In a few short days the first month of 2015 is about to end. It may be a little to early to tell how 2015 will be like but its first days are a glimpse of what it will hold. Are you still religiously claiming your resolutions and working hard to achieve them? The hopefulness you had in the beginning, is it still with you? It may also be a good opportunity to assess and re-assess your goals for the year. What will you change? What else will you achieve? Let me encapsulate what January 2015 was/is for me: January 1-4 (first week) My first week was all about weddings, 2 of them in fact. Personally I think that's a great way to start the year: events that celebrate love, hope and faith. The weddings were simple yet you could really feel the love of all those who attended. Such a heartwarming-gushy-emotional way to welcome the year. January 5-10 (second week) The following week signaled the return to reality. We wrapped up our 15 day long vacation and headed back to Legazpi City. When we arrived we were greeted by a lot of work-related trouble shooting. Luckily they weren't big challenges that couldn't be solved on the spot. (phew!) I also decided to tackle my New Year's resolutions head on. Right away I enrolled in a Skillshare class that would help with my calligraphy. I biked with Martin to the Boulevard. I learned my first recipe: Vietnamese Bun Cha. I updated this website about our Ilocos Trip (a three-part blog edition). And I have been very industrious with my daily reflections and bible readings. By end of the week, we needed to once more head to the Philippine Capital for a family reunion. So much done in a few days. January 11-17 (third week) Compared to how busy the week before was, January's third week was completely different. Upon arrival in Legazpi I got a serious case of the runs which had me stuck at home for most of the week. This gave me a lot of time to concentrate in learning new artistic things. Gathering inspiration online I have begun to learn how to watercolor and the rewarding therapeutic advantages of wielding a brush. My calligraphy has also been steadily improving. I updated myself with all the TV shows that have interested me, most of which revolved around Jane, the Virgin. Sadly, Martin and I weren't able to fly to Manila for Pope Francis' arrival. We had our tickets bought and our plans laid out. But health came first. Luckily local TV networks were really covering the event and watching TV felt like we were among the crowds as well. Also Nina came over to visit! It's rare that my sister comes to L.A. (Legazpi, Albay) now because of her job. But having her over was as giggle-fest. I introduced her to Delica Japanese cuisine, we practiced our calligraphy, we went Natio-Shopping and fed ourselves a lot. January18-24 (fourth week) The fourth week began to normalize. I recovered with my bout of runs and went back to work. There were a lot of things we needed to get done most important of which was the blessing of Tower 4. I didn't realize how many things needed to get done for a successful blessing: (1)book a priest, (2) cook food, (3) clean the premises, etc. It was just a simple affair where we invited just the tenants and our men. The real ceremonial one will be done perhaps after the Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, the thing went of without a hitch and everyone enjoyed the food and fun. I also joined JCI Daraga's courtesy calls to new commanding officers of the local Navy and Air Force units here. Courtesy Calls are a great way to renew partnership and ties. Hopefully this will bear fruit to further award-winning projects. Also, Martin has discovered the joys of his smoker. The latter days of the week were marked with smoked beef, smoked fish and smoked pork! Our house is starting to smell like smoke too! Friday a couple of friends and I decided to go for eat-all-you can in a local Japanese restaurant. I arrived at 4:45pm and left at close to 8!! It wasn't just the food that was enjoyable but the conversations too! Loads of fun! My herb garden has already begun to take shape. Seedlings of local herbs have been given to me by friends & family. All of which I have transplanted on teracotta pots with gold calligraphy and now located on our 2nd floor balcony. I hope I don't kill them and they grow to thrive and multiply. January 25-31 (fifth week) I am writing this lengthy blog at the very beginning of the week. I am looking forward to a lot of things these coming days such as crafting supplies I have ordered online, a children's birthday party, a JCI Induction of a Sister Chapter and another travel trip! So many things to get done but really excited about developments. By the end of the month I am planning to post a calendar of achievements in relation to my 8 New Year resolutions. What were my gains and losses these last 31 days? So cheers to January! You have been awesome! I hope February will be as good to me as you have been! And on to my next adventure!
