life-track: Clean

There's a place around my heart that you wish for
When you pretend its never there
What are you living for?

Come back and see me some time, she said
Thinking he'd rather be dead.
But eventually I might give her a ring instead

Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?
I want everything to be so clean
So clean

When you're alone,
You'll ask yourself things
I bet you were not
Even thinking all these things
One time its clear to you
All the things you know
He even reminds me of the kid we used to know

Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?
I want everything to be so clean.
So clean.

There's a place around my heart
that you hope for
When you pretend its never there
What do you answer for?

Come back and see me sometime, she said.
Thinking he'd be dead.
But eventually, I might give her a book instead

Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?
I want everything to be so clean.
So clean.

Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?
Would you talk to me?

I want everything to be so clean.
So clean.

life-track: Shampoo

Here I go again
Late for another passing train
Oh, the good times we had
Another morning comes
Left another record on
Had a good night for all

Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
I’ll go anywhere with you

So we rise
Off to make another run of it
Pass the time, we say goodbye
Here we are again enclosed
Wake me up, I’m ready to go
Oh, the sunset tonight

Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
And I’d go anywhere with you

Here I go again
Late for another passing train
Oh the good times lie ahead
Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
Last thing that I remember
Things were getting better
I would go anywhere with you

life-track: I am the Cosmos

Every night I tell myself,
"I am the cosmos,
I am the wind"
But that don't get you back again
Just when I was starting to feel okay
You're on the phone
I never wanna be alone
Never wanna be alone
I hate to have to take you home
Wanted too much to say no, no,
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Never wanna be alone
I hate to have to take you home
Want you too much to say no, no
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
My feeling's always happening
Something I couldn't hide
I can't confide
Don't know what's going on inside
So every night I tell myself
"I am the cosmos,
I am the wind"
But that don't get you back again
I'd really like to see you again
I really wanna see you again
I'd really like to see you again
I really wanna see you again
I'd really like to see you again
I really wanna see you again
I never wanna see you again
Really wanna see you again

addicted to koreanovelas

Talk about obsession. Some of the korean soaps and dramas are so heartwrenchingly good (they're an excellent way to beat that jetlag..) but here's a recent blog entry that had me laughing so hard. Primarily because people in the Philippines are practically the same when it comes to their favorite dramas. And myself, when it comes to GLEE and Korea's Coffee Prince.

http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/07/your-addiction-stories-giveaway-winner-announced/

la gitana

Como echo de menos mi vida gitanilla... Sometimes, Shakira just gets those lyrics right. *sigh* :-/
Also, how can one go wrong with an oiled up, dirty, half-nekked Rafa Nadal.

Ugh, feel that chemistry.
..brings back memories...

hot daym--random

Choreographer for this NEEDS to win the award for hottest, sexiest, limbs flailing all over the place choreo EVER.




Also... here's the link to Shakira's play by play of this hernia-inducing video. In another life, I will be THAT freakishly awesome.

And one more thing. The name of that bed-scene dancer (who is now the main protagonist of all my dreams) is Daniel "Cloud" Campos, a Florida-born magician...I mean dancer. Here's a video of his crazy-hotness.

Grad School = kindergarten

Funny, sad... and so true.

The train to a snowy city

I have quite the soft spot for trains and train stations. Must be the nostalgia of my backpacker days. It feels comforting to be on a real train and not just a subway car. That feeling of running past sites and sounds of a landscape as you head on a long journey flying past trees, hills, small towns and racing with cars.

Today it snows outside the train car's window. As we head west, the water drops slowly transform into slushy ice. And further out as we speed past Minneola, the sleet has transformed itself into a powdery snow that now blankets the platform, billboards and parked cars. It is the quiet peacefulness that the atmosphere outside invokes that reminds me of how trains were always my most favorite places to reflect on travels of the past, the present, and to build my future journeys.

