The Sablay

Taken from the website of the Vice Chancellor for Research and development:

The UP Sablay is the official academic costume of the University of the Philippines. The official colors of the University, maroon and green, were used in the sablay. Yellow gold, which stands for the high standards of values and excellence, was also used. The colors, based on the Panthone ProSim color chart, are Panthone 195 CVP (maroon), Panthone 349 CVP (green), and Panthone 138 CVP (yellow gold).The indigenous letters originating from the indigenous alphabet called baybayin or katitikan, are equivalent to the Roman letters “U” and “P”, respectively. The curvilinear design called ukkil or ukit, which resembles a sprouting plant, signifies life. The geometric designs (in zigzag and diamond patterns) are common design elements gracing the attires and functional objects of indigenous peoples from Batanes to Tawi-tawi. Arranged continuously and rhythmically, these geometric designs highlight the diverse cultural communities in the Philippines and the University’s pursuit of knowledge, cultural enrichment, and scientific advancement.

Did you ever wonder who makes our sablay?

In my most recent trip to Iloilo, Mom and I visted a family friend who's a famous hablon maker in Iloilo because she was going to order a few pieces. When we entered their house, piles and piles of UP sablays were on their couch. She makes them year-round. (Well, if you supply the whole of UP System, you'll need the whole year to satisfy demand. hehe) She even took us to the workshop where they house hablon weavers. I felt so bad I didn't bring my camera so I just used my poor phone camera to take shots.

When we visited there were two ladies working. I have a feeling they're the only people assigned exclusively to weave the sablay. I observed how they shift the threads by stepping on some bamboo and then sliding the threads across the sheet. It's crazy. I did get to try weaving during a field trip in Ilocos. It was pretty easy but only because I just did the sliding of the thread (sorry, I don't know the exact term) a few times.

Anyway, this post is initially about my visit the the sablay weavers but I discovered while researching that some douche is selling our sablay on ebay as a 'Philippine souvenir'. I'm insulted! The sablay is something sacred for UP students. It's a symbol of hard work and excellence. You represent the university anywhere you go. When I attended my St. Benilde's graduation, there were around five professors wearing their sablay. Apparently professors wear the academic costumes of the schools where they graduated from. So others were in their togas with red, purple and blue bands- depending on the colors of their respective school. So you don't just sell the sablay as a souvenir. People work hard to earn the right of wearing one. I already messaged the office of the vice chancellor regarding this. I hope to hear from them soon.

All I need :)

Wouldn't it be nice to be neighbors with your best friends like Jules, Ellie and the rest of the gang in Cougar Town?

Whenever I watch Cougar Town, I enjoy those scenes where the gang randomly shows up in Jules' place. Spend the night with a bottle of wine, or their weekly breakfast thing. It's just so nice to have friends within crawling distance, literally.

I find myself missing my friends a lot. I see some of them every Saturday in dance class. We also have the occasional dinner with college friends. Once we went to the beach for the weekend. (I wonder when we'll do that again?)

Two Saturdays ago, after dance class, Fa and I picked up Jen and drove to Bonifacio High Street to do some shopping. We had so much fun laughing during the trip! I have this feeling we're slowly introducing Jen to our jologs world. Now I'm sure she knows Mon Confiado. hahaha When Fa and I dropped Jen off to her house, we passed by this lot in their village that's for sale. It was a huge lot. Enough to fit two houses and is located on the main avenue of the village.

Fa joked 'Ano bilhin na natin?' Me: Oo para araw araw dance class na sa brewing point! And then the joke went on and on until we ended up imagining paano pag tinatamad ka maglakad papuntang Brewing Point? "Eh di gumulong ka nalang. Mga sampung gulong lang or tatlong tumbling, andun ka na. O di kaya, mag kariton ka. Sabihin mo 'yaya patulak sa brewing point. Pipitikin lang ni yaya yung kariton, tapos pag naka-baba ka na, hihilahin niya na pabalik yung kariton wahahahahahaha!" Imagine that exchange of crazy punch lines between me and Fa. Good thing we weren't in EDSA or else we'd be crashing into one of the cars or buses because of laughing too much.

I love my friends! I miss them everyday as much as I miss my family. They're my family here in Manila and I cannot live without them. I wish I see everyone before I leave for Christmas vacation in Iloilo!

I miss

I miss just having us three. It's rare, I tell you.

Joop, Lee, Jom

National Bookstore, 2005. We were buying college school stuff for me and Jom.

Photo taken by my mom.