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The third part (and probably last) of my literary documentation of the North Luzon 360 Trip.
To backtrack, we spent most of Dec 27 exploring Lal-lo, Cagayan and its neighboring towns. December 28 was a Sunday and also the celebration of the Holy Family. The entire family caboodle shuttled to attend the 8am mass in the same church where dad was baptized 50+ years ago. Apparently Lal-lo was the seat of faith for Nueva Segovia prior to the area being drowned by the Cagayan River. Which is why many of the churches in the area are from the Spanish Occupation. The church was made of brick with a leaning belfry. It's frontage faces the river where a 300 year old cross stands. The place is really immersed in history -- many of the places still have the Spanish Influence. After lunch, martin and i packed ourselves into the car to start our drive back to Manila. This time we decided to take the western coast route instead of backtracking our previous travel. This meant we would be passing by many Ilocos tourist offerings which include:
The drive would be a long one, which we didn't feel at all because the roads were BEAUTIFUL! And every so often you get treated to a view of the sea. Both martin and i were totally amazed at how different the scenery was up north. Vast lands full of rice will then be interrupted by strong waves breaking the shore. The entire trip was a great adventure that even my body could not take anymore. As we approached the end of the North Luzon Expressway i had started to warm up with a fever. Too much excitement for the holidays but totally worth it. Below is a gallery of photos I took en route: Averaging 500kms per day, we went through an epic journey of North Luzon from December 26 to 30 travelling a total of 1,500+ kilometers from Manila to Lal-lo, Cagayan to Laoag, Ilocos then to Batangas.
Martin likes to call it the Luzon 360! And it feels like it! We started our trip meeting up with my dad in Petron Edsa on Dec 26 at 5am. Excited to the bones, we were readying ourselves for a 12 hour journey to my dad's hometown-- Lal-lo Cagayan. I have never been there -- as most of my family-- so we didnt know what to expect. All we knew is that this area becomes the hottest part of the Philippines during the summer. And is the center of agriculture -- rice, vegetables, you name it. We made our way through the North Luzon Expressway and was met by the sea of humanity as Martin puts it. Perhaps many had the same idea of going north for the holidays to the point that there was a 3km gridlock leading to the toll plaza. However, after this hurdle it's easy going along the SCTEX and TPLEX. (How I envy the expressways leading to the North, when will there be one to replace the South Road leading to Legazpi, Albay?) We exited in La Paz, Tarlac and drove our way upwards through Isabella until finally reaching Lal-lo about 17hours after we started. (Of course we made pit stops one of which included a stop at the Carabao Institute in Munoz to buy fresh carabao's milk -- DELICIOUS!). The convoy was met by my uncle, Tito Jun who then lead us to dinner and housing in his home shared with his wife, Tita Patsy. The weary travellers ate their fill of kambing (goat), rice and sleep! Tomorrow the real exploring happens. Yehp this is it! FORMALIZING my 2015 Resolution and putting it on the world-wide-web so there are no take backsies and regrets. (During a family/business trip to Angeles I stopped by National Bookstore and finally got myself a planner-- first order of business and writing this list down!) So what are my plans for 2015? What crazy-hairbrained idea(s) have I decided to do to make this year an extra special one? So here goes: I, Isabel , do solemnly swear to try to achieve to the best of my capabilities the following resolutions I have enumerated herein which shall include, but not be limited to, the ff: (so formal!) 1. LEARN HOW TO DIGITIZE CALLIGRAPHY The next step to my "Artistic" journey is digitizing. Prior to the christmas break I have laid the groundworks by installing Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator on my mac (Thanks Carlo and Mark!). Two application that are extremely foreign to me and hard to use! But for 2015 I resolve to conquer the confusion and weild these powerful tools to better my calligraphy!! 