Take me away from here

Take me away from here
Take me somewhere, where love is like breathing
I don't care where we go as long as I'm there with you

- Take Me Away, John Legend

I've made my first trip this year to Singapore. It's not really something new, since I've lived there for three months last year. In a way, it was like revisiting the place again. And the really surprising part is, I had an absolutely fantastic time this time.

Maybe it's a completely different ball game when you go to a place and not expect anything. No pressures of any sort that go with it i.e., finding work and earning a living and surviving all on your own. I have to be the first to say that I was actually dreading this trip; I was dreading to go back. My friends had to force me to book the damn plane ticket just to get it over with. I had things to settle, and my life isn't going to go forward if I don't make this step of going back. In a way, it felt more like revisiting the ghosts from the past, so that was partly why I didn't want to face any of it again.

But surprisingly, I fell in love with the place from the moment I landed. Isn't that bizarre? I felt like it was a whole big deja vu from the get-go. From riding the MRT again, to going around Orchard, riding the buses, going around the places I used to frequent everyday for three months. And this time, I embraced all of it. I breathed everything in. It's kind of impossible for me to put down into words how I exactly felt during that trip, but it did me a whole lot of good, that's for sure. That trip was just what I needed at this point. And I'm really thankful I took it.

And as summer slowly opens its arms once again, I'm excited where the next couple of months will take me. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I really want to go to as many places as I can, while I still can. I realize that I'm putting real life on the backseat for now, and some people may shush this whole idea, especially with the whole world crisis going. But life is short, and I want to experience more breathtaking moments, like how my recent Singapore trip did to me. I want to embrace life and feel alive, and this is one of the ways where I can be that. :)

1 thing 2 do, 3 words 4 you

There's only 1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you
I love you
There's only one way to say those three words
And that's what I'll do
I love you

I won't even try to make this entry sound any bitter like how I always do, I'd like to think I've grown up from all that.

I just wish everyone a day of full of love and happiness. I know mine is, somehow.

No, he did not!

It seems like the whole entertainment industry is a-buzz about the scandal surrounding this Pop Superstar allegedly attacking his equally Pop Superstar Girlfriend right smack during this year's Grammy's madness.

And I never would have imagined that a couple so adorable as Chris Brown and Rihanna could possibly be behind this so-called domestic violence drama. Chris Breezy, how could you?

Apparently, reports say that at Sunday dawn, a call was made to 911 by an "unidentified woman" complaining of criminal threat and battery. Then some time after, Chris Brown turns himself in to authorities, and paid a whole lotta cash for bail. At that night's Grammy's, both Chris B and Rin-Rin (close, eh) backed out of their supposed performances. Just imagine how everyone's tongues were wagging that whole night.

When this news came out, I was stupid at first to think that Chris Brown was cheating on Rihanna. I mean, he was out with an unidentified girl??? It never occurred to me that that unnamed, violated woman would turn out to be Barbados' finest, Rihanna supahstah herself. I never would have guessed that he could possibly hit his uber gorgeous and multi-talented girlfriend for whatever stupid reason lovers hit each other. Rihanna is reportedly suffering from "severe bruises" around her face, jaw injuries, and even bitemarks on her body! I can't believe someone as squeaky clean as Chris Brown could do such a thing; out of all the hiphop artists on the scene, he seems to be one of the really few who doesn't need to sing about pimping to make a hit. The guy even has a song with Elmo. What kind of a person who makes singing with a puppet so hip mauls his girlfriend around?

I hope Rihanna is doing OK, and that she can rise from all this beautifully. If it's worth anything, I say dump that douchebag (though a very cute douchebag at that, I just have to add); she can definitely do so much better than a juvy in the making. No matter how bad the reason is, a woman does NOT deserve to be hurt in any way, especially not by the man who claims to love her. Just my two cents' worth.

Thank you for the music

When I was in Singapore, I used to love walking around Orchard Road, basically one of the busiest places in the country. They had underground walkways to get you around, probably so it wouldn't be such a hassle crossing the road.

Anyway, during the times when I'd be in Orchard, I chance upon this blind man singing for some loose change in the underground walkway somewhere between Takashimaya Shopping Center and Lucky Plaza. He's the kind of singing blind men that we have a lot of here, only it's such a novelty there because you rarely see any beggars anywhere (in fact, I don't think they have any of that at all!). But mind you, this man is still well dressed and looks really clean, and I used to stop for a bit and listen to him sing while the entire city just passed him by in their usual hurried frenzy. But what really caught me from the start is the signboard he put up beside him.