Jom lived in a dorm in Taft when he entered college. He's used to living in the dorm. I on the other hand, dislike dorms. I hate forcing myself to get to know people. So my epic story goes like this... "Yeah I stayed in Kalayaan (It's the freshman dorm in UP) for two weeks then I begged my mom to allow me to stay at home." hahaha I find that I have this need for a wide personal space and I just can't have that in a dorm. Plus, there's a certain stereotype of dormers. OKAY I'M STOPPING THERE. Don't wanna offend dormer friends. :)

I have reasons for posting this and maybe Raish will understand. Now all I pray for is that Joop makes it to UP or Ateneo so he can stay here at home. Truth is, he doesn't want to stay here because of my uncle. HAHA Then again my uncle rarely comes home so it's almost always just me. But if Joop prefers to live with his friends, that's totally fine. As long as they sleep over and hang out here during weekends. I'm gonna give Joop that T.G.I.S.- GMIK-GrowingUp, 90's kinda lifestyle. You know- they days when it's cool to hangout at home instead of sitting in coffee shops or strolling at the mall.

Before this post becomes even more cluttered than it already is, I'm gonna stop. Happy weekend everyone!

Saturday Night Laugh

Dear Lord,

Thank you for a beautiful day. I had so much fun in dance class today! Prince was late but it was a packed class (15 students) and coach was so hyper so it made the session more interesting. Being with friends makes it a thousand times better.

Thank you also for the chance to meet this pretty mom. Seeing her happy made it easier for me to accept certain things. I was humbled. And happy that such moment reminded me that love exists.

Thank you for reminding me that teaching is a gift. I did not quite enjoy the second class we attended. The instructor was just not connecting with us (or me, I dunno). It crossed my mind that if it was Coach Prince who was teaching that dance, it would've been easier and more enjoyable. Now I find that I'm back to my childhood dream of becoming a teacher. I somehow believe that because I learned from the best teachers, I can teach effectively. Of course, that's just my theory. :))

We dropped by Jen's house to visit her mom. Then it rained but it was quick. We had a short chat, then Fa and I went to lunch then to my place to freshen up. The rain did not stop Fa and I from dragging Jen to go to High Street and check out Muji. We laughed a lot in the car! We did a lot of walking too. Thank you for the good meal at Stock Market. Though I am sad there was no more red velvet vixen at Sonja's when we got there. We had another hilarious ride on our way home all thanks to Fa's Mom Confiado trivias.

Now my legs are tired from all the walking but I'm very happy. This happiness will hopefully last me the whole week. I'm glad that now I have Saturdays to look forward to.

Thanks, super.♥

Rants of a 90's girl

I can't move on. I swear. Growing up in the 90's is the best thing ever! Of course older people will disagree. But I think the 90's was saktong nothing too primitive, nothing too advanced. We work hard for things we want or need. Homeworks were done through research and are handwritten.

I've seen the rise and death of Gaisano mall. From being the it mall in Iloilo to becoming the most jologs mall when SM arrived. I learned text messaging when I was in Grade 5. My mom had the first SMS-abled Nokia phone. Boy bands, MTV, Apple dapple and Whammos, Zip orange juice (those in pyramid-ish containers), Power Rangers, Captain Planet, Swat Cats, Storck caramel candy, Ovaltinees, TGIS, Flames. ugh. Why do I sound like Senti Sabado? hahahaha

Now it's Google and print outs. They say today's generation is by far the smartest generation. Well, dapat lang diba? I mean, generations have to continuously improve. Like students have to know more than their teachers. But it's not about being the smarter generation. It's which generation makes proper use of the information. Nowadays information is taken for granted simply because it's just there. Only a few willingly search for answers out of curiosity. Kids don't read books (and I mean encyclopedias and atlases, not Twilight), they don't play outside, and they don't write in cursive form! I am appalled at how easy life is for kids today. I'm all for development but it's sad how technology changes everything. So now I'm holding on to as much memories as I can.

I'd like that one day, my kids and nephews and nieces would hang out it my house and check out the stuff from my generation. Like how Pepe Smith is an awesome rockstar, that Ely Buendia headed the biggest, most phenomenal local band evarrr, that Chuvaness.com was a bible of pop culture, and all the other stories that deserve some ooohs, aahhhs and wows from the kids. Because I like seeing old stuff of my mom and her sibs. It's interesting to see their life through the things they own. (And that's why I'm kinda irritated that mom's sib/my 'evil' uncle lost Lolo's camera. And renovated this house. All that is part of Lolo. That's part of a history that we deserve to have.)

Of the things that I want to preserve, music and culture (values) are on top of my list. Somehow I find that we are more respectful, considerate and simple. Kids today are maarte, impatient and they speak too much English. I have nothing against that but I'm also not for neglecting our Mother tongue because I know 5 year old kids who do not understand Filipino! And they bully their yayas and scream and throw a fit when they do not get the littlest of wants. I SWEAR I WANNA PINCH THEM WHEN THEIR PARENTS AREN'T LOOKING. But that's child abuse I guess. hahaha

There. I'm done ranting (for today).

Wasakan na ng wallet- charing!

Ika nga ni Lola Chuvs...MANILA, WE'RE GETTING SPOILED!

