camiguin island day 2 photo diary

 cousin and my photos

....drove around Camiguin Island on day 2. Not much dipping in the hot springs (Ardent, probably my favorite type of spring in this region...) and visiting Mantigue Island for a quick dip in the sea was done on this trip. Day one was a visit to Phivolcs however. The latter had me relive I once dreamed of being a volcanologist---mostly inspired by the late-ish 90s movie, Dante's Peak (which also featured the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo up in the northern part of Luzon). At the end of the trip, I promised myself to come back one day soon and stay at the Ardent Hot Springs Resort (their nightly rates are pretty cheap/affordable, I promise!!) and bumming the next day or so at Mantigue Island just because...well, I missed doing that. The island has plenty of cold springs but having been taken to those one too many times, I've gotten tired of them and I'm never really good with cold water bathing/dipping anyway.

Tuasan falls isn't really that much visited by people yet. That honor goes to Katibawasan falls. The ruins above are of the old church ruins by a cliff. It's beautifully green all around and the walls look really nice...in an old architectural genius way. It's definitely a very photogenic place. As for the topmost photo...on breakfast that day, I managed to catch the early morning sun as the cabana breakfast area we were in was by the sea. ....stayed at the Bahay Bakasyunan sa Camiguin Island. It's expensive, so for backpackers of which I often am or frequently identify with looking to save money on island tropical trips like this, I wouldn't advise checking in on there. I think Ardent Hot Springs would be a better place to check in on as aside from the cheap/affordable price, it's also close to the city/town of Mambajao---close to known food restaurants/sources and other such establishments---and the hot spring's pools are just within the vicinity making a late night dip on them convenient when one wants to relax after a day of going around the island's tourist sites and nearby islands hopping and beach bumming/swimming. The resort is also a bit up into the mountain/s so it's cooler there at night as well.  

in before summer rain pours...

 tank, secondhand. shorts, forever21. belt, vintage. heels, zalora. bag, giani bernini. choker, verano ph (via zalora).

I think white will be a constant in the daily wardrobe starting today. But I'll try to mix the color up with lighter earth colors and some select pastels. I don't really mind bright colors occasionally, however. I've been wanting some one-pieces (jp fashion terminology, otherwise known as mini-dresses) in bright orange and yellow or lime green lately after all.

There's another low pressure area hovering around us in this huge-ish island. Hmn...and I thought we were getting more sun and summertime humidity this late into March 2017... 

Meanwhile the music/s I'm currently feeling at this time:

I just had to. The summer cheer was/is direly needed in the midst of summer rains thanks to this wretched low-pressure area. Anyway, earth hour is on saturday...definitely, well, participating.

Something random today: I went on a Da-iCE music and dance video marathon via youtube on the smart tv with the dad preparing to go out around the house, and then moved to a SOLIDEMO music video marathon. The latter part, I was squealing and raving about Nakayama Yuki being so cute. Then pretty much concluded...once a fangirl, always a fangirl. This is something Reply 1997, a kdrama,'s ending episode confirmed for me. Fortunately, I'm not as crazy a fangirl of my favorite Avex JP groups as the main girl in that drama. I definitely won't be caught going to the subject of my fangirling's mother's restaurant to wash the dishes and clean there... Low-key stalking, I'd do, though. Haha. I think casual/moderate fangirls would understand. Also, I'm not a consistent one anyway. I have a ton of biases and they change a lot...from time to time. Either way, this is harmless fangirling. My father dearest knows I love Japanese guys' looks and all...hmn...

And, now, I go back to lol (エルオーエル)  music porn. They're currently on the tour to promote the Boyfriend/Girlfriend single which I'm pretty excited for. Both a-sides sound good, so...well...them, lol (エルオーエル) .  Also, their debut single/song, Fire!! just doesn't age. As expected of releases from the faves...

P.S.

I'll try to post as much as possible this week and the next but family from the States (California) just arrived this week and my time is apparently being taken up by entertaining the teen cousin. Sort of...anyway.

saturday, just another movie day

 denim cutoffs, levis. tank, never been kissed (via robinson's department store). boots, zalora. braided headband, diy.

 ....defaulted to something comfortable today. 

source: google images

Yesterday was Beauty and the Beast in the Lim Ket Kai Center/Mall cinemas, today was 10 Cloverfield Lane on HBO. ....basically my version of 'netflix and chill' on a pretty glorious, really sunny and hot weekend.

I feel like I missed something...perhaps the memo on how high the level of creepiness this film emanates when one watches it even on a sunlit, pretty pleasant living room (thank you, windows and some dreamy curtains here and there!). Yes, 10 Cloverfield Lane is THAT creepy, as in the two male characters of three (including the one lone and lead female) are suspect...talking and looking into their background/s and all. The bunker scenes and even the out of the bunker and into the field scene/s towards the end are all kinds of...cool and creepy...sort of hybrid. I don't think I've seen anything of this sort. I wouldn't even say Aliens has a similar vibe to this, towards the end where we see Clovie's little minions, yes, but I don't know how to explain this. I'm at a loss for words. The film, from start to finish, is just really a mix of cool and creepy. Needless to say, I like it as much as I do the main film of the franchise, Cloverfield. Now, I can't wait for God Particle to come out in the cinemas later this year. Like, I will definitely jump the wagon on this one should this hit cinemas here. 

