New Year, New Blog

I am currently trying out the Wordpress platform for blogging. Please bear with me. This is my new blog (for now) http://iamcamerashy.wordpress.com.

Right now, I am also enjoying this blog. So funny & candid.

See you there!

Tis The Season for Wishlists

For the sake of fitting in, here's my Christmas wishlist"

1. new glasses
2. a sewing machine. Brother bm-2600 or a singer advance. I wanna learn to sew.
3. Florence & The Machine CD
4. She & Him CDs
5. a huge desk
6. a vacation (somewhere scenic. no mall necessary)
7. a nice looking & functional planner
8. iTunes credits
9. a nice looking, subtle, laptop bag.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

And to borrow a quote from a friend, "Santa, define Nice...?"

How Are You?

How are you guys? I know, lousy blogger, I am. Yoda, I'm not. hehehe :)

Anyways, what's new with me?

Love. My brother & his girlfriend are getting married next year, in June! Which gives me a good reason to lose 20 more pounds! Argh! I'm stuck right now, I just lost 20 lbs. but I need to lose 20 more. Lipout didn't work with me, Redoxfat did a better job. But I also enrolled with my bro & Dad's weight loss doc (who is such a robot). The trick? Bland food, no oil (not even olive), select fruits & veggies, no rice, chicken & select seafood, definitely no bread. Another thing that I'm anxious about is that my son is their ring bearer. Gulp. 6 more months to practice. Lesdudis!!

Hobby. I have officially gotten tired of photography. The DSLR kind. Every now & then I would dream of new concepts to try, new faces to shoot, new locations. But that's about it. Dreaming & conceptualizing. My work & my slave driver employers are just too demanding. "Excuses" I know. After work, I have my son to spend time with. I have also gotten tired of looking at these enthusiasts, who are literally a dime a dozen. I hate what photography has become. They brag about the type of gear used, the excessive post-processing. A very commercialized photography. I have even put some of my untouched photography books on sale right now. I realized that all I need to take photos is my iphone, the hipstamatic app, & maybe the g10 for special occasions.

Inspiration. I am currently "very" interested in sewing. Not just clothes, but also bags, pillows, runners, making prints, painting fabrics. I am looking to H & M home for inspiration, also Martha Stewart's Sewing Encyclopedia (which I just purchased), Project Runway, Etsy's stationery selection, & Fashion Institute of Design & Arts (where I enrolled for a basic sewing & basic pattern making class). I am so excited, I have gotten overboard with the supplies shopping yet again. I have created a different blog dedicated solely to my "creative journey". All this has made me realize, inspiration drives creativity. I know it now. It is important that artists stay inspired. Which is a very hard thing to do. My plan is, if I am good enough to sew clothes, then I will take up fashion illustration. Because FIDA's 2-yr AA in Fashion Design & Apparel Tech. sounds so tempting right now. (tulo laway)

Death. Last month, my father in-law lost his battle with lung cancer. We discovered it January 2009, already stage 3. Just a day before his grandson was born. Jacob is mainly the reason why he didn't want to go yet. He wanted to see Jacob grow up. It breaks my heart. Jacob got his love for cars, trucks, anything mobile, from his Lolo Jun. He was only 64 years old. Just when he had a new love in his life.

Life. I am making a decision to do & go after what I want (art, creativity), but at the same time, also be a working mom, & a wife. When I was younger(kindergarten to elementary), I have always wanted to be a painter, or a fashion designer. I lost track of those dreams when my parents started to make money in the family business. Suddenly, their work seems so important that I just had to make sure to continue with it. The devoted daughter that I am, I just wanted to please them. So I took up a business course & lost sight of what I truly wanted. Heck, I didn't even remember thinking about art after high school. After college, I realized I made a mistake. I wasn't happy. I was constantly pressured to do their bidding. Be their messenger, record keeper, etc. But as the years passed, I have gotten comfortable with it, they have backed off a little ever since I got married & had a kid. And now, I think I have gained the confidence to go after what I want. And what I want is to learn new things, the things that I'm really interested in. I'm not letting them stop me again. I'm just glad that a second chance is possible.

Why I Miss Cebu City

I'm a Davaoena. I was born here, resumed studying elementary, until College, and eventually settled down in this peaceful, laid-back city. My heart belongs to Davao. But of course there's always a "one that got away". In my case, it's Cebu.

We transferred to Cebu when I was just 2 yrs. old. And we stayed there for seven years. After I got married, my husband went back there for his work (call center). So as a compromise, I went to Cebu every month to be with him. That's when I got to know Cebu for who she really is.

All my life, I was sheltered. My parents being very strict about me going out late, and eventually I lost interest in having many friends because in my mind, what's the point? I can't go to parties, I have to come home at a fixed time, and I had to stay at the family business. I couldn't try working at other companies because my Dad didn't allow it. But thank God he allowed for me to go to Cebu for 1 week every month after I got married. That was one condition he gave my husband, that I stay in Davao so he will give us his blessing to get married.

Whenever I went to Cebu, my husband, as an employee of a large call center, was only able to spend "quality" time with me on his days off. He worked late hours, as do most call center employees. So he slept from 12 noon to 8 PM, and went to work at 10-11PM. Leaving me with no other activity during the daytime than to explore the city on my own, and sometimes with my Aunt who also lives there.

And no I didn't miss it because of the malls, the designer retail stores, the new restaurants, the swanky hotels, or the popular coffee shops. I missed Cebu because it was there that for the first time, I knew what freedom tasted like. Ironically, it was when I got married that I got to taste, and savor it. And Cebu didn't disappoint. The people are still so nice, the food delicious, the places authentic & properly preserved. It was still the Cebu I remembered from my childhood, but with a lot of improvements. Sometimes I wonder, what would have happened to me had my family stayed there instead of moving to Davao? Sigh. What if we hadn't moved? I wouldn't have minded at all.

Someday, if circumstances permit, I just might move back there, who knows?

(photos: tripadvisor.com; lakbay pilipinas)

Piece of Me - January 2010

Sorry for the delay folks. I've been soooo busy last month, it's not even funny, or fun! I wasn't able to post this last Sunday because it was my son's first birthday, and we had a party at home. A crazy party. My parents were shocked at the number of guests that arrived. Duh! Parents' guests + my guests + my relatives + hubby's guests + hubby's relatives = pandemony! As if they didn't expect this. That's why I wanted the party to be held somewhere else, and not at home. The experience was a little traumatic for me, if not for the cute gifts that my son received. Never again!
How fast time flies. My son is growing up before my eyes! *sniff* Seems like only yesterday I gave birth to him, now he's walking by himself (albeit wobbly), holding the milk bottle by himself. *sigh*

Anyway... better late than.. oh you get the drift!

This month....I like: To finish all my pending reports for work and not start the new year with worries, and unfinished stuff. Also to start listing my goals for 2010. :) I have to think hard about that last one.

I don't like: People asking me if I'm pregnant. Hellooooo!

I want you to know: I've been a lousy blogger.

I've planned: To go out more, bring Jacob on outings.

I want to say to someone special: I hope this year will be for the family.