New Year Entry... that is quite late!

With the New Year entering in my life, I am applying finally some changes that I should HAVE done before. And with what my VBF and I started yesterday, it is the marking of supposedly my "new" life ahead of me... FOR me.

I am moving. That I have to announce. Changes is inevitable for me to move on and indeed have a life. This perhaps will be my farewell post but coming back might take some time and couldn't tell when. To where I am moving it would be here... I am still sorting and thinking of how to start it. But all will be different–perhaps I'll be straight, bolder and at times tactless... hihihi! We'll soon find out ;)

Happy New Year to you reader/s (if anyone is really reading this)... and I'd see you again soon.

Learnings from my Zambales Road Trip

List… list… list…

There’s much more on the advantage side when you have your own car when you travel. Like you get to hold of the time spent traveling and lesser stopovers, I guess. But with me who isn’t as privilege as some of you out there, commuting and traveling via bus isn’t as bad as others think. Perhaps I’m just used to it. Half my life I lived away from my family and ever since I learned to commute, I’d usually chose to go “my way” even if it means I have to commute. So here I share some things you learn/realize when you commute.

The whole stretch of my travel, I saw less and less of buildings and other concrete infrastractures. Well, only until I reached Subic/Olongapo area. So, what do you expect to see when traveling up north:

1.) Ricefields – as mentioned and seen photos in my previous blog entry
2.) National roads narrowing – from NLEX that can occupy almost 4 vehicles heading on one direction, you’ll end up roads that can only occupy 2 vehicles, one heading north and the other direction.
3.) No traffic – compared to Manila, it is much less of course! The bus has to stop once in a while to give way since the national roads are good only for 2 vehicles as mentioned previously or perhaps when a carabao or herds of cows are crossing the road.
4.) The sky – honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve seen different cloud formations, sun’s rays passing through the clouds and how clear and lovely the sky could be… *sniff*
5.) Barrios or Barangays named after all the saint you never thought existed – going backwards, Crystal Beach is in San Narciso, before that is San Antonio, prior to that is San Marcelino and in Castillejos, there’s San Jose and San Juan… just to name a few… and DON’T expect me to translate them in their English names. I don’t have any who those saints are!
6.) Commuters – in all forms and sizes… I don’t know if it’s just the holidays but living and working most of my life in Manila and seeing flocks of commuters, in the north multiply it by 3!
7.) Jose Rizal statue holding a book by his chest – to those who doesn’t know, Jose Rizal is still the country’s national hero and is said to be the young Filipinos “role-model” for his bravery and intelligence. That is why, he is placed in every front of a schoolyard even on provincial municipality! Well, it was said to be… perhaps next time (if I remember it) I should discuss the “other” J.P. Rizal most Filipino never knew of.
8.) All 4 and 2-legged farm/field animals you can think of –– and what could they be doing? Eating, sleeping, mad-bathing and even shitting. Hahaha! But one thing was odd about it is that, on the 2-legged creatures, I’ve seen some king fishers and a few herons but no chickens! Where have all the chickens (and roosters) have gone?!!!? Hello? Calling KFC?!

And who said one should sleep while traveling? I could have missed all the FREE entertainment if I’m dozing off. That’s just the 4-hours of traveling. Imagine what I could have seen if I had 6-8 hours of traveling headed for Ilocos? ;)

From the outside to the inside… In fairness, the Victory Liner bus I rode was really clean and decent. For a bus fare of P221.00 and aircon, it’s fair enough. But since you are commuting and still taking a “public” transportation, what shall you expect when you commute via aircon bus?

