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I wish I had a book that never ends. I would read it and read it, flipping through its infinite pages. I won’t ever stop. I would read during breakfast, I’ll hold it with one hand while I chomp on some toast with the other. I’d splash some coffee on it, accidentally of course, but my eyes remain glued to to the text as I wipe the soggy pages. I’d bring it to school, hiding it discreetly behind my school books. I’d take it to the bathroom, to meetings, to dates. I’d carefully tuck it under my pillow as I fall asleep dreaming about the new friends I made—princesses, knights, fairies, and even animals. I’d wake up and the day repeats itself, I would read during breakfast, I’ll hold it with one hand while  I chomp on, today, cereal with the other, I’d splash some juice on it, accidentally of course, but my eyes remain glued to the text as I wipe the soggy pages. I’d bring it to school, hiding it discreetly behind my school books. I’ll only pretend to listen to my teachers. Before I fall asleep, I’d carefully tuck it under my pillow, thinking of my new friends of unicorns and mermaids. It’s the same old day but with a different adventure.

The end, sighing, I close the book I am holding. I peered at my phone, the hopeful little envelope icon wasn’t there. Maybe it is broken, I daresay. My planner is open, only to see blank pages for days and days. The mailbox is empty. My special jar for roses contains only water.

There is no never-ending book. There is only… life.

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LOVE. The one word that has a lot of meaning; it goes side-by-side with the words abused and overused. Sometimes even overrated. Heck, some describe it as the thing that makes the world go round! Even our ever-trusted friend Webster can’t give one concrete explanation on what exactly it is. It comes in different types and forms, sometimes, even genres. So why am I posting this again? I don’t know. Maybe because up to now, I still feel like the unluckiest girl in the world when it comes to the abused, overused, and sometimes even overrated word that makes the world go round, and I have to do something in order to forget all my troubles even for just a couple of minutes.

Going back to the subject matter, love indeed comes from all sorts of things and from different people from all walks of life. It may be love in the form of FRIENDSHIP, which is a feeling that puts me on high.

It can also be love of FAMILY, which in my opinion, is one of the greatest gifts God ever trusted upon me.

Speaking of GOD, there’s also a form of love which I dedicate solely to Him. If you love Him, then there’s no need to further explain. You should already know how it feels because I know I DO.

And last, but definitely not the least is love in the form of a relationship with the opposite sex. For me, this is the most complicated form of L-O-V-E. Don’t get me wrong, that’s just my opinion. Why complicated? Because if it is love not returned, it’s like venom ready to kill you slowly. You may not feel the hurt from time to time but when it reaches your heart at some point, you’re dead right then and there (at least figuratively!) Sigh.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I’m not desperate to be in a relationship or something like that. I just happened to observe that in my entire 19 years of existence in this world, no one has ever loved me the way it is in fairytales and love story books, as I’ve always imagined it to be. haha!

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Posted in Reflections, Relationships | 3 Comments »

I AM an extremely hairy person. I have been like this ever since I can remember.

When God bestowed hair onto the human race, I was in the middle row behind the Arabs and before the Japanese. I don’t look like a werewolf. Nope, I don’t look like a mix between a really hairy animal and a human. I’m just a girl born with a lot of body hair.

From my tresses to my eyebrows to the long wispy strands connected to my arms and legs, I had always more hair than my friends.

Some say it’s a blessing, others say it’s a curse, I say it’s both.

Here’s the deal about my hair. It isn’t naturally straight or artfully curly. It most definitely isn’t fine, light, or fresh-looking. My hair is horrible. The strands are very thick. No matter how much conditioner and oil I soak in it, my hair sticks out stiff as if I am continuously electrocuted. It’s wavy and curly at the same time. The only solution to make my hair acceptable in society is to rebond it and I was addicted to that treatment for the longest time. Let’s just say that I have had enough rebonding to last me till I grow bald—and I almost grew bald one summer when out of impulsiveness, I had my hair straightened and after the treatment, my locks rubberized. Whenever I would comb it with my fingers, the strands would stretch then break like cooked spaghetti. That was a terrible moment for me.

As a kid, I always toyed with the idea that my hair will eventually decide on how it wants to look like. I saw it as a confused person who didn’t know whether it would be totally curly or just wavy. I even thought that it could still transform, by some sort of miracle, into the kind of hair most Asian girls have—straight, fine, and wonderfully shiny.

So I wore everything that I thought would make my hair look better. Butterfly clips, headbands, glitter clamps—name it, I had it!

Of course, stepping into high school meant growing up and leaving all the childish things behind. And that included my wide butterfly clips collection.

I opted to use one hairstyle that I considered a sign of maturity—the full ponytail. It was so easy to do. My hair was up to my shoulder and like I said, it was in the middle of wavy and curly. Mommy bought me a set of multi-colored hair ties but I always used the pink one with a jeweled flower with hot pink petals and a golden center because it matched my bag and uniform.

I thought that my hair looked okay already until I realized that I had extremely stubborn baby curls growing on the place where the hair starts and the forehead ends.

