Tuesday, November 2, 2021

There is no me

It's been a long while, indeed. Hello. 

Many things had happened since my last post that I don't know where or how to start sharing my life, again, on here. To be completely honest, I haven't been well, and I think I'll never be well, again. I am depressed. It's not alright, but I accept. 

I accept. 

Sometimes, I stumble upon things that help me to be more accepting about my sadness. Erin Greene's monologue at the end of Mike Flanagan's "Midnight Mass" miniseries is one of them. 

So, allow me to start my come back with this. 

Myself. My self. That’s the problem. That’s the whole problem with the whole thing. That word, “self.” That's not the word. That’s not right, that isn’t…How did I forget that? When did I forget that? The body stops a cell at a time, but the brain keeps firing those neurons. Little lightning bolts, like fireworks inside and I thought I’d despair or feel afraid, but I don’t feel any of that. None of it. Because I’m too busy. I’m too busy in the moment. Remembering. Of course. I remember that every atom in my body was forged in a star. This matter, this body is mostly empty space after all, and solid matter? It’s just energy vibrating very slowly why there is no me. There never was. The electrons of my body mingle and dance with the electrons of the ground below me and the air I’m no longer breathing. And I remember there is no point where any of that ends and I begin. I remember I am energy. Not memory. Not self. My name, my personality, my choices, all came after me. I was before them and I will be after, and everything else is pictures, picked up along the way. Fleeting little dreamlets printed on the tissue of my dying brain. And I am the lightning that jumps between. I am the energy firing the neurons, and I’m returning. Just by remembering, I’m returning home. And it’s like a drop of water falling back into the ocean, of which it’s always been a part. All things… a part. You, me and my little girl, and my mother and my father, everyone’s who’s ever been, every plant, every animal, every atom, every start, every galaxy, all of it. More galaxies in the universe than grains of sand on the beach. And that’s what we’re talking about when we say “God.” The cosmos and its infinite dreams. We are the cosmos dreaming of itself. It’s simply a dream that I think is my life, every time. But I’ll forget this. I always do. I always forget my dreams. But now, in this split-second, in the moment I remember, the instant I remember, I comprehend everything at once. There is no time. There is no death. Life is a dream. It’s a wish. Made again and again and again and again and again and again and on into eternity. And I am all of it. I am everything. I am all. I am that I am.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Oh, hey!



Time. The lack of it kept me from putting together an entry. My weekends were occupied. My nights were tired and ended early. My days were full.

But just like everyone else, I try to cope by going to places, doing the things I love doing, watching films, spending time with friends, and taking plenty of naps in between.

Last May, Brando and I went to Baguio. We climbed Mt. Ulap rather unprepared, hence ended totally beaten up. Good thing we had The Manor as our shelter for that night. From the climb we headed straight to the hotel and never came out for dinner. We ate in bed at six and slept before everyone even started their dinner. It was the most exhausting out of town trip, but hah nevermind Mt. Ulap was so beautiful. Sadly, though, I have no photos to show because I brought a camera with an empty battery and Brando lost his phone [which we used to take photos] on our way to the hotel.

We went back to Real, Quezon, for I don’t know how many times now. It’s our favorite weekend getaway. Because it’s just a 3-hour drive from the Metro, it’s a cheap trip: no toll fees, Pacific Recreation Park is budget-friendly, and very convenient for campers like us. And of course, the beach is great. We had Brando’s teammates in Sunken Garden United Football Club for a company this time. Rolly’s pick-up slowed us down on our way back to Manila – clutch problem, overheated, and other engine issues. But I guess that made our trip unusually memorable. 

And there was Deus Sex Machina night (with Brando, Ariane, Sarah, Hendric, Momay, Gino and his bf), interview with The Bookyard Café (KB, Brian, and Gayna) and French Film Festival: Les Souviners with Juliet! And many other fun activities that kept me generally sane.

In the coming months, I wish I’ll be here more often and flood you with positivity and beautiful photos.