SORRY I can't see you.
THANK YOU for appreciating my kind of MUSIC.
It is a pleasure to do what I can.

Yes, I was that close to him when I took this picture, shamelessly aiming my camera phone inches away from the man's face. But I wanted to take a picture of the signboard so badly. I mean, he really can't see me anyway, so I'm sure he didn't mind.

I just feel frustrated that I can't remember anymore at least one song that I heard him sing. But I like looking at this picture... Aside from reminding me one of my favorite places in SG, that signboard never fails to make my heart melt in some way.

That lane called Memory

I was supposed to bring my dog Chacha to the vet for a check-up first thing today. However, I ended up doing an extremely spontaneous thing at the last minute that robbed me my entire Monday morning.

From out of the blue, I had this sudden urge to rummage through my so-called baul, where I've been keeping all sorts of trinkets, life memorabilia, who's-its and what's-its galore from as far back as 1993. It was crazy! All because of an insane need to look up a certain picture that I know is buried somewhere beneath that junk. I only take this nostalgic trip down memory lane once in a blue moon, because it always, always takes me hours and hours and I end up reminiscing and laughing at all the memories coupled with each item. So that's how my Monday morning went, on the floor smiling and laughing while looking back at the past, and best, decade of my life.

It was really interesting, considering how I kept some stuff intact after so many years. There were lyrics from favorite songs, boxes with overflowing letters, tons of pictures that chronicled both my carefree days as a Kulasa, then to my nasty acne phase in college (ugh!), an Alanis Morissette poster from her Manila tour in 1996, dried flowers from God knows what occasions, newspaper clippings of my favorite already-disbanded late-90s bands, my first ever diary, tickets from concerts and plays, notes passed in class, chockful load of more letters, and even more pictures.

I had to stop myself from reading every letter or I swear, I would've finished at sundown. I tried to get rid of some of the things too, and believe me, I've never had a harder time letting go of material stuff. I've always been sentimental about my things, especially if they hold really good memories. I was obviously worse when I was a teenager, because I must've kept every item that took part in the history of my then-still-short life. After careful scrutiny, I cleaned up a little and narrowed it down to the uber memorable stuff. But here are some things that I just have to give special mention to:

Yep, those are their signatures, all right! I was a ridiculously big fan of Boyzone when I was 13-ish, and for a while I was dead set on marrying one of them (Shane Lynch to be exact, the guy in the middle of the picture). That pic was taken during the boys' first tour in Manila, dated sometime in February 1997. I didn't take the picture though, and I have no idea how I even got a copy. Superfan prowess, I guess.

Oh dear. Like I said, I was a big boyband teenager dork. LOL.

I took part in a "make-over" for a prom feature in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that came out exactly 10 years ago, 4 February 1999. My first time to get dolled up, I had nice highlights done, too! Ignore the typo, I was only 15 years old at that time.

Billings and scripts of stageplays I acted in back in college. Theater has a special place in my heart, albeit shortlived, because acting on stage was one of the best things that has happened to me. If I wasn't so normal and boring, I swear I would've seriously pursued a career as an actress ha ha!

In about 40 years' time, these would probably be worth a lot of dough. Talk about collector's item! I forgot I even kept these; I haven't touched the stickers at the back of the packet, too.

Journals from grade school and high school. It's amazing reading my entries from when I was as young as 10 years old; I can't believe how absolutely petty and shallow my dilemmas in life were! But then judging how my life problems are going now, I'd give an arm and a leg to go back to those times.

AND FOR THE WIN:

See, I was already in love with Brad Pitt from the time he looked like THAT!

Maybe going through all that stuff was just what I needed. It doesn't have to mean anything deep, it's just nice to have something to smile about from the past. There were times I even felt like I was going through someone else's life, because here's someone who had a real blast growing up; then I realize how all that junk represented my life, it felt really good to know that I had a great time. I can't deny that there were awful moments (lots of those, actually), but looking back with a little sense of adult perspective made me grateful for an awesome time that I've had while I was in those painful, awkward teenage years. Before the harshness and bitterness of post-teenage/post-school life overtook me (and I hear there's more to come), it's nice to know that I had a great youth to look back on. It wasn't spectacular, but all that memorable junk made it close.