The best thing about Manila is that it feeds the shoppingera in me! We've got so much malls, best stocks in town (Bench and Bayo in the provinces suck), and if you looove shopping online, shipping is cheap- anywhere from 50-80 pesos and some shoppers offer free shipping. Isn't that great? I must admit, I spend most of my free time and salary shopping. So yeah I shouldn't wonder where my 'savings' are now. They're either bags or shoes or some expensive piece of makeup. WHUUT?!

As if we don't have enough, here comes Muji marching in to wipe out our salaries this October. Oh God. I am officially dreading the day I step foot into that shop. No, I've never been to Muji. I planned to visit when I was in Singapore last summer but Ana and I never got the chance to go. But I've heard enough stories to convince me I'm gonna love it there. I'm in the process of simplifying my life and although I can say I'm sooo far from achieving that goal, at least I'm starting somewhere a.k.a. my closet.

No, I'm not limiting myself to only 20 pieces of clothing. That's insane. Instead I'm limiting myself to a few colors. I only remember one person noticing and saying it aloud- Cheska. When I attended her birthday party she said 'black again?' In my mind "hey, you noticed!" hahaha Back in college I remember my closet having lotsa whites, pinks, some reds, and lots of blue jeans. Really- anything goes. Now those pinks have been donated to my college org's rummage sale, some of the whites are still with me but my closet is filled with blues, blacks, charcoals and grays. They're just easier to wear and yes, yes, it camouflages flabs which comes handy when I'm out with the girls and at least one of us brings a camera. haha

Back to Muji. It's known for basics- from house basics to wardrobe basics so yes, I'm gonna love it there. I'm still not visiting Forever21. I'd pick Muji over F21 any day. So I'm saving my salary for October and November and definitely drop by Muji before I go home to Iloilo for the holidays.

Oh, I wish my mom could tag along in my shopping escapades. But that won't be long because my (baby) brother is going to college next year. I'm really excited. Like out of this world kind of excited. I prays he makes it to his dream school- whichever that is. :)

Something Fishy

Yesterday I felt like a fish out of the water.

I attended my friend Ana's birthday celebration at Red Box. Originally it was gonna the usual four of us but lots of her friends from her college (Fine Arts) tagged along which brings the grand total of 11 people. I was the only 'new' person. my friend Mau, despite being from Home Economics, is pretty much part of the group because she's always tagged along in their plans. Plus, everyone knows I'm a serious 'karaoke' girl...meaning when there's karaoke, I expect everyone to sing the songs they picked- and not just mumble or worse, listen to the MTV version. So it got a little bit frustrating when songs would play and no one was taking the microphone.

Poor me, BA girl. HAHA They didn't know I was from BA though. There wasn't any chance of introducing my 'history' to everyone. I made an alibi that I had to leave at 10 because I've got work to do early the next day. But later that night, we were all warming up, food kept coming, and somehow I felt a teeny bit more comfortable so I decided to stay.

In general, it was a good night. It was interesting to be the outlier in a group. Besides, I stayed for Ana. She's a good friend so to hell with being a fish out of water, as long as she's happy because I stayed.

Earlier that night, while waiting for 7 pm to proceed to Red Box, I had an urge to get a haircut. I initially wanted to have it at Tony and Guy but I needed to wait for 40 minutes before my turn so I declined. I went to the usual Acqua and was hoping my stylist is absent so I can try Narry who's been much raved about on blogs. BUT NO. When I entered, I immediately saw my stylist and shempre, nahiya na rin ako, and I need a cut so I proceeded for a cut.

The thing i hate about my stylist Terry is that she'd always always try to persuade me to get a hair treatment. Dai, ikaw ba magbabayad nun? Hello. After finishing touches on my cut, she kept commenting 'Dry yung hair mo, ma'am. May static. Mag treatment ka.' I didn't say anything. It was getting into my nerves na talaga. Just do what you have to do with my hair k? After that cut, I paid and gave they shampoo-blowdry girl her tip. I couldn't find Terry so I left immediately. I would have looked for her and give her a tip- just because I always give one. But this time, I didn't feel any guilt not giving her one. I am sooo moving to Tony and Guy. It's a few hundreds more expensive but if it'll be a peaceful session, I'm willing to pay.

Why Bob Ong is the best.

Hindi lungkot o takot ang mahirap sa pag-iisa kundi ang pagtanggap na sa bilyon-bilyong tao sa mundo, wala man lang nakipaglaban upang makasama ka. -Bob Ong

Photo source here.

Nothing

You know those days when you feel blah and you know exactly why but just couldn't say it out loud?

Because saying it out loud contradicts your alter-ego's beliefs and kills the positivity in you. Because the more you say it, the more it'll probably not come around and the longer you'll stay in such blah state.

And there's no one to turn to. Not because you've got no friends but because you know they can't really do anything about it. Some of them have greater problems than what you have. Heck this one is not even a problem.

It's killing you, to sit and wait for something, anything to happen and you see all the good things in others and then you ask yourself... so? And me? Uhhh, hello?