It's the end of an amazing chapter. (📷:Wikipedia)

For the past several months, I have witnessed people embracing changes in their life (from the people I remotely know to the very close individuals I have interacted at work), leaving the routine that they have been used to for years (and even decades).  I can imagine that process involved a lot of courage and tears before they arrived to that decision.

As a result of that change, some of them had to say their goodbyes to people, and it happened to include me. I hate goodbyes, because as much as the change is happening to the person leaving, it also affects the people they leave behind. I very well know that feeling, because I have experienced it several times in the past, and when it was finally my turn to leave, I carried the same heavy heart along the way.

Colleagues Saying Goodbye. People come and go, that's the reality of life. Despite that, it was still hard to accept that the people you have grown very close to will be moving out of your life, and that they won't be part of your life the way it used to be. Bittersweet, really. I've experienced this with 3 of my colleagues, and even though it was a sad event, I understood why they had to do it.

> The first one had one very brave soul that she followed her dreams in accomplishing a career outside the country.

> The second one is a batchmate that I had a unique bond with (along with the rest of the people in that batch). It's funny because the group became closer when he left. Even though we only had our lunch sessions to bond with, we had this unspoken agreement to always keep in touch and still meet up in the future.

> The third one is the most difficult for me. I had so many happy memories with this person, and so I know him leaving will create a large gaping hole in my life. I've shared a lot of laughs with him, and shared some secrets with him that no other living being knows. Those interactions will be treasured forever. Though I'll get to see him again for one last time in the future, I know things will never be the same again. I'm very very thankful that I met this person. I've learned a ton of things from him (both positive and negative stuff haha). I wish all the best for him in the future. :D


People Embracing Changes in Their Life. There are people, despite of you not personally knowing them, have inevitably become part of your life. Before you realize it, you have been connecting to them and what happens in their life affects your own too. This applies to me for some personalities I follow in media, particularly the internet and radio.

> Simon and Martina Moves to Japan. For avid fans of Eat Your Kimchi, I'm sure it came as a huge shock when the couple announced that they were leaving Seoul to permanently move to Japan. We all know how much they love Korea and we know them leaving to Japan is a huge decision for them (they have to give up the EYK studio, even the 'You Are Here' cafe that we visited in Korea). It was very heartbreaking to see Martina cry on their plane flight to Japan in one of the videos they posted.

Fast forward to now, just look at how they are today in Japan (it's their 6th month there)! They look so happy. Even Soo Zee and Leigh (the EYK staff that became famous also through YouTube) are happy now, as they have created their own YouTube channel, and I'm just glad they are doing something like this together. I'm sure with all the adventures they had working for Simon and Martina, an unbreakable bond was formed and their YouTube channel is their way of coping to this change.

> Delamar Leaves RXTMR, for good. When I saw this news online (I was not able to hear the announcement live because I was very dependent to the podcasts), I had to stare for a few seconds on my PC monitor to absorb this shocking news. I listened to the audio clip JRhyan (one of their most loyal listeners) posted on Facebook, and absorbed every word Delle said when she did the announcement. She was permanently leaving the show. For 20 years, she was doing TMR together with Chico Garcia, and I knew that news ends an era in Philippine radio. I love TMR. I've been a rusher for as long as I could remember. (I went to their book signing and even visited them at the booth). Though I was not a regular listener when I was still studying, the show have become my constant companion in my working years. I would listen to them while on the road, when I'm eating dinner at home (I was always eating alone because everyone was asleep already), and before going to sleep (just to distract myself from thinking sulky thoughts). Listening to them makes me feel less lonely because I get to laugh on their jokes, learn life lessons on their intellectual arguments, and just have fun listening to them kid around.

Delamar's last week in radio was a torture to listen to, especially her last episode. I made an effort to get to listen to it live. When I did, I was a horrible crying mess. I was at the office during that time. Good thing my cube was not visible to most people in the office so no one noticed me tearing up. It was such a sad sad day. I listened to that episode again via the podcast and still, I couldn't help but tear up. :(

I'm still listening to The Morning Rush today (it's been two weeks since Delle left) and I can say that the two (Chico and Gino) are manning the show as good as before. Of course I will always miss Delle's voice on the radio. I know all of the Rushers are coping with this huge change, but cliché as it may be, the show must go on.