Friday, March 25, 2016

“I wish to live a life that causes my soul to dance inside my body.”

The past several months felt like I was uprooted from that familiar place where my soul dug and built me. I walked around without a name, without my individuality, without the dreams that made me. I walked around headless and emotionless.

But when you are made of fire, it only takes a while to realize you are out in the middle of a windy cold night. Before the cold consume you, you hold on to the wind tight and let it take you to a warmer place to start all over again. I am fire. Wherever I go, I need warmth. I need something that keeps my soul going, something that causes my soul to dance inside my body.

And so I’m back! Here. Where I have built a tiny warm familiar space. Where I know myself and the things that I do. A couple of weeks ago, I tried chasing myself back. And I will continue chasing until everything is in tuned and my soul starts to tap her feet to the beat of my life.


Last weekend, I went to Calatagan, Batangas with a beautiful and great company of Jeff, Jazz, Albert, and Ida. We took a lot of photos of us burning hotdogs for dinner, enjoying the sea, the sand, and the scenery. We were drunk about our life plans, our dreams, and our heartaches. But not drunk enough just yet and our stories will continue until the next weekend getaway.







***Taken at Burot Beach and Cape Santiago, Calatagan, Batangas (19-20 March) by Linds

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Favorite Films [3.0]: What You Should Watch

Feelin' like a stranger on my own online space, but I always run back here full of excitement and love. I'm slowly regaining what I almost lost within those chaotic months. I thought it will change me forever. I'm fighting it, so I am back here with the same brokenness, the same desire to express the rawness of my thoughts and emotions. 

Every year, since 2013 (here's for 2014), I post all the films I watch the entire year and shortlist my favorite 15 films. Last year, I promised myself to watch at least ten films each month. I am seven films short. Nonetheless, I can easily select 10 favorites - not 15 this time. 




1. Ida
2. Gone Girl
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel 
4. Whiplash
5. Castle in the Sky
6. How's Moving Castle
7. Dancer in the Dark
8. Kramer vs Kramer
9. In the Heart of the Sea
10. The Girl with Pearl Earing

Gone Girl A Separation Manhattan
Short Bus Love, Rosie Something Borrowed
All About Ana Flashdance My Sister's Keeper
Blindness Two Night Stand Natalee Holloway
Mud Lucy Dracula Untold
Two for the Road The Fountain Jules Et Jim
Definitely Maybe Fatal Attraction The Virgin Suicides
Now You See Me Capt. America the Winter Soldier The Square
When In Rome The Squid and the Whale The Hours
Predestination Mamma Mia Cold Mountain
Veronica Mars Hungry Hearts American Beauty
Ida Kiki's Delivery Service Kramer VS Kramer
The Theory of Everything Castle in the Sky Shakespear in Love
Two Days and One Night My Neighbor Totoro Artifical Intelligence
Still Alice The Intouchables The Sweet Hereafter
Nightcrawler Pitch Perfect 2 Don Jon
The Grand Budapest Hotel Almost Married Kill them Softly
Birdman Focus The World of Kanako
France Ha Run All Night Madame Bovary
Antichrist Howl's Moving Castle Ms. Congeniality
That Thing Called Tadhana Neighbors The Proposal
Boyhood Rorouni Kenshin The Girl with the Pearl Earing
The Boy Next Door Transylvania Drive
Wild (2014) You've Got Mail Heneral Luna
The Thomas Crown Affair When Harry Met Sally Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Whiplash 2 Days in Paris Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Inglorious Basterds The Help Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
The Secret in their Eyes Doubt Star Wars: A New Hope
Magic Mike The Reader Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
This Means War Never Been Kissed Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
X-Men Days of Future Past A Teacher Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Guardians of the Galaxy It Felt Like Love The Internship
A Long Way Down Jurassic World In the Heart of the Sea
The Invisible Woman Insurgent
Kingsman The Secret Service Derailed
Upstream Color Psycho (1960)
12 Year A Slave Dancer in the Dark
Indecent Proposal Spy
Interstellar The Immigrant
The Best of Me Taste of Cherry

Friday, July 31, 2015

"We don't remember days, we remember moments!"