1.) Chatty people – the bus I rode had “Eat Bulaga” on. But the sound of the 2 ladies talking 2 seats away from me is quite loud, overpowering the TV. Thank God I have my iPod with me!
2.) Sleep-head commuter – the guy beside was, and good thing he isn’t snoring or else…
3.) Kids – all kinds of kids: cute one, cry-babies, etc. At least their with their moms or dads but still, some parents just can’t get hold of their children. One has to be very patient if you encounter annoying ones… or at least have some diversion not to notice them.
4.) Book-people – I assumed she might be a law or a med-student going back home. She was reading this think, hardbound book resting on her lap. Not unless she’s just proof-reading it? And a couple more ladies reading some romance novels.
5.) Barfing people – children or adults, either will still be the worst. It would definitely smell in the entire bus since it’s confined. Good thing the bus conductor immediately gave the grandfather plastic and a wet-rug with some bubbly solution to wiped the window and the area.

After tomorrow, 2006 is over and comes 2007. Some are making their list again of resolutions or upcoming plans next year while I did a different kind of list. Oh well, after the road trip, I think I’ll just expect a different me… or not?!

Thanks for sharing your time reading my blog. Hopefully next year, you’ll get more of happenings, realizations, rants and raves from yours truly, Nemcy. Ü

A blessed and peaceful new year to everyone!

Road Trip

Location: Crystal Beach Resort, San Narciso, Zambales
Travel Time/Duration: 3 to 4 hours
Means of Transportation: Aircon bus and tricycle

An achievement I can proudly slash off my list is having accomplished this “road trip” of mine… ALONE. Yep! Since the first weeks of December I have been wanting to go to the beach, feel the waters trickle my skin and smell the sea breeze. Events has been interrupting my plans until last Wednesday, Dec. 27 I was able to contact the resort and made reservations.

To cut the introduction a little short… Panch, a friend of mine who’s also a beach-lover and the one who dragged me to Boracay a few years back, was suppose to be with me. She does need some break too. But unfortunately her heartless boss seemed to be eating her time (and mind!)… but all is well, I guess she’ll be free from his metal hands by mid-January. And Panch promised to come with me when some force of nature pulls me back to Zambales!

WHY O WHY?
So, how do we go about my adventure? To start off, at first I wanted at least one friend to accompany me but since it was a sudden decision all seemed to be occupied for the holidays. Either a family reunion, party or other personal responsibilities. I was scared of course. But to hell it goes, I DO wanted to go to the beach before the year ends! Rebellious it may sound but I just NEED to get out of “it”… whatever that “it” is… Most of my friends who knew that I’d be traveling alone have such reactions/suggestions:

1.) “Are you out of your mind?” – Perhaps, but once in a while it’s nice to do stuff you’ve never done before, right?
2.) “Cancel or postpone it!” – I just can’t. I made a reservation and it suppose to have a 50% down payment, but since it was that “quick” the owner said that I pay full when I get there. My name will be at stake if I don’t show my face there and besides, for sure I’d be coming back there… alone or with friends.
3.) “What’s your problem?” – Some knew that I am not the type that have spontaneous decisions… I mean, some see me as “the person with plans”… I guess, at time people change. I wanted to be by myself perhaps.
4.) “Take care…” – After a few explanations and reminders from them, it’s all that they could say. Specially once they knew that I told my family I am with my old friends and colleagues from my previous job.

Ok, I HAD to lie. To my family and to anyone in connection or relation to them… my reasons:

1.) So they’d just allow me to go, without worries.
2.) No more questions… period.

I was in Manila that Wednesday when I made my reservation. Let my father knew I am leaving for the beach around 11pm when I got home a “little” late with a few new good friends ;)

My bags

I packed the next morning, Thursday, Dec. 28 and this was the first time that packed on the day itself. Never done that too. Every time I travel, I plan ahead, have a checklist and pack at least a day before leaving and NOT on the day itself. Well, what should I be worried about? It’s just an overnight. Ok, don’t react why I have such huge backpack if it’s just an overnight thing. I packed stuff good for 3 days. Why?... well, just in case…

