hotel stay

It was a joint birthday celebration for Jaykie’s nephew, sisters, and aunt. Friday was spent buying gifts and eating and worrying about the rain, while Saturday was spent inside the Marriott.

It was still me and the camera’s honeymoon phase, so I just basically took a picture of everything.

Late lunch at Passion. Jaykie’s mom’s best friend (her best friend since grade school) knew one of my officemates. Small world.

Jaykie and I arrived late because he had class, so after everyone went out to have coffee, we just camwhored. (What else?)

Birthday boy George to me: “I like your new camera.”

Click!

Thumb wrestling and rock-paper-scissors:

Tigasin ng Marriott. Charot.

Ohaiii.

We turned in early after having a heavy dinner. (We planned to watch a movie and/or have a drink at the bar. Oh well.)

We got up early on Sunday to sample the breakfast buffet at Marriott Cafe. Yummy. I wanted to take photos of the food but I got shy. So I took a picture of the boyfriend instead.

* * *

On Saturday, before we headed to the hotel, I had a good jog around the UP Acad Oval, my second since the year started. To ensure that I would do this every week (I live in Makati now, so I can really do this only once every week), I left my running shoes at Jaykie’s condo. I’ll just use an old pair while in Makati.

My legs still hurt, by the way.

new camera

Olympus Tough 3000. I’ve read some less than stellar reviews online, but damn it, it’s cheap. Waterproof, shockproof, and freeze-proof at less than PhP 14k. Takes videos of HD quality.

Image quality (with and without flash):

Not necessarily the photostream you’d use for a magazine but at least the pictures look better than the pictures I take with my phone camera.

Now baby let’s do something beautiful, you and I. (And please don’t die too soon or get snatched or go missing. I mean it.)

ye olde yale house party

Also known as The (Slightly Delayed) Yale New Year Party!

Jaykie attended this last year (or was that ’09), but I wasn’t able to come, presumably due to work or family or the laundry. I can’t remember.

The common practice was to have a nametag, carrying a verb plus your name. For example: “Lick Jaykie”. They told me Yale Virgins couldn’t choose their own verb, but I would have chosen “Write-protect”. “Write-protect Eliza”.

Anyway in the end we ran out of nametags. :-p I wasn’t able to socialize too much
(the closest I got to socializing was when I said “excuse me” to people standing in the doorways or “sorry” to people I bumped into) so I ended up staying within my circle.

No matter. The house has wooden stairs and huge windows and books – it is a beautiful house. It reminded me of period pieces and horror movies, and Sunday nights in the province. Thanks to Rej and Oneal for opening its doors. (And to Paul for opening the gate while we stood outside in the rain haha. It’s like the rule of the Universe: the one day you forget your umbrella is the day it will rain. Hard.)

Some pictures:

‘children’ in the philippines graphic

My short story, “Children“, is in the latest issue of the Philippines Graphic. Thanks to Angelo Ancheta for the tip! (I’ve forgotten to check, and the last e-mail I received from Mr. Salud was him saying he’ll talk with the Lit editor if my story has been accepted.)

Thanks to Editor Joel Salud and Literary Editor Alma Carpio for accepting my story for publication.

Congrats also to the winners of the Philippines Graphic’s annual Nick Joaquin Literary Awards!

what depresses me

AGNI Online: What Depresses Me by Juanita Brunk.

I vowed to document every memorable piece I read online or offline, so I’m sharing this.

 

or to all that comes and goes, people
and things that arrive
and then vanish
with a brevity that might, on another day,
from another heart, more valiant,
less fickle,
appear as radiance,
and the grief, praise.


So beautiful it melts the heart.

I lost a kilo (2.2 pounds) since I last weighed!

Jaykie and I might go to boxing sessions after February! (Thanks Kate for the tip!)

I’m starting to feel excited about that trip!

 

Thank goodness that black cloud decided not to hover. Now maybe soon I can start writing again.