2. LOSE WEIGHT Looking back at past family christmas photos, I have become increasingly depressed that my form has transformed to a "fuller" figure. I therefore promise to bring back the discipline of running in to my life to achieve at least a 20kg loss. 3. RUN A 10KM RACE When Martin was in the states for studies, Ihad promised myself to run one 10km race a month. And suprsingly, without much effort, I was able to achieve this! Nowadays running 10km is a very tiring affair. At the same time, my running buddy Boston has also gained significant weight. So, to keep the pounds at bay for BOTH of us, we will run a 10km race this year. 4. START EXPERIMENTING IN THE KITCHEN A few years back, our Christmas gifts were home-made cookie butter. In the pretense that I would sell the product after they tasted it over the holidays. The stress of making jar upon jar dissuaded me from the idea, but now looking at all the goodies we ate during the holidays it doesnt seem like a bad idea to be proficient in the kitchen. So I vow to learn how to cook better by making/cooking/creating one poultry/beef/fish dish a month that is totally new! 5. BE RELIGIOUS WITH THIS BLOG I started this blog to initially get on the bandwagon of everyone baring their thoughts to Mr. Internet. (And also because I had become bored with Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter) So far I think I've done a good job of updating this site. This time though I want to vary the content. I notice that it's all about Calligraphy, when my life is so much more than that. I want to make this website become a true representation of all facets of my life--not just my struggle with learning how to control a nib and pen. 6. BE MORE RELIGIOUS Moving to Legazpi has made me grow in many aspects, but has also make me regress in some. Particularly in my spiritual journey. Back in Manila I belonged to a religious community-- one that I no longer have in my present residence. Additionally, the language barrier has made it difficult for me to really commune with God. Although I can speak and understand Bicol, the dialect they use in mass is a different kind of Bicol with words that even Martin cannot comprehend-- making mass and prayers very hard to do. So for christmas I bought myself a Gabay reflection book to really focus on daily bible readings and medidation. (adding No 7 & 8 today) 7. SAVE MORE MONEY I will try to make a conscious effort of raising my savings level to the 6 digits. Savings to me means UNTOUCHABLE -- money I will not and cannot touch unless I am in desperate need of it. To do this I will save 20% of my monthly salary in a separate account that will also accrue interest. 8. START A GARDEN Unconsciously I have begun training my green thumb by saving the ends off the leaks and spring onions I used to make tinapa rice. These ends have slowly thrived and are not healthy looking shrubs on my fence. Coming off this success I shall make 2015 the GREEN year of growing my garden to include other herbs. Hopefully they will survive long enough to be used in the kitchen. So here are my 8 Resolutions for 2015. What do you think? Are they "SMART" resolutions? Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic with a Time table??
I will update you-- perhaps QUARTERLY? haha toodles! As the fireworks dust settles and 2015 is underway how are you starting the new year? where I am it's rainy and wet, meaning Jan 1 beginnings have to be indoors. I still haven't started on my 2015 resolutions. (Im waiting for my planner before I tackle THAT! haha) So instead I am welcoming 2015 with calligraphy drills.
Ever since I started dabbling with this last September, Ive gone in with so much zeal that Martin has been impressed with the marked improvement of my finished materials. Like a kid Id go running to him excitedly showing him my finished "masterpieces", and like a doting parent he'll congratulate my minor successes even if sometimes they arent successful at all. Ive begun browsing thru Eleanor Winters' "MASTERING COPPERPLATE CALLIGRAPHY" which has been regarded as the bible for beginners. Going thru the drills I understand now the mechanics between strokes and how they correlate to create letters then words. As I go thru the lines I see how my strokes become more mechanical and ingrained. Hopefully when I do use a nib & pen the drills will manifest themselves thru an improvement in my calligraphy. Until then Im going to savor the coffee, rain and my drills. hello 2015! |
Who is sab_adventures?I have always wanted to write. This will now be a creative outlet-- home to all my arts and crafts. So feel free to browse around my everyday adventures. Interests
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