The Beginning of the End

Thirteen or so snapshots of the last of school and the beginning of summer in film. 

Looking at these pictures makes me miss my college, the tree-lined streets of my beloved university, my friends and the reckless abandon that being in the beach makes me feel.

I bid goodbye to the toy camera my boyfriend lent me. As a graduation gift, I then ordered a black Superheadz Fat Lens camera that's due to arrive tomorrow... so yaaaaaaaaaaaay, more film photography for me. :D (I know, I know, I jumped in the lomo/toy cam fad a little too late!)  

See the complete set here. 

Graduation Day

Salamat, UP!

Binigyan mo ako ng pagkakataong mas lalong makilala ang aking sarili at magkaroon ng mas malawak na perspektibo sa mundo. 

Sa iyo ko nakilala ang aking mga kaibigan, ang aking mga pangarap at ambisyon. 


Malayong lupain amin man marating,
Di rin magbabago ang damdamin.


Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan! Mabuhay ang iskolar ng bayan!


Okay, the last few lines are from my alma mater's anthem, but I do mean every word.  ;')
Thank you, UP, for helping mould me into the person I am today.
The last five years went by more quickly than I thought, but it was one excellent rollercoaster ride! I already miss even the most miniscule things that I now know I took for granted: the morning walk from the waiting shed to Arki, Ate Vicki's pandan tea, the library, the waiting with friends outside the library waiting to know if there's news about class, the tambayan, the Juicy dinners, the tea breaks, the sleepovers. I'm gonna miss the people who used to be such a regular presence in my everyday college life. Thank you, friends, for making college so spectacular and unforgettable. :)

When the sunflowers bloomed, they bloomed for us. :')
Thank you, my college. Thank you, UP.


Credits to many, many friends for most of the group shots. Ahihi. :)

Post-February Snippets

Miss Best Thesis sipping her regular dose of milk tea; mani/pedi Juicy bonding with Val; ninth best thesis Valerie; ladylike Kiro

Taboo competition until four in the morning; enjoying the air bed; pink flowers on the trellis outside Lex's house; breakfast food at two in the morning

Serendra skyline; Global City silhouette; the pantone panels of ESB (oh, summer internship, I miss thee); Gabriela Silang along Makati Ave.

Jamba Juice first-timers!

This week was pretty crazy and surreal, and quite full of blessings. Haraya Week was equally surprising as it was humbling, and I got to go to a sleepover at a friend's house where revision plans were cancelled because we played Taboo all night instead. Heh. That, and I tagged along with a couple of friends who were from a different section for the same subject, and we got to experience Ayala Triangle and Jamba Juice in the Fort. I saw the reality of what I was photoshopping colored elevations for/helping with last summer up close, I appreciated just how pretty Bonifacio Global City will be when it's all up and running 100%, and I realized just how much I really adore walking the streets of Makati. All in all it was a pretty hefty week brimming with lots of craziness, chill vibes and good food and tea, and I'm grateful for everything. :) 

January/February

I PASSED! Yesterday was my thesis defense, and until today it's still very surreal.

Honest to goodness, the whole twenty-four hours before yesterday were crazy and filled with me wanting to gag and vomit every so often. But yay! God was good, and I asked Him to help me and give me the words to say. He'd also been very kind and only gave me three panelists to deal with instead of five, all of whom I had the pleasure of already encountering in the past and are generally some of the most awesome professors in the college. So, YAY. Rest of my life, here I come! Well, at least until after I pass my book and get one more major over with this semester. Sunflowers shall bloom for me and my batchmates this March, and I am just so happy that the one thing that has haunted us for the last eight months has finally come to an almost-end. :)

As such, a celebratory photo post is in order, depicting snippets of the last month and a half as I trolled through thesis production.

WASHI TAPE! One item off my wishlist has been crossed out thanks to Joseph. :)
Buy some for yourself from Hey Kessy or Posh Tykes. 

The afternoon sun cast shadows on my drafting table when it was still empty. Now it's basically a mess!

Caddy dropped by one weekend to have me take photos of her red velvet cupcakes.
As a thank you, she gave me this pretty note and a bar of chocolate! :)
Thanks, dear! Like her FB page now!

I washi-ed my official second semester thesis notebook. :D

Joseph came by on two weekends. He was such a stress reliever! :) I shall now steal his Recesky camera and take pics!

One messy corner of my work room. Piles and piles of books and random things are all over the place,
and I shall have everything spic-and-span by next week, methinks!

Mariel and Dudes came by one Saturday evening to drop off some cookies they made! YAY for all-nighter snacks!

The official caffeine drink for the last two months besides CBTL's tea lattes was Serenitea's Passionfruit Green Tea.
25% sugar, with aloe vera. Yumyumyum!

The everyday view as I trolled through afternoons in front of the computer. 

Model-making!

Elmer's Glue, a PHP600+ printed sheet of my perspectives, padline boards and double-sided tape.

The official desk!

My parents helped out in making my model. My dad cut out the site, and my mom helped build the buildings. YAY! 

All I'm looking forward to now is this weekend's Travel Expo, my June trip with two close friends, taking photos on the MassComm field in school with balloons and colorful dresses, wearing the sablay, and enjoying the rest of what is left. YAY! :)

Shooting Candidly

 I didn't get to stay for the end of this year's Lantern Parade (which I'm hoping is my last as a student), but on the bright side, I did get to see my first and hopefully my last Oblation Run. Stupidly enough, I didn't snap any pictures of that event, mostly because I was dumbfounded when I found myself along the lines of the AS corridor, with nothing left to do but watch as the naked frat men ran past me and a lot of other people. Most of them were in the right mind to whip out their cameras and document the once-a-year event while I stood there, scandalized and thinking I was so lucky (really!) to have an awesome view of the, er, men. I didn't look, though, and tried my best to call my friends, who were in some other viewing site and were apparently screaming their butts off. Hehehe. 

So while I didn't get to stay long enough to even watch the beginning of the parade, I did get to photograph what I love most - people, whether candidly or with consent. Every Lantern Parade, that usually means my friends and my batchmates,. :) 

(The lighting wasn't too great, and while I would love to edit these full-blast, I didn't, and simply did the post-process brightness/color adjustment.) 

Val and Merri, my crazy friends!

More friends! Yay.

An orange/red velvet cupcake from Celine! Yay. 

The bold yellow colors of our building and the brickwork.

The Carillon, jutting out in the distance. 

I love UP. I have to admit that part of the reason why I chose to go there was because of those
lovely canopies of trees, intertwining right at the center of the Oval where they meet. 

We didn't march with the college this year, YAY! I've waited four years to earn the right to be a spectator instead!

Crazy friend Val. HAHA!