Helena's Promise

I was able to watch an episode of Helena's Promise in ABS-CBN yesterday. And since the first time I watched it, I got hooked.

According to WikiPedia, it's real title is Scent of a Woman. Here is a synopsis of the story from WikiPedia:

"As a single, unmarried woman in her mid-thirties, Lee Yeon Jae (Kim Sun Ah) is meek and timid, considered a spinster by society. After spending ten years working for the same travel company owned by Kang Chul Man, she is falsely accused of stealing from a client. In addition to enduring the accusations of her superiors, she is diagnosed with gallbladder cancer with approximately six months left to live. Mustering up her courage, Yeon Jae resigns and embraces her remaining six months of life.

Embarking on her first vacation alone, she splurges on clothes and flies first-class to Okinawa, Japan, where she runs into her dream man, Kang Ji Wook (Lee Dong Wook), the son of her former boss. Ji Wook is a young rich man, cynical and lifeless, until he falls in love with Yeon Jae. Together they live out a series of misadventures, both comical and bittersweet, as Yeon Jae completes each dream in her Bucket List."

Source: HERE

I decided to watch how the story unfolds because I like the idea of living each day as if it is your last. Personally, I would love to do that. Our time on this world is limited anyway, so it is imperative that we enjoy each and every day given to us.

I have my own version of a bucket list where I have 100 things to do. But recently I tried not reading my list anymore after talking to a friend. He said that we can never be sure how long we will be able to live so his advice is, plan and visualize only for the next day or next week or the next 3 months at the longest.

While that advice is sound. I still keep my long term dreams; the decision to stick with a 3 month plan and keep everything simple makes the journey less uptight. It is still best to enjoy whatever comes up. And surrender that everything that happens is according to God's plan.

As with Helena's promise, I know and predict, that just like other Korean novelas on TV, the heroine will die. But it is not the end that matters, what should matter is how she lived her last 6 months.

Like Helena, I promise to try to live my life and enjoy this gift each day. Money and the lack of it sometimes get in the way of doing things I want to do. But I have faith that someday, I will be able to do them too.

Cheers to a Happy Life.

betrayal

Someone betrayed me. Took all the money and ran off.

Lessons:

Even if he is your friend, put all money agreements on paper.

Have a lawyer see it for you.

Keep record of all clients.

Keep record of all your partners activities - where he goes, what he does, his office and home address, so you can easily get him when he steals from you.

untitled

Blogging is just like shooting. you need to write often to be able to use words, exercise your vocabulary to make a good emphasis on strong points. Someone told me that shooting must be a regular thing, it must be practiced always. Trying is not an option if you are to take advantage of the shooting skills and the bullets you'll be spending on. Hitting the bull's eye is not a license to stop practicing. To write well, one must write often. And review more often.

I stopped blogging when I realized that I am more prone to blogging on a personal-negative level. By personal-negative, it means that the last blog contains more of the teenage angst and the pains of transition from being a dependent young adult to an independent YOUNG adult. The last time I blogged was in 2007 when I experienced great pain. By 2008, I stopped blogging in the meantime. 2009 saw me writing about love and lost; and the confusion of which path to take.

2010. I resolved to write about houses more than my own concerns and preferences.

Now I am trying to return to blogging on a personal-positive level. So far so good.

Looking back to the old blog (which I have decided to put offline), I realized that it kept me sane while in Law school, it contained the happiness of the first love, the pain of first heartbreak, the anger that followed, the confusion and pain of growing up. It's all good.

I wonder if this one will contain another love story. =D excited.

Ilocos Trip Day 2 part 2

We had lunch at the eatery near Pagudpud Town Hall.

After lunch, the adventure continues with Kabigan Falls. I like this falls so much. This is the first time I've seen one (yes there are lots of Falls in Quezon Province too but I don't go around town that much whenever I make a visit). And it's majestically b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. A refreshing tower rushing down to irrigate the rice farms downstream.