LOCATION AND LOGISTICS
Crystal Beach is in San Narciso, Zambales. It is a known beach specially by those who surf. Yup! It’s a surf haven. One can reach it in 3 hours time IF and ONLY IF you have a car but in my case, I reached it for almost 4-5 hours. Why? Geographically speaking, Zambales is in the northside of the Philippines. Same side as that if Bulacan where I came from. But unfortunately, I had to go down to Manila first to get on the bus heading straight to Iba, Zambales. There was no straight bus from Bulacan going to Zambales. I reach Victory Liner, Caloocan Terminal (the bus station) almost half past 10. Commuting by bus has been my life, and going to Manila the same way took my more than an hour that time! Perhaps, God is giving me time to back out? Nah! Despite the waiting of the bus to be filled up and the traffic it went to get to Manila… my decision is still firm––I am going to Zambales! I hopped on the bus bound to Iba, Zambales by 11am.

ON TRAVELLING
I won’t be enumerating what you should be bringing when traveling. What I am doing now might be a bore of a read to you so let’s not go to details. But just to warn you how “unprepared” I am, that huge backpack of mine has no camera, nor a pair of swimsuit. Yep! You got it! I am heading to a beach and no swimsuit? Again, this trip is not planned… a random decision. But it ended well (shoot! Did I just said that… darn it!)

Anyways… just bring what you think will make you survive out of your house. Decide on what you think will at least satisfy you if not totally happy at all. In my case, I got the window seat of the bus. I don’t like getting the aisle, even on planes. I like to see the view and of course, where I am heading.

So, for that day, I passed by the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) TWICE. And saw that the northern part of the Philippine is still an agricultural area. I am from Bulacan, but the area I live with already have McDonald’s, flyovers and just 10-minutes away from SM. I saw:

Ricefields...

...ricefields

... and more ricefields

Well, some have a cow or two


All 4 and 2-legged farm/field animals you can think of –– and what could they be doing? Eating, sleeping, mad-bathing and even shitting. Hahaha! But one thing was odd about it is that, on the 2-legged creatures, I’ve seen some king fishers and a few herons but no chickens! Where have all the chickens (and roosters) have gone?!!!? Hello? Calling KFC?!

After a couple of bus stops, I reached San Narciso by 3:30PM. Since I just eat a light breakfast and had some junkies for snack, I am starving. Good thing there’s a famous pizza place near the town’s plaza. It’s called Dude’s Pizza. It’s a small pizza joint but their pizzas are great! One wall has a mural of a man surfing and on the other sides are photos of celebrities who’s been in the place, and signed the wall. I was able to talk to Vanessa, the wife of the owner and told me that his husband and the owner of Crystal Beach are brothers! Some cool family business I guess ü She also told me that, Dodo (I think he’s one of the in charge people residing the beach) and a few more people are about to release a pawikan they rescued some time ago. After eating a solo pepperoni and a glass of Ice Tea for my late lunch and early dinner treat, I hopped on a tricycle and headed for Crystal Beach.

THE BEACH
Now that I’ve reached my destination, I can now admit that I was a little scared of this trip. Hahaha! Who wouldn’t if you’re first time to do it and alone on a place you bearly know anyone? At least I am on a place where we both speak the same language (Hi, Brian and King!) My fear was a little bit relieved when I hear the waves crashing and felt the breeze. And all anxiety was forgotten when I saw these:

The beach, the sunset... I was glad I'm there...


And there I was… Crystal Beach! Too bad , I just missed releasing of the pawikan by a couple of minutes.

And will all my talking above, let my photos do the further talking ;) Even though I didn’t have my handy-dandy Canon G5 with me then, I’m glad I’ve upgraded my old phone to Sony Ericsson’s K610i!

My Tower... I mean, the room I'll be staying–The Attic

The view from the entrance of the attic

My room which could accommodate 3 persons... and I have it all by myself!

What I can see sitting on the bed

That's the veranda from the beachfront

The beachfront... and THIS is my fave shot Ü

The shore... the sand... not white though, but it's fine.

