The Journey: Europe 2014

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.” 

More than five thousand miles of travel, at least twelve hours of long haul flights, ten airplane rides, too many train, bus and tram rides, and hundreds of thousands of steps (and sometimes sprint) are what it took for me to discover a few cities of the beautiful Europa. So far, it's the best expedition (yet) of my life.
 
When I was a kid, I used to admire the beauty of the Eiffel Tower. I guess Hallmark have used the structure way too much on their cards which made me dream of seeing it one day. It became a goal of mine to go to Paris and see the very famous Eiffel Tower in person. I have always known that someday I would go visit and tick off an item on my life’s bucket list. It was a matter of when. This year, I got the courage I needed (well, you know, I need to gather that courage as I was not good at navigating. Don't tell me about google maps, cause we aren't friends), booked a ticket, went on a long holiday, used some of my hard earned savings, and used up all the adrenaline and energy to wander and experience a different world of the Continent Europe.

I still remember the first step I took outside of the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam; the first touch of the cool breeze on my skin was absolutely fantastic. Feeling the cool breeze thrilled me more than you could ever imagine.  I had my signature grin plastered on my face while savouring the cool weather cause at that moment, I already got the feeling that I would be wishing for the warmth sooner than I think which happened by the way. And the next steps I took were epic. My journey started with a celebration of King's Day (good timing isn't it?). My sister's family and I went to the fun-fare and celebrated the King's Day with the Dutch - it was definitely a FUN FARE with the cotton candies, pattats and the games. 

Then the next day we were off to discover Belgium and went to visit four cities.  Out of our visit in Belgium, Gent was where I was in awe for the first time. I wanted to stay there for a moment to enjoy the picturesque view and just savour the moment. It was there that I realized how lucky I am to have the opportunity to explore Europe. 

My expedition continued back to the Netherlands to see Keukenhof, a garden full of wonderful and of course, colourful tulips. I've never seen such a beautiful garden before. 

Then on my first weekend, we were off to tick the item on my life's bucket list. I was damn excited to see THE tower. 

That moment alone made me thank the Lord for having this opportunity.But I believe that I was thanking the Lord too many times during my trip. I was in Europe and grandiose churches, chapels and Basilicas were everywhere.  

The fun didn't stop in Paris. Munich, Barcelona and Rome did not disappoint me and even made me consume more calories than what I would have consumed in a month here in Singapore. But do I care, NAH! Screw the calories, I was there to enjoy authentic Sausages, Schweinshaxe, Tapas, Paellas, Pasta and Pizza. Oh well, let's not forget about the Waffles, the chocolates,Gelato, the churros, the Cava, the Sangria, the wines and the beers. I had a total foodgasm with all their food. Gastronomy at its finest. 

Then I ended my journey in Amsterdam where something illegal in most of the countries is legal here. 

I had so much fun, I learned a lot, I've eaten a lot, I gasped a lot, I smiled a lot. It was an experience worth repeating. This isn't everything I have to say about my journey. I would be sharing more about the places I have visited. So this blog site will have a few entries about my Euro Trip. 

Happy Birthday Daddy - From the Little Girl

I will tell everyone a secret. Even at this age, I am proud to say that I will always be my Daddy’s little girl. To everyone who wants that spot, especially my dear nieces, sorry to say but I am your lolo’s little girl. I still remember those days I bump my forehead to his forehead for good luck during exams. And since I got good grades, he’s proud in saying that the mantra worked.

He’s the first one who has given me flowers on special occasions. My supplier of red wine during the Holidays. The granter of my childish wishes – he never fails to be affected by my puppy dog pleading eyes whenever I want a simple token from him (he just gave me a Christmas present even if I am very much capable of buying a phone, though I gave him a phone too in return). 

The man together with the woman (my mom) who never failed to give me my box of chocolates on Valentine’s day when I was still in Manila. The father who never fails to be proud of whatever achievement I made in my life and career – he would be telling it to his colleagues, friends or even the strangers passing by our street. One of the men whose opinions I value. One of the men whose  intellect and success in business I admire . And the first man I love in this lifetime.

And today, the first thing that came to my mind was to greet the first man that I love a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Daddy. 

Coming Now: Behind the Scenes

Calling my friend to start editing the photos. Yes! Due to his dual profession of being in the field and being a photographer, I know it would take loooooooong for him to start (not even finish) the professional editing of my photographs in the shoot we did last January. But then again, the raw photos are great enough to be published. I will be a bit rebellious and post another one today.

He may have no time to edit the photos, but he has the time to create a video of the behind the scenes footage. From make-up to poses - or at least that's the concept. We didn't have a crew to do everything for us, just me and him. Well, not a full footage of course, we still needed to do the shoot. But some head shots and eye shots (if there is a word like that) for the video. Thanks Yven for the shoot and the video. Next time, it will be better.  

Hope you enjoy. And let us know what you think about it.

ANA shoot BTS from Yven Aldover on Vimeo.

You like his work? Send me a message and I will surely hook you up with him for incredible photoshoot and BTS. He does events too. 

Related Post:  http://anapink18.blogspot.sg/2014/01/coming-soon.html

Sorry if I Couldn’t Be “The One” Right Now

I have never been in love. There I said it. Really, I know love and I am willing to love and be loved. But I have never been romantically in love.  With that being said, I apologize if I can’t be the ideal girl you are looking for right now. I have a lot of experiences in life – from happiness to struggle to even loss but I am inexperienced with loving another person romantically.

 I may appear to be a strong person who doesn't need a man in her life. Forgive me for having this stance, if you know what life threw on me, you would know exactly the reason why.  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t long for someone who will hold my hands in the future when I face another struggle. I want to be with someone who will never leave me in those times.