And so I got acquainted with rebond.  Ever since my first ever rebond session when I was 12 years old, I have had about seven to nine treatments already, one cheap and simple straightening, and one expensive but safer straight therapy.

“Magkaka-cancer ka,” Mommy told me one morning when I was begging her to please, please allow me to have my hair rebonded.

“Ano ba, Mari,” she looked at me with a concerned look, “You know what happened last time.” And when she said that, I knew that it was the end of our conversation.

What happened last time was that my hair rubberized and fell off. It turned into angel hair spaghetti strands that broke easily even with just the slightest amount of pressure. It was frightening. After the treatment, I dug my fingers into my hair to flip it. When, my fingers came in contact with it, the strands stretched and I suddenly heard snapping. “Pack! Pack! Pack!” my hair broke. I was so afraid that I’d go bald that I didn’t comb it for a couple of days until I was certain that it was strong enough to handle the plastic teeth of my Denman comb.

“Okay, Ma,” I said. That was June 2007. Come December that same year, Mommy offered to have my hair rebonded at the new parlor of her friend Cring-Cring.

Last na, I swore to myself. I knew the drill already by heart. I’d enjoy six months of straight, no-worry, tresses, but after that, my original hair would’ve grown back. Finding the perfect style for a half-naturally curly and half-artificially straightened hair was always a difficult and an extremely tricky task because I didn’t want to look like those girls who think it is okay to just leave the curly and straight hair together without even trying to improve its look.

A year later, I made the biggest hair decision I have ever made. And that was to chop off all the treated hair. Why? Well, it was a really hot season and I couldn’t take more of my long, half-straight and half-curly hair. All I wanted was to feel fresh and I couldn’t achieve that while constantly worrying about how my hair looked like. So there. I let go of five inches and many years worth of rebonding and styling. I let go of past bad hair days and welcomed new ones with my natural locks.

And you know what? I’m happy with my hair now. Unruly curls and all.

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My three-day schoolweek ended today, and quite frankly, I’m already exhausted. As much as I love my majors (Digital Design, Visual Communication, Journalism & Advertising!), I am currently ready to gouge my eye-bagged eyes out with the pile-up of things to do! I guess this is why say that junior year is the toughest.

Nevertheless, my first Advertising class has already opened my eyes to new things, and I’m now training myself to be more aware and to watch out for the local advertisements on TV, radio, and print too. Our first task in class is to sell ourselves as the best advertising agency in town, using a print ad to do so. I’ve started looking for ads online for inspiration, just to see how professional print ads are. Here are my favorites!

1. Dettol Hand Sanitizer
2. 
   I found this really effective, and visually stimulating. I think it’s especially relevant now too, because of the Swine Flu outbreak :\
3. Perrier
4. 
   First saw this in Viscom class, and caught my eye instantly! Spot Bob Marley
5. Nike
   
   I love how Nike ads are so simple yet eye-catching! It’s such a nice view of those gorgeous running shoes, all the way down to the stitching!
6. Unicef
   
   This one instantly tugged at my heartstrings and made me go aww!
7. Pringles Hot and Spicy
   
   Loved this!! Makes me want to eat Pringles. I wish they had that flavor here! Do they?:o

Hoping to unleash her long-lost (!!) creativity,
Gaby

Posted in Etcetera, Lists | No Comments »

I have these sites bookmarked as “fun stuff” in my browser. They’re not really fun stuff (you’ll get why in just a while), but they’re sites that I check out in my lunch break that make me feel a little lighter. They’ve been around for a while but I’ve only started to religiously check them now.

1. PostSecret
   The site churns out a new batch of secrets every week. I’ve always wanted to send one (or a gazillion) but I’ve never had the time to do it. Maybe someday. Here’s my favorite one this week:
   
2. One Sentence
   These are “true stories told in one sentence.” I like that it’s just a sentence. I mean, rambling is good for the soul but there are times when quick and witty is the way to go. This is my favorite from the new batch:
   Caribou
   He deflated my heart so I deflated his tires.

—
Haha! Kinda evil

3. Letters from the Crushed
   Their tagline is “If you aren’t going to tell them, you may as well tell everyone.” A little illogical, but they’ve got a point!
   This is my favorite of all the recent ones :

B,
I wish I could just wash you away. Just one steamy shower, one load of laundry, and you’re gone.
- K

4. Letters to Crushes
   I’ll end this blog with a happy one. Letters to Crushes is all about hearts and rainbows, a great pick-me-upper in this stupid rainy weather.

This is my favorite this week:
F,
how i wish i could copy and paste you beside me and save it as a secret relationship we both share.
- X
—
So cute, right?
And this is my favorite of them all:
Everyone,
If they say no, you end up alone. If you say nothing, you end up alone. What have you got to lose?
-anonymous

—

That’s why I do it. It being another blog entry altogether.

—

There’s something cleansing about all these secrets. I will send some of mine one of these days.

How about you? Have you sent yours?

Posted in Lists, Reflections | 2 Comments »