High-Rise

Photos taken from the roof deck of SM Aura at The Fort, Taguig City (June 2, 2013).

Aunt & Niece

Saturday afternoon with smarty niece :)

Identity

I will never apologize for being me, but I will apologize for the times that I am not. 

-

M. Carini

Garden Beauties

It's been a very busy week and I'm glad to take some photos at the two little gardens I've been tending at our home. The bougainvilleas lost some of the vibrant blooms, but new buds are starting to develop. My rose is very generous with her flowers, every new stem has a new rose bud. And occasionally, tiny butterflies (whites, yellows and grays) also would come and visit.

A Cafe Dining

Last Saturday, I unexpectedly bumped at Gustav cafe located at the heart of city. I initially bought a spicy shawarma and planned on taking a seat and order some cold tea drinks for a snack. It was already evening so I then thought it’s also time for dinner.

I looked at the menu to choose what dish might accompany the apple cinnamon tea, and browsing through the list, I chose baked mussels (can’t go wrong with seafood). They’re local mussels baked with rich cheese and some mayonnaise. There’s slices of orange alongside. For my thin frame and diet, it’s almost like a full meal in itself.

Upon arriving home, my siblings bought with them some chocolate cakes as well.

Sometimes, there’s just this need to treat oneself with fine dining every once in a while, isn’t it? After all, change comes in many forms. And I wish for this year to be a kind of change as well.

 

Have a nice mid-week!

Sun-lit

My niece and I went for a brief stroll on our soon-to-be neighborhood. It was late afternoon and she enjoyed playing and running about. The place is very spacious with fresh air and the roads are lined with trees. I'm also looking forward to growing a rose and flower garden near my room and also some space for herbs and vegetables. :)

Visit to Tagaytay City on the first day of the Year

 

Tagaytay City, located on the province of Cavite, Philippines, had held a mystical place on my mind because of its characteristic location. It is nestled on mountains and it overviews the Taal volcano which is surrounded with a lake. Pineapples and flowers abound here, and it is a popular retreat and vacation place like Baguio City because of its mild climate and beautiful views. It takes only around less than two hours drive from Metro Manila, and it does not have zigzag mountain highways so the travel doesn't cause much dizziness.

Last Thursday, we traveled there, but it was raining and when we arrived, the whole city was covered in thick fog. The Taal volcano and lake was invisible, it was all white. It was pleasantly cold and the gust of wind refreshing. We were  supposed to have a picnic but there was not much to see and it was raining, so we ate our lunch at the car and then had coffee on a nearby store before heading back home.

Hopefully, we'll come back to visit Tagaytay again when the weather is clear and have a look at the amazing sights the city has to offer, not to mention the restaurants, coffee shops and charming vacation houses.

2014: Looking Back

1. Sickness and finding healing.

2. Gradual learning of life and humanity's inevitable truths, values, and potentialities.

3. Stepping back from too much reading, selecting what to read, and making effort to be 'productive.'

4. Understanding.

5. Realization that the potential for savagery and violence still exists in this age of modern civilization; that much of our original built-up and psyche (inherited from the past) still exist.

6. Learning when to speak and when to remain silent.

7. From rigidness to flexibility.

8. From blind following to critical awareness.

9. Realizing that strictness cannot win a heart / hearts.

10.  Genuineness to oneself and to others.

Some essentials I have learned from this year, most of which are not uncommon, but their relevance had been strengthened because of the many events that happened during its course.

One thing is for sure: we learn a lot through the years (isn't it?) :) Brace for the coming one!

Weekend

Visited the sea with family by mid-week and spent Sunday with my cat.

Saturday is becoming stressful to me, I have to organize and facilitate classes, it seems like energy is draining out of me when I am surrounded with many people and I'm forced to talk and socialize.

Golden Sunset

A metaphorical way of kissing this year bye! :)

Hopefully, I'll be making a little bit of a reflection of how this year had been in the coming days. Until the next post. :)

- m.

Éphémère Série

Evening Lights

Selected Paintings by Claude Oscar Monet

A corner of the Garden at Montgeron , 1876-1877

Path in the Forest, 1856

Garden of the Princess, Louvre, 1867

The Sheltered Path, 1873

Poplars near Argenteuil, 1875

The Cliff at Varengeville, 1882

The Red Road. 1884

Poppy Field in a Hollow near Giverny, 1885

Tulip Fields near Leiden, 1886



 

L'Aiguille and the Porte d'Aval, Étretat, 1886

Path in the Wheat Fields at Pourville, 1882

I am following Nature without being able to grasp her; I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

- C. Monet

A Few Quotes

Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small, I have always thoroughly been in earnest.

- C. Dickens.

Either I will find a way or make one.

- P. Sidney

I dwell in possibility

- E. Dickinson

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

- J. Campbell

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

- Socrates

The soul that is within me no man can denigrade.

- F. Douglass

The roots of education are bitter but the fruit is sweet.

- Aristotle

Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.

- A. Camus

A man without ethics is a wild beast loosened upon this world

- A. Camus

Yesterday, at the Garden

Some photos I took yesterday afternoon. I'm practicing a little bit of macro-photography with my regular camera and lens. Though the quality of the output is still something I am always after.

Floral Dreams

Unexpected Visitor

Before the Sunset

Recently

Random photos taken recently: Sunset on the road, A Monet book, picnic at the park, and the mailbox where I receive letters from students. 

 

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak on what interests me perhaps, for years on end. 

Definitely worth exploring.

Le Château de Brissac