Since we are talking about goodbyes, I just want to mention that one of our pet dogs died last month. He was my favorite dog (well we only have two) and his death was sudden. :( But on a positive note, I've become friends with this stray cat that happened to come to our store everyday. Now we are like BFFs. xD He lets me carry him and sit him on my lap. If only I could take him to my room, I would but I know my parents won't like it. Hehe.


There you go. Those are the events that made me feel sad for the past few months. I am still coping, but I know things will get better in time. We'll all move on sooner or later.

Warning: spoilers ahead.


It's been a while since a lot people have anticipated a Harry Potter book release. Ever since the idea of continuing the story of Harry Potter beyond the 7th book was announced, I was eager to know what the story would be about. When I learned that the story would be presented as a play in London, I got a bit disappointed because that would mean that I won't be able to watch it - not only me actually, but a lot of other Potterheads as well around the globe won't be able to catch the show.

Maybe this is the reason behind publishing the book based from that play. The 8th book is not like the other seven in the series, because Cursed Child contains the actual script of the play itself. At first I was confused. What does it mean by that? It did not dawn to me the meaning of that statement until I got hold of the book.

Even with that kind of realization, I tried my best to enjoy the book. Unfortunately, I can't seem to enjoy it in the same way that I enjoyed the other HP books. It didn't feel like Cursed Child is genuinely part of the series. Sorry, but I have to agree with most of the reviews online - the book seemed like a fanfiction, and a bad one at that.

I don't hate the book as a whole (I still liked some of the scenes) but I just can't absorb reading a story beyond Harry Potter's student life in Hogwarts. I can't relate well to the new characters that are living in the same setting as Harry and the rest of the gang. Also, the reuse of names didn't help in disassociating the new characters from the old ones. It confused me, honestly.

To summarize, there was really no major conflict in the story (all of that happened just to save Cedric... like for real?), because JK made sure the 7th book resolved all of that. Still, it was nice to relive some of the best and most memorable moments of the HP series, especially the one at Godric's Hollow because it was the moment the story was born. Cursed Child was a fast read - took me just a few hours to finish it.

So far, I'm hearing that the play was a marvelous one, and I could just tell why (with all those scenes included in the play, it's a treat!). I felt like Cursed Child was such an injustice to the play, as those who won't be able to see the show would judge that piece of art based on the script. I don't know how the publication of this book would affect the reception of the actual play though. But I know for myself that I have already prejudged the plot, and is just hoping that a great production would overthrow all these negative notes on it.

Since not all Potterheads won't be able to catch the show in London, I hope JK's team would produce a DVD release of it. For sure it will be epic and will sell like pancakes!

With all the HP nostalgia that I got from Cursed Child, I think it will be fun to reread the HP series again. :D

Just recently, Philippine Concerts, a fan-driven organization dedicated to posting updates about the concert scenes in the country, posted a controversial argument on their FB page:



This statement stirred a number of conversations as concert fans voiced out their opinions on this argument. As a concert-goer, I've experienced almost every color of the audience spectrum in a concert. I've been that die-hard fan who only got the cheapest ticket available (2NE1). I've also had some luck getting the "best seats" in the arena for artists I barely know (Super Junior, One OK Rock, EXO). And yes, I have also been in a concert, not as a fan, but as part of media as a photographer and SNS content writer (Best of Best, Epik High, VIXX, Threadfest Manila). There are a lot of others wherein I attended as a normal fan. With my experience on several concerts, I base my stand on the statement above.

I disagree.


I was glad to learn that a lot of people agreed on my opinion (my comment got the most likes on that post). Let's face it - we don't really need to bash those folks who are in the mosh pit or at the front seats, whether they are huge fans or not -  they paid for it. There were some people who didn't agree with me, and I empathize with the arguments that they presented. They raised good points, and I respected each of their opinions.

