I made another photoshop tutorial! Hope you find this as the easiest and simplest steps on how to turn a black and white photo to a coloured photo.
To know how to, click here.
Sphere: Related ContentI was on hiatus in the blogosphere for the last couple of months… as well in reality. It’s simply because…
of the holiday stress, stress at work, lost of words, lost in translation, laziness, idleness, lack of interests, emptiness, depression, oversleeping, drained energy, too much PSP and DVD marathon, addiction to spider solitaire, slow computer, obsession to brad pitt (huh?!), and the feeling of uselessness.
For what is worth, I was able to wake up from grave slumber and have switched off from being on zombie mode . Gee, I almost lost track in my pursuit of happyness…
Oh, and by the way, this isn’t a confession of a drama queen 
Somehow, despite of my apathy , I managed to move on my humble and old space to a new realm….. TADAAA!!!
Behold, my new domain.. swayinghome.com
Hope you could see more of my posts!
That is, if I maintain my energy frequency.. hehehe
Sphere: Related Content
The stalker in me found Wu Chun’s blog again ;-) He had been busy promoting his latest film Butterfly Lovers (though I don’t understand Chinese, the trailer looks promising.. hope it would be shown in here).
But what made me write this post is because of my liking to his perspective in life. On his blog, he shares a letter about a person who has been frustrated in her life because she thought that she can live happily-ever-after after getting married and start to have family on her own.
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teen-agers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
Sometimes, we have same sentiments as her. We have our mindset that life would be better when we do what we want in our life. But then realize that you weren’t content nor satisfied when you achieve it.. That is because you overlooked of what you currently have. As wu chun said,
There’s no better time to be happy than right now.
There is no way to happiness. Hapiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have.
So Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose 10 pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, unitl you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until when??? Until you got no more chance to decide that there is no…
Better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Weather in Bicol was so unpredictable during my stay.
It will be sunny. It will be rainy.
Sometimes, simultaneously!
I sure won’t be betting my bottom dollar if there would be sun tomorrow.
Despite the weather, I was still able to capture Mayon.. But this was the best I could get..
Every day, I was blessed to eat these Bicol specialties for breakfast.
Pancit Bato
Pancit Lapad
They’re usually best topped with Dinuguan (Blood Soup?). I don’t know why, but I never liked it. I just want my Pancit plain, but served with puto! These are the traditional rice steamed puto in Bicol. It’s made of pulverized rice (instead of flour), and caramelized coconut as its filling.
Best to eat ‘em this way:
I had my vacation again in Bicol last Oct 25. I visited Bicol simply because I missed my family. Our home there was only supposed to be our vacation home for summer. But when my mama retired from her work, she decided to live there for good. She’s pretending to be too busy now with what she called business. She always used it as an excuse on why she can’t visit us here in Manila. But for pete’s sake! ..it is just a mini sari-sari store!
Okay, fine. Just let her be. She’s going to be 65 yo. So guess what I’ve brought her as pasalubong.. Hair Dye! and Pond’s Detox Age Defying Cream! Hehehe 
As for my Ate Meye, my eldest sister, she married and settled down there. She now have a wonderful 4 yo kid - Andrei. Too wonderful to be chosen to contend in a singing contest at his school! We were amazed because we weren’t expecting him to have so much confident to join a contest. He sang Annie’s Song, Tomorrow. Here’s his own version:
The sun will come out tomorrow
Betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow
There’ll be sun.
The sun will come out tomorrow
Betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow
Come what.. sun.
..ehen am stuck on the day that gray eh lonely
I stick out my chiiin and griiin and say.. oooh
The sun will come out tomorrow
Betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow
Come what may.
(swaying his both hands in the air while Instrumental)
When I’m thinking about tomorrow
So you gotta hang on ’til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow, Tomorrow,
I love you tomorrow
You’re always a day away
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
I love you tomorrow
You’re always a day away…. away!
Click here for the correct version
Though he didn’t get the right lyrics, he won 3rd place! I guess it’s because of his confidence, plus the swaying of his hands.. hahaha.
The kids nowadays are so brilliant! The school program was not only for singing, but also for poem, declamation, story telling, dancing and choral performance. It also has a theme of Asian Culture.. So, Andrei (and the Nursery class) are wearing Korean costume for their choral performance of Three Bears (Gom Se Mari, the stint in Koreanovela Full House).. and by golly, they had it memorized in Korean Language!!.