Forgive me if I never back down to challenges for I was raised to deal with them and see them positively. We may have a lot of discussions and different points of view and I will spend hours debating my point, but you should know that I just want you to understand me too. It’s not because I want you to accept what I think of, it’s just that I want to voice out my opinion to the extent of being tactless at times.  But that doesn't mean that I will not accept your point. I accept your point but like what I have said, I just want you to see what my point is.

Forgive me if sometimes I am inconsiderate of your feelings and wants. Please know that when I am comfortable with you I say what is really in my mind and heart. If we are not close friends, I may be careful with how I deal with you. In some way I know it’s wrong that I forget how you feel when we are closer to one another. But with you, I know I can be my true self and I want you to be in your true element too. With that being said, if ever I hurt your feelings or if I upset you, please let me know because in my mind I thought you would understand. But that doesn't mean that I mean to hurt you. I would never mean to directly hurt people, especially you. 

See! I will mess up big time. I am clueless with how to be your ideal girl. I am inexperienced. I am tactless. But I am learning. With each negative point you are giving me, I am giving a positive point to learning. I am a novice in this department and 100% sure that books could not help me on this. If you could not wait any longer (which I hope you will), I am sorry for not being your ideal girl. But I am not sorry for being me. Because someday, I will be better and someone will think of me being his “one”.   

Meg and Dia in Singapore 2014

The first concert for year 2014. You probably don't know who they are. Well, Dia's from the first season of my favourite singing competition in the United States - The Voice. She was the very first singer to join a competition with a unique tune. Come on! What we consider to be good singers are the ones with the vocal power and can belt out Mariah Carey songs. But with her rendition of Bubbly, Blake didn't need another second to push that button. I doubted that she could make it to the battles, much less the final round, but with her outstanding talent and artistry, she had proved me wrong. So yeah, she grew on me during the competition and she blew my mind away with her take on "Heartless". So when I saw that she would be coming over, I immediately contacted my friends and we bought tickets to see her and her sister, Meg perform songs. It was an intimate experience, a very good size of crowd that you could still sway to the songs they're singing. Plus, you get to meet up with them after the concert - not necessarily chat and hang with them, but still, a photo taken with them.. AWESOME! (this is actually the reason for the delay, I waited for the photo to be published)

Anyway, here are some of the clips I've taken to share with the world.. No Autotune and lip -sync which made attending their concert worth the money. 

Wake Me Up 

Inventing Shadows

Heartless

(This performance alone made the concert ticket worth the price)

Meet & Greet Photos: https://www.facebook.com/TAB.SG/photos_stream

It's your day Nanay

I am probably one of the luckiest people in the world (well, my siblings are equally lucky too). Because, we are given two incredible ladies to take care of us. We are blessed to have our Mommy and our "Nanay" in our lives. Our Nanay (how we call her), is our Aunt who takes care of us ever since we were toddlers. Imagine the immense sacrifices she endured in taking good care of the five of us while both of our parents were working for our bright future.She's never just an aunt to us because she have done a lot of things a mother should do for her kids -  from changing our nappies, taking good care when we're sick, to nursing our hangover (this is more for my brothers, peace Kuyas and SP). Imagine having a constant guidance throughout your life so that you will not take the wrong path. That's how lucky we are for having her, our Nanay.

You know how much I love you! I love you very much Nanay. Happy Happy Birthday Nanay. At last, we, five, already know your age after the long years you've successfully hid the information. Enjoy the party later. 

Taken during my College Graduation (2009)

63rd

It should have been my mom's 63rd birthday today and I would have started this day with a phone call to her wishing her a Happy Birthday and telling her that I love her so much. I have missed her last 2 birthdays as I was (and still) working in a foreign land far away from Manila. But what I can tell you is that nothing changes: I didn't miss greeting her a Happy Birthday (but without a charge from M1) and I didn't miss telling her that I love her so much. What I am missing are her  replies to my Happy Birthday and I love you. But even if I would not have any chance of hearing her replies, I would always continue telling her happy birthday every year, and telling her I love you every single day. 

You are being missed Mommy. 

Mahal na Mahal Kita. 

Milestone 2013 and the New 2014

2013 so far, is the year that taught me about life. If someone would ask what’s with 2013, my mind would only drift to September 10, 2013, the day I lost my mother. Nothing could compare how painful it was to lose a part of your being. That moment taught me about pain, about strength, about family, about time, about life but mostly about love. How much a person can love others; how much a person can be loved. It taught me how important showing your love to others is. It taught me how important time is. There are a lot of things I would like to share about this turning moment of my life and how it really made me a new person. But, as a new being, it would be better if I’d share it through actions. Through something that my old self would be hesitant to do -> to be a person with a bold mind, a brave heart and a selfless soul.

I want to be a person with a bold mind to be able to understand others more. A person who is capable of speaking her mind without hesitation. A person who understands others beyond the spoken words.

I want to be a person with a brave heart to be capable of loving more. A person who loves life and all the challenges it would throw her way. A person who is not afraid to express her emotions to be able to let others in her life. A person who is capable to love with all her heart, may it be her family, her friends, or her beloved.

I want to be a person with a selfless soul to be able to help others beyond my ability. A person who never have a second thought to help those who are needy. A person who would extend not only her hands for others, but would help in influencing others to do the same.

I owe it to my mother to be that person – a person that she will be proud of. So year 2014 will be a year of fulfilling this promise to myself. But while building a new self,  I also plan to do it in a fulfilling way. By fulfilling, I mean, exciting, learning, and a fun way. I am building me and also enjoying life to its fullest. So here’s to a new year that for sure will definitely be a fabulous one. Cheers!