The waves...

... and it greeted me

Fishing boats

More shore and waves...

... and the footprints I left behind

I wasn’t able to take a dip since I don’t have a swimsuit with me but by merely being there, hearing the waves crash and felt the breeze, I am satisfied… VERY satisfied. I sounded recharged as one of my dear friends texted me. I guess so. Water calms me down.

Foot spa?

I took a short walk along the shore. Saw a couple of guys trying to catch some waves to surf. The weather was great. Even though a little cloudy… still I’m glad I was there and not someplace else. The next morning, I woke up a little late than planned. I wanted to watch the daybreak but all I got was these:

Daybreak by the beach (from the veranda)

But the sunrise is on the other side...

... which is not that bad

... b'coz I got some good shots ;)

I was able to observe a few more people are coming in and are surfing – both men and women! The resort have surfing instructors and surfboards you can rent. Hmmm… for experience, I will definitely be staying longer in my next visit and take that surfing lesson!

I just stayed overnight and had to leave by 9:30am the next day to catch the 10am bus ride back to Manila. The adventure was short but it was very helpful for me. I would definitely be back sooner next year. Either with some friends or alone again. I’ve done it once, why can’t I do it again ;)

Photo collage of a satisfied and happy, Nemcy!

"Crying" It

My last week at work and I am still “lost” of what has happened a few days ago…

I still have to work but I am sooooo useless…

Christmas is sooo near, yet I feel… blank.

It’s a week of meeting up with friends, get-togethers, Christmas parties… dinners, etc… etc…

I have been to videoke or karaoke with different sets of friends. From client-friends to ex-officemates turned to friends… but all the same, I DON’T sing. I munch in the food, drink the beers I can induce and smoke till my lungs give up.

But last night was different.

I am with my Batibot ladies… had dinner and of course, karaoke should never be off our list. I have been out of touch from these two ladies but when we see each other, it still the same. We giggle. We laugh. We talk. But it’s not just me who noticed that I AM different. Different in a that I actually SING. Nemcy Cruz did sing!

Yes! I sang till my larynx or whatever part of that throat felt breaking. I sang like I was the only one in that room. I felt no shame. I am not shy. I just feel like singing. I proudly grabbed the songbook and search for familiar songs… then punched the numbers.

I practically sang…

Nemcy SANG…

Not 1 song, not 2 or 3… not just 10, I suppose…

And as some might be asking for evidences…

The Magic Three that's left: Lotus, Me and Lewie!

Lotus and Lewie for the pose. (Lot hand over the song book and remote... please?)


The Fabulous Videoke Ladies: Lotus and Lewie

Evidence No. 1: They said they've never seen me in that "mode"... Perhaps I DID let go ;)


Evidence No. 2: "May be it's wrong to say please love me to, 'coz I know you'll never do..."


Evidence No. 3: "Bakiiiiitttt... labis kitang mahal... Ganda mo'y... 'di ko malimutan..."


Lewie "fainted" in the event of me singing... NOT!!! Of course, she's kidding! I love you, kapatid (sister)!!!


I felt satisfied singing last night. I feel happy. And my friends felt it too. They were happy. They said that I finally “let go”… I was confused with their term. But they said, I am finally enjoying it… TOTALLY enjoying karaoke. That sounded good too… felt somehow alive. It’s like, something or someone just came out of me!

I just sang my heart out… and it felt good. F*ckingly good.

So, when's the next videok session? ;)

My Red Chucks!

Yes. I've finally got my FIRST red shoes and it's a Chucks!

I've brought it the other day... and I wore it yesterday!


I am satisfied... and happy ;)

Something New Yet Still Blue

Things may not be great lately but hey, who has a perfect life anyway? Oh well, it's Christmas time. Less than 2 weeks to go and I still haven't shopped yet nor even have a list.

Busy, busy, busy... well, it's better than being bum, right?