***

On our first long weekend in the Spring semester of 2005, I decided to take a solo journey from Florence to Palermo, Sicily. A ballsy move for someone who was still learning the language, I decided that the best way to delve into the culture was to step outside the bounds of my comfort zone (namely, a 4-villa estate filled with American students, most of whom had no interest in Italian culture beyond making out with Italians and getting drunk on wine), take a 13-hour ride on a midnight train to the depths of Italy where there was slim chance of encountering an english-speaking native.

That night, I ran to the Santa Maria Novella train station with my pre-bought tickets and hopped on the first car sitting on the via where my train was going to be--at least it said so on the printed schedule.

The train begins to move and I realize that it seemed far more of a commuter train than a sleeper train... but I didn't think too much of it... until the man who sat across from me asked me where I was headed in Italian, and in my spantalian, I replied "a train bound for Sicily".

Surprise, surprise. The train I was on was headed for the hills, quite literally. It was, indeed, a commuter train bound for the hills of Fiesole and completely chugging in the wrong direction.

I started to slightly panic, strode to the first conductor I could find, and told him my dilemma. He runs off to the engineer and talks some stuff that was beyond my 2-week Italian comprehension, and next thing I know, I was being left behind on a station platform in the middle of no-where-Tuscany hoping I wouldn't get mugged or kidnapped... and praying that maybe I'll run into some nun who will help me find my way.

The conductor said just wait at the platform and everything would be okay. They waved goodbye and started chugging off into the darkness... and boy, was it dark.

But no more than 5-minutes later, a train heading back to Santa Maria Novella arrived with the new conductor telling me I could catch my train for Sicily at the closer station one stop before the Florence city center... Turns out they communicated to find out where they would be crossing paths so I could quickly take my train back.

Thus began my most memorable first trip on my own and my love affair with Italy, its people, its culture, and of course, its gastronomic brilliance.

My friends are AWESOME

Vicariously living through the adventures of equally adventurous friends and admiring how they can so eloquently share their adventures.

Keep it up, Lyss!



Shared obsessions...
Me: "I am camping in front of that sign-in table 30 mins before. I know them spinning fiends will try and get all up on our instructor. I want dibs on the machine with the best view of his ass."
M: "Exactly!"



Best quote to date:

Upon speaking with Top Chef 3: CJ...

"[He] asked me what i liked to eat, told me i 'sound sweet' that he 'can't wait to meet' which means...
WE ARE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED"

Hahaha. That is EXACTLY how I would like to meet my prince charming.
Man, my friends are AWESOME. Yes, they are.

Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'enfants) (2003)

Happy Chinese New Year/V-day or what you will...

The year of the tiger = 2010, I believe? Sure.
Another V-day (vag-monologue day for the single feminist women out there, and valentine's for everyone else who has paired up) goes by.

We celebrated my parents' 25th Silver Anniversary on Feb. 12th (last friday). It was a fun night, though started out fairly rocky due to poor program planning and stress of having the snotty-relatives around (the ones who grew up in the era of the Marcos with a silver provincial spoon in their mouths). But after enough bottles of wine and good company, it ended up being lots of fun.

And now I have a giant red velvet cake in a box waiting to be eaten somehow. Will have to split this up since I'm not in the mood for cake these days.

As soon as I get un-lazy, finish readings, etc... will upload pictures to the ShutterCal and make it live again. In the meantime, enjoy Adele's "Chasing Pavements" video.



The dancing-while-lying-down, it is really impressive. The guy MUST be really buff and that girl MUST weigh as much as a feather. Crazyness.

open invitation to Bill Murray

Dear Bill Murray,

You say you want to visit the Philippines? Well this is my open invitation to you, sir. We can Steve Zissou from island to island. Pirates (even that filipino one that took your accountant hostage in the movie) shouldn't be a problem. Trust me, you will love it.

No glowing jellyfish in the middle of the night, but you will enjoy it. Should you ever decide to take me up on the offer (unlike Anthony Bourdain whose poor choice of Philippines-guide on his show clearly made him miss out on the best parts of the Filipino food culture), let me know. I shall be ready to go whenever.