To get there one must register with the tour guides in the area. No one is allowed to go up the falls without a tour guide. Registration fee is 10 pesos per person. After that is the trek along the rice farms and woodland. The trek will take about 15 minutes. Wear rubber slippers, you will pass by small streams of water, wet rocks, and a bamboo bridge before getting there.

After the trek back and after taking a mini-rest. We went to Patapat Viaduct.

Our driver for Trike 003 Pagudpud, Kuya Angel. Emo mode at the highway.

On Patapat Viaduct

Trike 003 is one hot trike.

After Patapat, we went to these places (some of them escape my mind now. I'm already tired at this time). It is advisable to take one tour a day. Take the North tour separate from the South tour so you can have more time to enjoy the place. For us we went, took pictures, then go. It would have been better if we brought picnic stuffs and perhaps did zen meditation at the falls. Anyway, IF we or I will be able to go back to this wonderful place, I will take a longer vacay and enjoy the place some more.

We went to Timmangtang Rock and had our pictures taken.

Then off we go to Bantay-Abot Cave. An open-through mountain.

Bantay Abot Cave

I like how my hair goes with the wind.

Very near the cave is Blue Lagoon where Agua Seda is Located. We had some time at the beach first before heading back to Agua Seda to freshen up.

The beach that morning. Too bad we were not able to take a good dip.

And there, just before I took a shower, I had an accident. Poked my eye and suffered from corneal abrasion the entire night towards the next day.

Vacay ruined? I don't think so. I close my eyes most of the time that evening but that made me listen to the sea more. It was as if meditation was forced on me. Glad there was some background music to cheer me up. Thanks Jules.

For more information on Corneal abrasion, read on: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/corneal_abrasion/article_em.htm

Up next: Day 3, Blessed in Laoag.

Ilocos Trip Day 2 part 1

Okay so it took me a while before I share what happened to us in Day 2.

Before I proceed to Day 2, I just would like to share the view from Agua Seda towards the evening. I was able to get up by 5-6pm then dozed off again til the next day.

The sun is setting in the west as the east slowly gets dark

and then, the moon rose gracefully from the east.

'

Sunrise in Pagudpud

After a good rest at Agua Seda, we had breakfast at Mekeni's Palutuan. I was expecting Palutuans to offer seafood. But since the palutuan says "Mekeni's", it is not surprising to see tocino and longganisa on the menu.

Kuya Angel of Trike 003 Pagudpud fetched us from Agua Seda at exactly 0730H (7.30am). We stayed sometime at the Pagudpud town hall. We started for the windmills and the rest of the tour until 4.30pm. Here are what happened to us in that fab trike tour.

We started the morning with a South trike tour. Our first stop: Bangui Windmills

These graceful windmills move like ballerinas playing with the wind. I can't stop being poetic on this post. They are just so graceful, and beautiful. They stand on the beach to overlooking the West Philippine Sea. We imagined a red Ducati touring this place with the Kamen Rider black theme song in the background. That must be so wicked.

Next we went to the Bangui windmill viewing deck which offers panoramic view of the Bangui country side and the windmill. Awesome view up there.

We next proceeded to the Kapurpurawan rock formation. To get there we passed by a rough road with estimated travel time of 5-8minutes via trike. It was quite an experience that reminds me of the rough roads of home (Infanta, Quezon). After the trike ride, we had to descend towards the Kapurpurawan rock formation. There are lots of sharp rocks on the shore on the wayy to the big white rock so it is advisable to wear tough slippers. Mine's a bit worn out so there I took great care walking on those rocks - i even tried tiptoeing.

At the white rock, I can't help but say "Where are the Jedi?" It reminds me of the desert home of Anakin Skywalker. We had a great time taking photos.

After Kapurpurawan, we took off towards Cape Bojeador light house. Visitors are allowed only up to the tower entrance but not at the Light house tower.

After visiting the tower, we went to the "shell". The landmark that welcomes visitors to Pagudpud.

We were hungry by then and it is around 12 noon already so we decided to have lunch first before going for the next part of the tour which is the North trike tour.

Coming up next: Ilocos Trip Day 2 part 2