Hmn...seems I've been watching films much these days. But honestly, it's just a select number of films as even with this, I'm pretty picky. Really picky. 

black and deep brown for BatB cinema date

 dress, what a girl wants/WAGW. hoodie, vintage anne klein. heels, zalora. bag, giani bernini.

Beauty and the Beast film was watched, in this get-up, with the best girl friend this afternoon...in 3D. It's because we weren't able to catch the 2D's earlier airing schedules. There's not much I could share on it except that it's pretty by the textbook (of the original fairytale except for some added parts here and there to make the film appear lengthier).  

rain shower, slits and JJ Abrams' Cloverfield

 t, h&m. skirt, ebayed Laundry by Shelli Segal. hoodie, vintage anne klein. boots, zalora.

What I ended up wearing today because it was cloudy then sunny then cloudy again with scattered summer rain showers. Is anyone getting tired of these boots? Well, I am. Sadly, I don't have a lot of heeled boots similar to this to alternate pairs with. I'm working on getting another pair, however. I'll eventually get there. Meanwhile, as of late, I seem to be abusing this pair one too many times now. I tromped around the city's Divisoria on this in a mini-skirt and t combo while running errands. There weren't too many stares from people but it's probably because this pair looks pretty boring outside of the block heels. So maybe when I get even more insane pairs of boots like maybe the Kurt Geigers I have been drooling over at Zalora...let me mull over it... But I do swear I have other ankle boots, mostly non-heeled and one pair that's 5-inch tall in stiletto heel form, on rotation with this one.

The slits are what made me fall for this skirt when I saw it on ebay... So Xena the Warrior Princess-like?

 src: google images

Right when Hunter x Hunter on Animax ended, I was able to catch the JJ Abrams produced scifi found footage film, Cloverfield on HBO. I know I'm really late discovering this film, my reason being that I'm not too updated with mainstream and indie film releases. I'm not a regular cinema-goer and I definitely do not check on new film releases on an almost daily basis. But hmn...this has got to change, probably, but I've seen more disappointing films being aired in the cinemas than ones I actually really like and ardently wait for upon hearing news of them being aired in cinemas worldwide soon so I'd really rather not risk it. I...I'm not all too happy with spending money on tickets to films I actually end up disliking...and even those that are just so-so for me... That said, I only go to cinemas at least once or twice a year. But back to topic, Cloverfield. Okay, I am now questioning myself: how did I miss this?! This film is so, so, so good. It's, in my book, a sci-fi-ed Blair Witch Project that's been upped a notch (quality-wise), done even better. ....what else would one---sci-fi, psychological thriller, crime/true crime, and even action film/tv/literature buff---expect from a JJ Abrams produced film?! Nothing less than good to near-perfect, yes. He did give us two superb Star Trek films that I stan hard (never mind that I'm not much of a Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan as in general, I've never really been a Cumberbatch fan...), and of course, that recently released Star Wars film. You could say sci-fi is JJ Abrams' forte as much as sci-fi, often-times children's fantasy is Steven Spielberg's. To clear any question that may rise around why I am a Star Trek stan more than a Star Wars fangirl like the majority...I'm not even really a die hard Trekkie, just a casual one. I think I just like the idea of being able to operate high tech equipment in outer-space travel and space itself. So Star Wars...I just never really got into the franchise.  
Cloverfield in a nutshell: party in NYC, then some alien makes it to Manhattan...in Central Park no less and rampages thereby killing a huge fraction of people living there, and plunging the Big Apple to just utter chaos all around. I compare this film to the Blair Witch Project because they are of the same kind, they just differ in genre. Cloverfield, like the Blair Witch Project is a found film type. It is just sci-fi while BWP is horror and supernatural combined. I'm pretty sure you've seen these kinds of film, if I'm not mistaken, Paranormal is another of this kind. However, what I like about this more than the other found footage or film types I've seen is that it goes full circle with its ending clip. I don't think the others in this type of film have accomplished such a feat as Cloverfield has. I wasn't able to see the whole film as I wasn't able to catch the very beginning of it---thanks to Hunter x Hunter and before that, a couple episodes of Golden Time on Animax---but I'm definitely planning to watch it whole should I catch it as a lunch feature or presentation on HBO or something similar. 
This film made JJ Abrams one of my favorite director-producers along with Christopher Nolan (the Dark Knight trilogy, The Prestige, and Inception has me hooked on anything this one does/comes out with). Sorry, but not that much sorry, I am not your regular person pretending to be eccentric stanning directors like Tim Burton or James Cameron (I couldn't bring myself to like Avatar, to be honest) and other...well, 'eccentric' arts figures in the pop world. But I'm proud of being someone who gets so, so excited by slice of life, psychological thrillers, crime/true crime, southern gothic, sci-fi, action, thriller, some fantasy, horror and even supernatural. Just something about these genres named here get to me somehow. Hence...why I just had to blab about JJ Abrams' Cloverfield on here.
I'm definitely keeping an eye out on everything Abrams and Nolan come out with. I may now have found two directors slash producers I can stick to that I know won't disappoint me with every film they are heavily attached to.    