Memories are not forever safely kept in our heads. They fade over time, no matter what. To make it worse, we might completely lose them when we need them most. When we’re old and maybe have so much empty time to think about our past. Sometimes, what are left in us are only vague ideas or uncertain feelings they evoke when recalled.

That is one reason why I take photos. Not of myself, but of what I see and of how they feel that fleeting moment. Photos are printed memories. They’re captured emotions. Arguably, photos are not forever either. They’re just paper and dyes, after all.

But somehow they’re an extension to the lifespan of the memories stored in our heads.

Because of that, I hate losing photos.

Before the days of digital camera, we print our photos on photo papers to actually see them. I ruined many of mine from moisture in my cheap photo albums. It broke my heart. In trying to salvage the few that remained only partly damaged, I scanned them for digital copies in case I’d completely lose the printed ones, which is its inevitable demise.

Then I stumbled on Fotogra.ph and the idea of photo books. This came after.






And So The Adventure Begins Volume 1 is a compilation of the photos I took as I carried my heart feeling all the feelings, to show truths.

Photobook is a perfect way of compiling photos. It’s moist-free, space-saving, neat, and clutter free. And cheaper than printing in photo papers.

If you fancy compiling and printing your memory lane into a book, you may also try to visit these sites for photobook service.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

"There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars."

Recharging means heading up north of Quezon -Real- to soak in the pacific under the looming sun. Yes, that's how you do it, darlings. Going to Real, Quezon to me is almost like writing an obscure poem. Sierra Madre could make you think of many words that unnecessarily relate with each other or make little sense altogether. Up there you drive with the clouds. It's how beautiful it is. 






***Taken on the road going to Real, Quezon and in Pacific Recreation Park (13-14 June) by Linds

Friday, June 12, 2015

Bacolod and Nostalgia

I just arrived from Bacolod! It's been a few years since my last visit in the city. It felt nostalgic being there going around Talisay, Silay, and Bacolod City without Brando. It's his hometown and it would be lovely to have him around as he's stuck in Manila for like forever without going home. Thinking about it makes me sad. Everyone should visit his/her hometown from time to time for old memories sake. 

I didn't bring my camera because the purpose of this travel wasn't for leisure. It was actually work and I didn't want to look like an excursionist. Haha. So I was at the mercy of my mobile phone's camera for photos. But then again I don't have a good camera phone.  



  
 ***Photo of  Nature's Village Resort in Talisay City (where we stayed) is not mine.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

"BookMarked: Marking the Beginning" at Bookbed

Yay! Happy day! I'm proud to tell you that I've finally began contributing at bookbed.org. Who wouldn't be proud? It's an awesome site that shares anything and everything bookish. And to be part of it is awesome. Lol. You must check it out. 

Here's an excerpt from BookMarked's welcome entry. 

Hello, Cheer Readers! Welcome to BookMarked, a new section under Pillow Talk here on bookbed, where I share all the wonders of collecting that ever-so-important companion of readers everywhere: the bookmark!

You collect what? Bookmarks?!

Yep, that thing you use to mark the page you left at before you called it a day and dozed off. Just like every collection that has ever existed, it started with one piece, though mine wasn't necessarily the first piece I owned. 

Instead, it was this simple Hallmark bookmark given by someone I wasn't that close to that prompted the idea of collecting it. I had about two or three bookmarks already before getting this one as a birthday present. I thought, "Hey, what a nice little sweet thing for a friendly gesture."

Then I bought several more and kept them in my pile of stuff in case I would need them one day for giveaway. I gave one, two and a few more away but was still left with several bookmarks. Friends would see them and assumed I must be collecting them, which I never negated, despite the fact I wasn't really going in that direction... yet. 

Read more...





***Re-post from bookbed.org where I contribute articles under BookMarked! :)