Here are the kinds of people that you may find in a concert (based on my observations):

* People in the front row, who showed little energy or just sat throughout the show
The initial reaction is to hate and become annoyed with these people. However on second thought they may have a reason for behaving like that. Maybe they are the kind of crowd that are just chill and they enjoy the band the most if they are relaxed and sitting down. Each person has their own way of being entertained, right? They already had the best view of the artists, so they might be thinking that theres no need to stand up. Also, they may just not be as expressive as others when they fangirl/fanboy. I know someone who is very passionate in following and watching her favorite artists in concerts, but she is not the type that screams and jumps like crazy during their performances. She just calmly watches them in silence, absorbing the presence of the artists within the duration of the concert. She tells me she has to savor every chance to experience them live, that's why she doesn't want get distracted by screaming her heart out or singing along with the songs.

* People who are not really watching the show (sleeping / looking at their phones most of the time)
I've seen this comment in that thread, and I must say I am impressed. How the hell can one sleep during a concert? w(°ｏ°)w 
No sane fan will pay money just to sleep in concert. If there are really people who do that, I can only think of 2 reasons:

1.  This sleeping/bored person came to the concert just to accompany someone - maybe his significant other, or someone who is still a minor (some concerts need minors to come attended with an adult).
2.  This person is working. Yep, you read that right. There's this reality that not all present in a concert are there to watch and enjoy the artists' performance on stage. Some are there to document the event as part of their tasks at work. If you see people that are on their phones most of the time in a concert, most likely they are media staff posting live concert updates on SNS. I would know, as I had been one. As much as I wanted to enjoy the concert, I had to do my task and produce the expected output for our team.

* Celebrities/famous personalities that get the best seats on a show (for free!)
I believe this is the kind of crowd that is most frowned upon. Most of the time, they get those complimentary tickets from the concert organizer. The purpose? These people will help provide publicity to the concert. They were sponsored to be there in exchange of  posting nice feedback on their SNS. Celebrities have a lot of followers online that would be able to see the concert posts. It might be hard, but let's not be too bitter with them. Let's just look at this angle - these celebrities are actually helping create more buzz about the concert, giving our favorite artists more publicity. They might even come back to the country because of that! To be fair, promoters also give out complimentary tickets to genuine fans via contests on the radio and on SNS.



Whatever kind of crowd the artist gets on their concert, at the end of the day, business is business. It's the return of investment that matters to the promoters, which benefits the artists themselves.

If you were not able to get the best seats (or worse be #teambahay) the first time your favorite artists come here for a concert, let be that a lesson to save up. Don't let it happen again. Come to the concert! Wherever you are seated in the arena, I'm sure you will be able to enjoy the artist's performance on stage!

'Til our next concert, fellow fans!

I guess I was in denial for most of the years, that this is just a normal phase of sadness. I didn't want to confront it. I thought that if I ignore it, it will just fade away. If I made myself to believe that it's not true, and to act like there's nothing wrong, then it will just go away. However, I think it doesn't work that way, and tonight I had to concede and wave my white flag in this battle.

I still had a lot to say about that topic to my peers last night, but I had to slam the brakes already. You know what, I'm really thankful to have been with these people. I truly appreciated the way they talked to me. They very well knew what I was going through. I didn't hear the "it's alright, everything will be okay" bullsh*t lines. I was given practical advice, and I am going to follow that, if not this weekend, this coming Monday. I'm ready to seek professional help.

Now I understand why they say it is essential to have other people to talk to. it helps you to just let it out.

Thank you.

I first encountered this site via a Facebook ad (yeah right, I'd have to admit those annoying buggers are effective). At first I just ignored it, but it was always on my feed that one day I decided to click it out of curiosity. It was during that time that I was beginning to do some investments on makeup. And viola, I found some kind of wonderland in an online website!


