this week so far...

one: morning commute were polar opposites. yesterday it looked a lot like this.

i can only see half the wheel but i know thats a camaro on the bottom right.

i know it doesnt look too bad but a 15 minute drive turned into an hour drive because it was snowing the whole time - i was on the road from 8AM - 9AM. good thing i left when i did or else i wouldve been late.

on the other hand, today was amazing. i left home around 7.30AM trying to get in at 8.30AM. i was 45 minutes early so i decided to grab a coffee.

okay, so this is just an instagram version of my photo from saturday. you get the point...

two: when i got home a package from gamestop was waiting for me. which means my pre-order has arrived!!!

little big planet collector's edition includes: LBP2, sackboy, downloadable sackboy costumes and game holders (bookends)

i am beyond excited! i tried the demo last week and it was so much fun! i cant wait to play it after dinner. which brings me to my next point.

three: dinner tonight is PASTA! what more can i say. i LOVE pasta. no photo cause its not done yet. and there wont be any cause ill inhale it.

four: finally got access to most of my stuff. ive started some of the training but i still have a few to complete. hopefully by the end of the week ill be completely set-up so i can actually do some work. i feel bad just "sitting with people."

its been an awesome week so far and its only tuesday. i have an awesome feeling that this awesomeness will carry on for the rest of the week. 

i am so blessed.

thank you, Lord!

we are sisters, but not really.

we've been planning to hang out for a while but things kept coming up. but yesterday, after waiting for the snow to die down a bit and for the plows to clear the roads, off we went.

"yeah, im in an art program and i draw stick people."

for us, theres no point in hanging out if theres no food involved. so we headed to japan buffet at 4ishPM for a late lunch/early dinner, reverse brunch, lunner. the drawings above are justines. she was listing all her "stupid" accidents and drawing them for added effect. we laughed for SO long while she was drawing. there were many other stories but there was so many, i forgot.

"only 2 couch seats per table? i guuuueeeess we have to settle for the chairs."

after eating and chatting until 6.30PM at japan buffet, we headed to a starbucks down the street. more stories and even more laughter. i bet other people thought we were super obnoxious. MEH. its been a while since i heard "um, excuse me... were closing in 4 minutes."

such an awesome night. i cant remember the last time we just sat and talked about things. im glad we finally had a cousinsisters day.

rachel faith

justine isabella

my sisters from other misters

its for real now, guys

01.08.11

 its snowed - big time. the snow stared coming down on thursday afternoon but it stopped overnight. then again overnight, friday until saturday afternoon. the snowflakes got really big after i took this photo. i wouldve gone out to take more photos but i was lazy/tired. oh well. winter comes every year :)

i support team canada

my cousin got these and i tried them on and they were actually warm. so i picked these up today and even though theyre not convertible like the ones i prefer, i still think theyre pretty awesome. my hands actually started sweating a lot when i was taking this photo. /TMI

the last 100/36 35mm

this one roll of 35mm, 100ISO, 36 exposure  film contained photos between march 2010 and january 2011. i guess it dragged on for as long as it did because of 2 things:

• 100ISO. i have no idea what i was thinking when i picked it up. its not very good in low-light areas.
• its from my fisheye. i dont usually carry it around with me and when i do bring my camera bag it is the most forgotten on of the bunch :( i either pick-up my 40D or G9 first, then i grab my instax when i want instant photos i can give away. sorry, fisheye.

i do love film even though it doesnt have that instant gratification/result like digital or instant cameras have. theres something about the surprise element about film. i dont know exactly what im gonna get so i try to make it count. i think im going to invest in a film camera in the (near/distant) future. i think its going to teach me a few things about photography that a dSLR cant.

for now, here are some photos from that roll of film.

sunset over paradise
boracay, philippines
03.10

i lived in the philippines for 16 years and i only managed to make it to boracay after moving and living in a different country for 9 years.
i guess people never really explore home until it isnt anymore. but thats another entry all together.

i shouldnt have used flash. i think i was trying to capture the "texture" of the walked on sand. 

my dad's first photo of 2011
this is what it looks like in low light. pretty grainy and dark.

my lola's (grandmother) first photo of 2011.
and the grainy-ness continues.

my mom's first photo of 2011.

i also took 2 photos of my brother but both didnt make it. i wonder if it was too dark or if the world just wasnt ready to see a photo my brother cleaning. 

so ill just end with a photo of me !

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
heres to another year of photos &  other things

winter gear

the holidays are officially over and so are my sniffles.

i had a really bad cold between Christmas and New Year. i shouldve been used to it cause that wasnt the only time i was sick in 2010; i think i broke my personal record of being sick in a year. it was just kind of sucky ending the year with a cold and flu-like symptoms.

it was totally my fault though, unlike the other times which were my immune systems. im quite stubborn and refuse to wear proper clothing/outerwear when it gets cold. 

ive decided to change that; i dont want to get sick again if i can avoid it. so aside from taking my vitamins regularly (which i dont didnt do either), i also promise to wear full/appropriate winter gear every time i go out. 

yes, all of those. 

actually, most of the time i substitute the sweater with a scarf. but i really like this particular sweater. i love the colours and how it zips all the way up to my nose. perfect for its-so-cold-its-hard-to-inhale weather.

ive had this parka for 2 years and its still serving it purpose beautifully.

for gloves, i prefer the convertible kind. in mitten form they keep my fingers really warm, then when it gets too warm (like when im driving) i switch to the fingerless form. alls good. ive owned quite a few pairs cause i wreck them all the time.

allow me this one aside.

when my parents see the price tags on quality winter gear they express just how happy they are that we moved to this 4-seasoned country AFTER we did most of our growing.