared an impromptu videoke session with some close friends of mine. I consider it as a spontaneous thing even if the machine was rented for the family to use. The presence of three friends made it a bit more special as we sing songs for the brokenhearted, opm favorites and even random pop songs of different generation. Still, I struggled to score a bit higher. Madaya ang videoke machine!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLuP-4ZEhOE&w=420&h=315]

You just realize the meaning of songs while reading the lyrics on the screen. A good friend of mine entered his next singing piece (he is the best singer among us – suko na kami!) and just like in any usual kantahan session, we were all eager to add our selected songs.

Now it is his turn to shine (again). Before singing his ballad song. He mentioned this:

“Hindi ako nakaka-relate sa kantang ito, pero alam ko yung isa d’yan oo” (I cannot relate to this song, but I know that one of you will).

*** AWKWARD MOMENT OF SILENCE***

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The Wrangler Road Trip Notes

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SIQUIJOR is one of the places in the Philippines that only a few people would dare to visit way back. Blame it on the media hype about the Balete tree and horror flicks with it as the prime location, it somewhat drove our kababayans away from this beautiful island.

Wrangler
Life is like a Wrangler Road Trip

I have to admit that I am one of those who would think twice to visit Siquijor, but I am truly curious about it. I’m lucky to have met Dylan, a travel blogger who was born and raised in Siquijor. I read some of his blog entries related to Siquijor and he narrated some stories about the beauty of his hometown when we met last December in Moalboal. I asked him if the stories about Siquijor were true. He told me that he doesn’t believe in such things and he only found out about the so-called legend when he saw the Halloween Special of Magandang Gabi, Bayan about the Balete Tree.

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My Favorite Lovi Poe Characters in Movies

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On March 14, the 28th Star Awards for Movies finally unveiled the list of winners. Mainstream flicks Asiong Salonga and In The Name of Love bagged a lot of awards. I’ve seen both films and I can say that the winners deserve the recognition especially to Aga Muhlach and Angel Locsin, who made me cry during their confrontation scene in the movie ‘In The Name of Love’.

Lovi Poe as Natasha Alcantara in GMA-7's Legacy

I would like to focus on the Best Supporting Actress winner though. She is no other than Lovi Poe! In this awards night alone, she was nominated in two categories: Best Actress for her role in My Neighbor’s Wife and Best Supporting Actress for the movie Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. She is nominated again in a different award-giving body for her role as Serafina in Temptation Island. Whew!

Right now, Lovi Poe is visible in GMA-7’s Primetime show ‘LEGACY’. Based on the write-ups and comments posted in different social networking sites, it seems like her portrayal as Natasha Alcantara is much loved by the viewers. I am hook to this series and I love how she delivers her lines as natural as possible.

We can conclude that 2011 was Lovi Poe’s year in terms of magazine pictorials and in mainstream movies. Mother Lily finally took the risk to shell out some money and launch Lovi as a mainstream movie actress. Last year, she appeared in five Regal-produced films: My Valentine Girls (uhm, that was an obligatory Vday movie for GMA), Temptation Island (where she stole the limelight from the supposedly more popular stars), My Neighbor’s Wife (sexy drama time!), Aswang (time to scare the kids!) and Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (where she bagged her new award). Prior to her current status in the biz, FPJ’s daughter appeared in indie films and I managed to watch majority of them. She is lucky to be given good roles and I will mention my Top 5 Favorite Lovi Poe Characters in Movies. Game? GAME!

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Inside a Four-Sided Room

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Last month, I slept in seven rooms comfortably with expectations that I’m about to experience something new when I wake up. Don’t you just love that feeling of anticipation everytime you travel?

It’s been weeks since I arrived home from my trip. I am trying my very best to catch up with the backlogs and I guess I am slowly but surely putting these experiences into words. I am very thankful with every opportunity that comes my way and I love that feeling of independence.

Electric Fan

Don't give up on me.

Right now, I am blogging from my room, seated at the bed and I kind of dislike the fact that I am thinking too much about various stuff. First, my sleeping pattern is ruined again. I tried to sleep a few hours ago, but I woke up when the electric fan started to make unnecessary noise. I can imagine it yelling the words “Fix me!” to me as I stare at it. I think this electric fan is the most loyal yet the most abused thing here in my room. I use it everyday yet I rarely clean it.

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Case of the Missing Scarf

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I remember clearly when this photo was taken. Behind me is a mystery man whom I’ve been following online since last year. We met in person during my first night in Siem Reap and I am still in awe up to this day that I finally met him. No, I am not in love with this person in a romantic way. I just felt like I found a big brother in him and he’s been giving me tips about traveling, blogging and life. He’s the man!

With the Mystery Man one morning at Siem Reap River

We were at the wet market of Siem Reap with a friend minutes before this photo was taken. I was scheduled to take the 8AM bus ride (Siem Reap-Bangkok) and I booked my ticket a night before. I wanted to go to the wet market to see a certain rare find there, but we failed to see it. We decided to just walk ’till we reach the Siem Reap River and to our guesthouse.

To cut the intro short, I ended up not taking the bus trip even if I made it just on time. I am aware that I just wasted $10, but I know that I will gain more knowledge and memories once I extend my stay for two more nights.

The mystery man handed me a scarf a night before my actual departure from Siem Reap. He told me that I can use the scarf on my upcoming trips. I am touched with this simple gesture. Ang sweet lang hehe.

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The Hard-Headed Bull

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“Ang tigas talaga ng ulo mo!”

I’ve heard that statement a lot of times. From my family, friends and those sincerely care about me. I may look like a pa-demure woman because of how I dress up or how I blog, but there is this side of me wherein I fight for what I believe in even if everything is doubtful about it. I am a bit of a rebel, but in a good way.

I am back here in Bangkok. It is my 11th day outside the Philippines and I am now exploring the city on my own. I am bound to go on a long trip somewhere in Thailand later and I am not even sure why I am so determined even if I only have enough money here. As in sakto lang for meals and minimal expenses.

I want to explore some parts of Thailand while I still can but I also do miss the company of my friends who are now in Siem Reap. It’s just that I feel the need to move and start doing things on my own.

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