I was searching for makeup tips online (as I was not satisfied anymore with my current cc cream product) and I rediscovered the basic makeup routine of primer+foundation+concealer+settingpowder. Browsing the products available on their site, I was hooked in choosing the right foundation for me. I got my eye on CoverGirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation. However, it was out of stock. Good thing though. I was wary of purchasing foundations and concealers in general online actually as I don't get to try it first to check if it would match well with my skin tone and if it would cause allergies on my skin. Despite that, I still managed to choose on some of their items online.

So far I've already ordered from the site twice, and the items always got shipped less than 24 hours after payment!

Package #1

Package #2

[February 2015]

Baler is on the east side of Luzon, and it's shore extends to the Pacific Ocean. This means we can view the sunrise as the sun goes up from the Pacific ocean itself! I know it may sound like any other sunrise, but thinking that the we are part of the of the first landform that the sunlight will reach after the vast Pacific Ocean is kinda cool!

This is the highlight, for me, of our last day in Baler.

We planned to wake up early to be able to catch the sunrise. I was the first to wake up. I intentionally set my alarm a bit earlier because I really didn't want to take any risks of oversleeping. Also, this is one life lesson I've earned when I was part of an astronomy org back in college. If you need to observe a solar eclipse or any other astronomical events in that case, never be late. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance and nature will never wait for you.

I went outside ahead of Krishan and Jo to find a good spot to watch the sunrise along the shore. It's already breaking dawn then and light can already be seen in the horizon.


Surprisingly, there were already a lot of people along the shore. Some were jogging while others were just walking leisurely along the beach with their respective groups.

Krishan and Jo joined me a few minutes afterwards. While waiting for the sun to rise, we bought some tupig from a local vendor (coz we haven't eaten anything yet! *hungry*)


We spent the next several minutes just walking along the shore, observing people. We looked at the East every now and then anticipating the sunrise.

Finally, we saw a bright spot among the mountains - that's where the actual sun will come up!


Apparently, a lot of people were also waiting for this. A lot of people were taking photos as the sun emerged from behind the mountains.


When the sun was already up in the sky (and it was too hot already hehe), we searched for a place to eat! We saw this restaurant by the bay that offered unlimited breakfast buffet. *yum!*

After having that hearty breakfast, we walked along the beach again. By that time, there were a lot of people surfing already. I got a bit sad again because the memories of yesterday came rushing back xD Our bus' scheduled departure for Manila was during the afternoon, so we already went back to our hotel to pack up.

We used some of our remaining time to go around the area to buy some souvenirs and local delicacies to bring home. We went to this famous store in Baler: Nanay Pacing Homemade Products,



And that's basically how our last day in Baler was spent! I was really glad we were able to push through this vacation.

So long, Baler! I'll be conquering your waves when I get back. :D

I really enjoy reading Paulo Coelho's books. His writings give me a kind of enlightenment, like I have just discovered something that is only shown to the chosen ones. There are still several of his titles that I have not read yet, and the urge to buy some of them came rushing to me when I was waiting for someone in the bookstore and I came passing by the bestsellers section and saw his works.


I was in the stage of soul-searching then, and I realized that this is one perfect book to read during that journey.

The Valkyries didn't disappoint me. The book had everything that I have loved among Coelho's works - the mystery, the spiritual awakening, the thrill of adventure, and the inspiration to explore something more in life. I will always be intrigued by his works. Which among those stated in the book is actually a fact, and which one is just placed for literary effect? Coelho writes as if he knows some great secret that he intents to share to the world, but will only be recognized by the chosen ones. I think I already know where I am among his group of readers. :p

This book reminded me to believe in higher powers again. It challenged me to believe in angels. Crazy it may seem, but when you get to experience being just milliseconds from death (that split-second difference on how things happened could have entirely changed my life), you get a life-changing wake-up call and everything changes perspective. That's when you start to believe in destiny, and you start contemplating your life purpose and the rules that govern this life.