——–
it kinda hurts
when the kind of words you write
kinda turn themselves into knives
.. A beautiful mess, Jason Mraz
While waiting for my rocket to come at the Marlboro Cafe
Back from Bora, we’re walking under the sun.. But back here in Manila, we’re walking under umbrellas
Time to go home now
Day 3: September 17, 2008
We spent our day (and our not so many moolahs) on shopping. Most souvenirs can be brought at the sidewalks along Station 3 and at the stores in DMall. Very popular and cheap things and stuffs to buy are bracelets, ref magnets, key chains, and of course T-Shirts.
Our last day shouldn’t be wasted without another adventure. So, we decided to try ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). We recommend the big cars (for P600) than the buggy cars (for P500) because you might be thrown out of it on rough roads. They’re very easy to drive.. you not need to be expert on driving. What’s important is to know when to break.
This was the route we’ve taken:
Our destination is Mt. Luho. You will get to see the wholeness of Boracay. It’s a splendid view.. animals were just a bonus attraction.
After driving, we stopped by at Jonas for their famous shakes. P80 is worth the chill.
Jonas is very near to Willy’s Rock. It has a grotto of Mama Mary which I think is very useful to those who are in “senti mode”.
And just before sight seeing Willy’s Rock, we spotted Marc Nelson and Diane Castelejo who were probably shooting an episode for Sports Unlimited. They were able to held up Marc Nelson and took these shots before he scurried off.. portraying his Amazing-Race-run (while sporting his 6 packs!).. How can be a man ran so beautifully?!
Expenses:
ATV: P600
Mt. Luho entrance: P50
Jonas shakes: 80
Day 2: September 16, 2008
Our adventure on Day 2 was Reef Walking! We were submerged 20000 leagues 28 feet under the sea using a traditional 30 kg. underwater helmet. It was so heavy that it sored the bones on my shoulders for days! Though there were few fishes to feed and very few corals (reef) to walk on, it was still a fun activity to experience.
After being 28 feet under water, we climbed a 28-feet wall at DMall’s DWall. I really thought it was easy. I was stuck halfway and can’t pull myself up because my legs and arms were starting to shake. Only Grace, Orville, and Joan managed to finish the course.
Why don’t you spread out your legs, Orville? Hehehe
Woohoo! Go Gracey!
But the main highlight on Day 2 was our cocktail party (a.k.a inuman session). Actually, we only have 2 rounds. But what made our little cocktail party extravagant was Verlyn’s proud performance with the band. They were so kind enough (as in!) to let her perform with them not just once, but with 3 songs!! She sang What’s Up, Zombie (with Jo’s special participation), and All Apologies.
Expenses:
Reef Walking: 500
Underwater cam: 600/8
DWall Climbing: 50
Drinks: 150 for 2 drinks
Jammin’ session: priceless
Day 1: September 15, 2008
First thing to do, of course, is to take a dip on the beach and enjoy the waves and sands. I bet everyone who has come to Boracay the first time will do the same thing.. We didn’t plan anything and thought that we could just take a rest and relax the whole day. I could stay by the shore and stare at the beach all day and gaze at the water which turns from aqua blue to deep blue — the effect is just so relaxing and amazing!
But every time we pass local peeps, we were nagged asked to do island hopping, reef walking, paraw sailing.. etc. etc. So we took the offer and spent almost our entire day on island hopping.
First stop is Crystal Cove. You’ll get to see a very nice view of the sea from the top of the island.. and through its caves. Caves aren’t that big, so not much for spelunking. And it’s very bizarre to get in to the cave through a man-made spiral staircase.
But on Cave 2, we will have to crawl all the way out to reach the other side of the island.
We then sailed to another spot, good for snorkeling.
And our next stop is the Puca Beach. Sands in here are fine as flour.
We weren’t able to go to other islands, but I guess we have cirumnavigated the whole Boracay island.
We were so eager to go back to our station because it was already dusk when we sailed off from Puca Beach. At first, we were screaming/laughing every time a wave hit our boat.. but the waves got stronger, and yet.. we still scream/laugh.. I’d say, we really are crazy.
All in all, Day 1 went well except for our trip back to our station. And also the rain.. we were stranded. Nothing to do but to drench ourselves from the rain as we ran back to our hotel.. totally a day wrecker.
Expenses:
Island Hopping: P200
Crystal Cove entrance: P150
Snorkeling gears: P20