Yours sincerely,
Me.

life-track: The Relator

When I met you,
I didn't know what to do. I was tired,
I was hungry,
I fight. Now I'm away,
I write home everyday and I see you on the TV at night.
(Chorus)
You can see that life's for us to talk about.
You can leave whenever you want out.
Whoa. You don't relate to me,
no girl,
you don't respect me,
no girl,
no girl. Oh yeah.

When I met you,
I didn't know what to do,
but I noticed that I didn't really feel.
Now you're away,
you write home everyday. I don't beg,
I don't borrow,
I steal.
(Chorus)
You don't think that life's for us to talk about.
You can leave whenever you want out,
you want out. Well,
you don't relate to me,
no girl. You don't respect me,
no girl. (you can leave when ever you want out)
And you don't relate to me,
no girl. And you don't respect me,
no girl. (You can leave whenever you want out)
No you don't relate to me,
no girl. And you don't respect me,
no girl. No girl. Yeah.

-Pete Yorn & Scar-Jo. Relator.

I am O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D. Totally had me dancing in the aisles of the library... lol.

sweet pea, apple of my eye

Amos Lee, you make me v. v. happy :-)
You make me want to tap dance (if I knew how). At least you make me wanna fake tap dancing.

On the other hand...
Ingrid Michaelson, Mat Kearney... you guys break my heart! WTF, Boston is NO WHERE near me! Ingrid, Staten Island is like another planet...why there? WHY?

Dailies: The Post-It Notes Reading Series

Since being in grad school and on Long Island has dried up my shutterbug-juices, I thought blogging about positive things, deleting old emo posts, hitting up the gym to get a bit skinnier so those relatives will stop pinching my sides, and maybe diving into the dating pool could make my 2010 a much better year than this past one. Also, I need to cure myself of my facebook-procrastinating addiction...

And so, after seeing a post from a friend about NPR's "This American Life"'s 2008 episode on Valentine's heartbreak and single-dom, I happened upon The Post-it Note Stories website.

Apparently, there are open reading events at the KGB Bar downtown in the East Village.
Events: V-day Slideshow & Cartoons w/ Tim Krieder

Seems to be the coolest thing I've found lately, and is inspiring me to re-wet my creative juices (that stuff that died at some point during my first semester of grad school). I think everyone should try it!
Post-it Note Stories Blog
Post-it Note Stories Website

life-track: Search Your Heart

Search Your Heart - Break Up Videos #4 of 9 video series from Get Rare! on Vimeo.

1,2,2
and you search your heart x4
I just wanna tell you
I don't know why
If you find the answer
I'll be inside
arranging time
You won't find another dummy who wait for you
So I hate the one who lives for you

Don't blame me for your trouble

and you search your heart x2

I don't need an answer
I just don't know
If you find it one day
I know that you're strenght is gone
and you are shattered

Don't hate me for I live for you
Don't make me do things you won't do
Don't blame me for your trouble

Cos' you know once you're over the top of the hill
You're life ain't no supermarket store
And you know this
And it shows x2

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

So I blame the boy who's there for you
Don't make him do things you won't do

Don't blame me for your trouble
Don't hate me for your trouble
Don't blame me for your, oh oh oh

And you search your heart x2
And you search your

life-track: I Don't Know What to Do

I Don't Know What To Do - Break Up Videos #3 of 9 video series from Get Rare! on Vimeo.

life-track: Wear & Tear

Wear and Tear video #2 of 9 videos in a series from Get Rare! on Vimeo.

life-track...on the repeat-list

Relator video #1 of 9 videos in a series Break Up videos from Get Rare! on Vimeo.

"You can leave whenever you want out..."

No One Laughs at God

PostSecrets. I like the ones with the silver lining best.
Regina Spektor, you, ma'am, have a way with words. Even when I have you playing in the background, you always end up making me listen.



***
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

*Chorus*
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very
poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God

-Laughing With. Regina Spektor.