Also, the book showed the wonders of meditation, and how listening to that inner voice is a crucial part of living. Feeling the soul grow, and your vision of the horizon getting wider are just among the great effects of clearing your mind when meditating (I wish I could have quiet time as frequent as before though).

There are just some parts of the plot that I was not able to appreciate that much though (maybe because it was too dark or too complicated for me?). I'm just glad there was Chris' character, Paulo's wife, in the story. As an outsider in Paulo's spiritual journey, I got to relate to her thoughts most of the time. As she learned and finally understood the rules, I got that yearning to converse with my own angel too. :D

I'm glad I gave in to that urge to get this book off the shelf of the bookstore. It forever changed certain perspectives I have in life.

I will not lie and will tell you all that I initially watched this drama all because of Song Joong Ki. I adore that guy. I waited like forever for his release from the military. This drama is his first project right after he finished his service. And what's the most suitable role for him during this time? Yup, a soldier. （・∀・）


In the drama, we got to see the gorgeous body he has now after all those training in military. Plus, we see some genuine skills he obtained from the military, like saluting, holding a gun, etc.



Joong Ki might be the primary reason why I watched the drama, but I stuck around and actually finished the drama because I found the story interesting enough for me (one proof on this is that I ditched his drama 'The Innocent Man' before because of its stupid and stressful plot). Descendants of the Sun gave just the right flavor of drama and romance to me.

Right from the first episode, I found the directing of the scenes very well done. It was like watching a movie. I really liked the action scenes and the shot transitions in various episodes.

One thing that I also liked about the drama is the fact that it did not just focus on the love story of the two main characters. They also showed us the life of being a soldier and a doctor, letting us feel all the stress and the emotions that they experience on their work.

I always had great respects for soldiers. I always get teary-eyed when I see a post on reddit about the struggles they experience, especially in coping up with post-war stress. They are such brave heroes, they lead a life of honor. They sacrifice a lot of things in life and they experience the worst in life. I can go on and on with praising them because I can only think of positive things to say about them.


It's the same with doctors. Whenever I needed to go the hospital to consult with one, I always wonder - what if I became a doctor instead? I could remember our Journalism adviser back in high school being surprised with me when she learned I'd be taking up BS Computer Science in college. She said I should pursue becoming a doctor. Well if only I could turn back time, I think I'd follow her advice. It's too late now. :p

Anyway, back to the drama. I really really liked the main characters of this drama. The conflict in their relationship is so realistic and mature. If I were to be placed on that same situation, I would also have the same concerns. Would I really want to be with this person, knowing that he kills, and can be killed everytime he participates in a military operation? Would it be worth it?

Story time! There was that moment during the drama that I had to stop watching an episode because I had to cry my eyeballs out. The plot was too realistic, it hurts. At that moment, I decided I wouldn't watch any episode anymore and that I would just leave the story hanging in my mind. After a few days, I calmed down and continued watching the drama 'til the end. :D

Yup, it was during that scene.

This drama was a big hit in South Korea, maybe because a lot of people can relate to the characters. We know that their country is still in conflict with the North, and that the men do a mandatory military service as part of their responsibilities as a citizen. For sure a lot of conflict arose with those involved with soldiers, and the women could also relate with the stress and suffering Song Hye Kyo's character experienced in the drama.

I was actually glad also that the plot of Descendants of the Sun is not of heavy drama. There were also no third-party characters that unnecessarily made the story complicated.

I really really got to like the drama, even more than how I fangirled over Man from the Stars. It was a very satisfying comeback from Song Joong Ki! :D Good job, my love. xD

~o~

Descendants of the Sun is a Korean drama aired on KBS2 in 2016
No copyright infringement intended.

Want to go visit the places where this drama was shot? Go check Trazy for a tour package in Gangwon Province!

