Get Your Mojo Back

When we are no longer able to change situations—we are challenged to change ourselves. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Patience, kindness, being positive, are just some of attributes lost to me when I was younger. I wasn't any of those. I was boastful, cocky and angry all the time. Typical, in my family. Crappy life. In this day and age it's called being EMO. I was an EMO kid. Then grew up to be an EMO teenager and an equally temperamental, emotional wreck most of my 20's and 30's.

Growing up, I had this image of what life would be like one day. It took me years of falling on my face (figuratively) and being in sticky, embarrassing situations to realize that I was unhappy. Admitting that you have failed is incredibly humbling. So humbling, in fact, that our ego can hold on so tightly that we are left standing alone holding that dream above us yelling “This is what I want! I won’t let go!” Pulling the go back to start card is frustrating. There was always something missing. More like a gaping hole wanting to be filled  in with the usual self-destruct methods. Something had to change. I had to change.

It all boiled down to being content with what I had. Working around the resources available and being happy with that. A choice between living a crappy, material-centric life or a far better one that made you look forward to waking up in the morning. Now, at 42 years, it can be said that I no longer want to be temperamental biatch. Too much negativity there. And sadness, and angst and ugly wrinkles.

Life nowadays for me is more relaxed. Very few people, situations can stress me out anymore. Smiles and hugs come naturally and my idea of a relaxing good time is staying in provinces others deem dangerous and taking photographs of children. If this is what they call peace of mind, then maybe I have found that.  Seriously, it's a hell of a great place to be. My children ask why I call everyone  "love", "sweetie" or "dear." I say those words 'coz I mean it. There is so much love to give out. People need it on a daily basis. 

My wish for 2014 is that you too can find this soft spot in the universe. This place where flowers smell sweeter, friends are lovelier and small acts of kindness are as random as breathing. 

Looking forward to next year with all of you my loves.

In case no one has told you today.. I Love You!

~S

Fête

whoohoo. today is the day. unlike the over-commercialized, overrated Valentines day, i love birthdays.

gifts . cakes . breakfast in bed . candles . hugs . loads of inspiring sms messages . cards .

another year . another adventure. bring it on.

thankful.

peace, light and love everyone!
❤S

Click. Eat. Click.

Did my first food photoshoot at a good friends restaurant over the weekend. I didn't have any food styling experience nor did I have a stylist with me. Just winged it with some strobe lights, some white cartolinas and really good free food. Head on down to Davao City and I'll take you.

Buon appetito!

Gravity

Past few months have been fairly heavy even for the thick-skinned and emotionally-scarred self. These are the knees-on-ground moments that so humbling but debilitating. Deaths, lost loved ones, ended friendships. Pain makes a person weak, but it also makes one trudge on. Head down but still moving forward. Life is still good regardless. And there always is a silver lining. So yah, life - is that all you're throwing at me?

CINEMA ONE Originals Part 1

Here are 5 of the 1o finalists to the:

Cartas de la Soledad (letters of Solitude)

a film by

Gutierrez M. Mangansakan II

Six Degrees of Separation From Lilia Cuntapay

a film by

Antoinette Jadaone

Di Ingon Nato

a film by

Brandon Relucio and Ivan Zaldarriaga

BIG BOY

a film by

Shireen Seno

My Paranormal Romance

a film by

Victor Villanueva

The 2011 Cinema One Originals Digital Movie Festival is showing at the Edsa Shangri-la Plaza Cineplex on November 09 to 15.

Life is too short

"Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you."

A lot of people go by the motto, "Life is short so spend it with the people you love." So I do. I really do. Even though I'm busy, I make time to see, talk, write to, spend even just a few minutes with the people I adore. And I am so so so very glad they do the same.

Obviously, if I don't spend time with you, I don't love you. Obviously, if you don't spend time with me, you don't love me. It's simple enough and I feel no guilt or sadness over this. Neither should anyone actually. Again, life is too short to spend it suffering the presence of people you intensely dislike or who don't like you.

It is sad, I will admit, that the people I should love and who should love me are the very ones who suck the happiness out of me. My happiness and my money, I'd like to add. Do you have people like that in your life, too? I call them Dementors.

snatched from http://www.topazhorizon.com/

48 years ago

and a happy new year to you too.

the last time i updated here was 48 years ago. seriously. a year and a few days of not blogging. must be the change in zodiac signs.

K.A.R.M.A 2

October... November... just passed me by like a breeze.. I was just so busy with everything that I thoroughly neglected blogging. Have been traveling non-stop to places I have already forgotten and only photos can remind that I was indeed there physically.

With every cell in my body I grieve for everyone we lost in the Ampatuan Massacre. Not only for people, I also grieve for Maguindanao which has never been given the chance to shine. I have called it my hometown and feel safer there than in my own home in Davao City. So, yes, I grieve that it's again receiving all the negative headlines, gory photos and news bites.

It's been a hellish few weeks for everyone here.

KARMA is indeed a very bad bitch to run away from.

Let's continue praying for the 57 dearly departed souls and thousands more Maguindananaons in limbo amidst the Martial Law issuance.

For once, I am at a loss for words.