So, for a change, this year I decided to buy something for M-E. Well, funds are quite tight yet I did a few magic tricks (which later I know I have to pay for it... sigh). since Monday i have been eyeing for this...

Slick and yeah, I know... sexy... RED!

So, yesterday after our usual Tuesdays meeting, I headed for the nearest mall in search for that sexy thing. Cholo, a friend and a Brand Associate of our client accompanied me. (Pocholo dear, thanks so much! Mwuah!) Checking each and every cellphone shop in that area. Take note: ONE BY ONE. And what I got was this:

The red one will be costing an additional 3K. And I'm a little over my budget already. Too much for sexiness... :(

What is it about RED lately that I've been eyeing for one?

I think I have been into the "safe side" of the world. Now, I am trying to be bold and all... me? Nyahahaha! Oh well... It's never to late that I've realized that I'm a girl... no! That Nemcy is into a "realization"... ?

Choz!

Still not that feeling OK (great I mean, after the buying spree)... I don't know. (What is it with me?!?)

So, I didn't get a red phone... I am getting this later or the next coming days...
Hahaha!!!

It's still RED anyway. Got a problem with that?!?

Weddings and Getting Married (for Joanah and Melvin)

Yes. There’s a stage on everyone’s life when you get irritated by relatives who kept on asking if you have a boyfriend or worst when are you going to get marries…

At these times, we create an imaginary knife and slash their throats… then I had that stage… and I claim of hating getting married AND attending weddings.

But all that changed last Thursday, December 7…


The newly wed: Melvin and Joanah (Photos courtesy of Myles G. Jamito)

Our dear friends, Melvin and Joanah finally got married. These two friends of mine since college are the epitome of love that is TRUE and sincere. No hassles, no qualms, no gimmicks and all that. I always have this tendencies of losing words to describe something… UGH! Basta, they are of perfect match and if someone or something will break them apart… I am one of those who will bury them alive!!!

Let me brag that, I am one of the “cupids” who made these two a couple. Faith, who I tried contacting and finally searched her over Friendster wasn’t able to make it sa wedding :( Melvin and Joanah were classmates in an animation class during our college days. I am one of Melvin’s friends who liked to hangout in their animation room, stay overnights with them to help out. Melvin confessed he likes Joanah, pushed him to make his move. At the same time… Faith, a close friend and confidant of Joanah told me, Joanah likes Melvin too! Weeeehhhh!!! One time I remember, Melvin made a card for Joanah using his original “Puti” character, the same character he used for his animation project. He showed it to me for “checking”. Then a few hours or days later, here comes Joanah handing me a familiar card and telling me… “Bigay n’ya…” (given by him)… Faith was with Joanah then, winked at me as a sign… My smile then seemed to reach my ears. And the rest is history!

Simple story… destiny.

Hay…

May marriage is REALLY something when it is out of love and nothing else. That all will be happy and excited about it when it’s that pure and “clean” ;)

Well, I assume whoever will read this are ADULTS and you should know what I mean :p

To Melvin and Joanah… I know, I have written, spoken and even drew less than expected and compared to your other friends in your guest book. But I wish you knew how deeply happy I am for both of you. I can’t really find the right words… the truest words to describe how I feel for you guys…

Again, congrats and best wishes… more kids, I mean, have kids you can handle and be sure that I am a “ninang” to your first born ;)

–––––––

Btw, in proof that I really LOOOOVVVEEEE this couple, God knows how I hate wearing formal outfits and wearing makeups. But I had to wear these pointed heeled shoes…



But when I couldn’t bear the pain… I did this while Jose, my VBF and I did the hosting…



I walked barefoot too from the reception to the streets passing people in and outside of the church. Gahd! The PAAAAIIINNN!!! After me wearing such shoes, I have high respects to those wearing such KILLER shoes…

Rio, Mommy Ria, and to the rest of the ladies you are killing themselves wearing stilettos, high-heeled boots and the like… IDOL ko kayo!!!