I've been learning various pieces on the piano. I love learning songs that I personally like. However, I realized that most of the songs that I know how to play are not widely recognizable. If someone is to request for me to play anything on the piano, I guess my go-to piece would be the classical Canon in D. Who among you knows Nils Frahm's Ambre, Joe Hisaishi's Summer or maybe these KPOP tracks by Tiffany and by CNBLUE? This is why this time, I am choosing a piece that is known to most listeners, a song that everyone can sing along to. :D

I am still learning this piece. Below would contain my recordings as I learn the different parts of the song for the next several weeks:

First pass: first verse until partial of chorus:


By the way, I am using a new recording method for this track. I bought this USB Audio Guitar Link Interface from Lazada. :D

[20-July-2016] - Update
Second pass: first pre-chorus until second chorus (tempo = 125)


[04-Sep-2016] Update
At last, I was able the study the whole piece up to the end!

Presenting the whole piece, featuring the vocals of no other than John Legend himself! :D Credits to this youtube vid where I got the edited vocals of this song.



So it took me around 3 months to study the whole piece, huh?

Yay I'm so happy! This is the first piece of a famous pop song that I've learned in full! :D

One day I came across this reddit post with links to acapella versions of the songs in Taylor Swift's 1989 album. The moment I hit play on that first track, I was blown away. Those tracks contain Taylor's actual vocals used in the songs and they were just edited to have the vocals isolated. Cool, right?

I got really addicted listening to these versions. Just hearing Taylor Swift's voice made me feel all the raw emotions in it. I also got to hear some effects that I fail to absorb over all the instrumentals in the regular tracks. (special mention to the Out of the Woods track, which gave me goosebumps!)

Out of the Woods. The vocals blending is just so awesome.

I really wanted to learn how this editing is done, so I attempted to teach myself based on tutorials I found online. I already have experience editing tracks, but it was the other way around - removing the vocals so that what's left is the instrumental version of the song.

This is what I found out:

First, you need to have two versions of the song you want to edit: the original version, and the instrumental version. The latter one needs to be a good version, meaning it is as identical as possible to the backup instrumentals of the original track. This will determine how effective this method will be in isolating the vocals of the song.

Second, you need an audio-editing software to work on. For me, I used Audacity.

The process is actually very straightforward, with only that tricky part of aligning the waveforms of the two tracks in Audacity. You would need to be extra OC on that part for this process to be effective. For more on the details on how to do this in Audacity, click here. I used the same exact method described in that article in editing tracks that I have chosen from my music library.

Here are the results of those experiments:



These are songs from my all-time favorite KPOP group TVXQ (which the younger fans of today do not have the hell of an idea who they are). I especially liked how Try My Love turned out because I was able to hear very clearly their awesome vocals. ♥（ﾉ´∀`）

I also tried doing it on some of The 1975 songs that I have, but unfortunately I cannot seem to find decent instrumental versions of their tracks online, save for Girls. Listen here to result of my trial-and-errors in editing this track. I am satisfied on how this one turned out. I can hear in this version Matty's voice very clearly + the other backing vocals in the song. I really wanted to create a version for their Robbers song and just play it as my lullaby every night. Too bad though I cannot seem to find a good instrumental version online.

If you have a favorite song, I recommend you to try out this method. This will change the way you listen to it, and I bet you'll love it even more. :)

Today is the first day of the In the Mix Concert Visa Presale promo. I've been waiting for weeks for this day to come, but I guess I would be skipping this event, because I have decided to sacrifice for the sake of a friend.

I may be going all dramatic with this one, but I just felt it was the right thing to do. I gave up buying the concert tickets for this one, but instead I allotted my budget for this event to a friend who is in need.

What if one day you wake up and saw that all of the things that you own have been turned into ashes? What's worse is seeing all of the fruits of your hardships through the years turning into ashes before your eyes. You felt helpless as you saw your home crumble into ashes as the fire consumed everything you used to know.

But I am thankful that no one got hurt in their family. Well unfortunately their pet dogs died during the fire, which is heartbreaking really. I could just imagine the pain my friend is going through today, and this little sacrifice is the most that I could do for her.

No concert, but happy friend? I guess that's the best scenario I could make out of this situation. Though I love The 1975 that much, it very much outweighs the love I have for my friend.

Hope she gets through this ordeal.