spring/summer but mostly summer

 photos from foto-decadent

Dreaming of dreamy everything for spring and summer. But knowing me, I'll end up mixing the edgy and the sweet/charming/fun-dainty anyway. Then there's the one flower print dress or two that hark back to the 80s and 90s I'm likely to throw in the mix once in a while. 

Other than that, we don't really having anything that resembles transitional spring in this side of the world...it's just straight up summer with some rains. Island living at its best.

two as one

 photos by Candice Calonia

 

slip dress, urbanoutfitters (out from under). silk top/shirt used as jacket, vintage. boots, zalora. fedora, jessica simpson.

Things came up today that made shooting a couple outfits at the bff's village's basketball court and clubhouse grounds impossible but we still had fun catching up and talking random things we usually end up doing anyway whenever we're together (because apparently, we're insane like that...). The day didn't go to waste anyway because these still turned out nice which were shot close to her place, on our way out to get chai tea latte for me and taro milk tea for her at our favorite hangout place by Grand City Hotel, Chinkeetea. We might as well establish that place as a base for the two of us one day. Haha.

I suppose it's time to look for another better location for shoots. There's really not a lot of those here. Maybe on a trip to an island or some other next time. We should have one planned for summer because, well, it's summer and dips in bodies of water, especially the sea is a heavy requirement...rather standard operating procedure.

This Friday? Movie date to Beauty and the Beast although I'm highly skeptical of Emma Watson's singing prowess in a movie musical of this production scale/size. I only probably liked Emma in the Harry Potter series, her fashion-related campaigns, and her The Bling Ring (well, I am a Sofia Coppola stan...film buffs would understand this). Also, I'm not much of a feminist (I'm an egalitarian and humanitarian by general...err...self-labeling)...okay, slightly, so I find some of her feminist advocacy quite...err...I don't know...disagreeable? Or something like it anyway. In sum, I'm not a huge Emma fan despite having grown to love a lot of Harry Potter. Bff and I will wing this Beauty and the Beast film date by this friday then...I suppose. I'm more just a tag along at this affair than anything, anyway.

PS

Do I need to explain the post title? I currently have Da-iCE's Two as One track playing on the itunes player. Also, the boys and I have similar outfit color schemes on this post and the Next Phase album's (where Two as One can be heard/listened to from) cover so... 

tank and shorts summer uniform

 tank, bench ph. shorts, levis cutoffs. boots, zalora (rubi - cotton on). fedora, jessica simpson.

Today's mood called for the usual white tank and levis cutoffs, reason being, the whole day was gloriously sunny and hot, aka: this is just the kind of day I live for. I have a feeling I will be seen sporting this fedora for most of this season unless I find something similar to rotate this with.

....and I know this was so last year but I feel the need to revive the love for this Da-iCE track on here because it is officially summer (unless it threatens to rain again then hello on/off, really weird summer...)

 

I haven't actually forgotten that this all-around California-I wish I were back there again as I miss it much being there lately-goodness exists, too... maybe one day I'll have to move myself to California for good...I'm the kind to love living in that part of the world...that or Sydney, Australia...or better yet, Ibiza.

 

Alright, summer! Bring it! Of course, it's not all too out there, obvious, that this is my favorite time of the year. It makes being a lifelong resident of the paradise-like tropics sweeter. You have no idea how ecstatic I am at this time meanwhile people all around me are likely groaning their complaints of the hot, extremely sunny weather. Well...let them.

susto manila's pretty black pieces

 source: zalora philippines

....because, apparently, I can't sleep...yet and it's already 15 minutes to 3 a.m. in this side of the world...

I'm kind of surprised that a local line, susto manila, could come up with black pieces worthy of living the weekend nights in whether clubbing, bar hopping, and/or partying. The dresses and this one skirt are very detailed too. The third dress on the first row gives me the feel of something Anthony Vaccarello, currently of Yves Saint Laurent, would create. That or Alexander Wang would...yeah...I'm not sure either. The first dress on the second row however comes to me as a replica of an Express holiday collection dress from a couple or so seasons ago. Anyway, my favorites are one, the middle of detailed tube dress of the first row; second, the last tube dress that's still on the first row; third, the bodycon mini with the mesh details in the middle of the second row; and the skirt on the last part of what is still the second row. In sum, I'd probably end up getting 2/3rds of this selection from susto manila.