2011 Picture Compilation

JANUARY
"HOW TO START"

There are 3 things that I've observed that people
(in general) tend to do after the holiday season, kicking off a start now that
a new year had come and/or as the first month of the year is unleashed.
REASSESS/REMINISCE THE PAST, DIET and MAKE RESOLUTIONS!

2 keywords for all of it:
L-E-T-T-I-N-G G-O!!!!!!

As a reminder, we have to let go of the past,
it's good to get the lesson from it though

as part of your self reassessment.
But no matter what you do, you cannot change it.

In dieting, you let go of excess and "unnecessary" weight that you
allowed yourself to have as you convinced yourself that
another serving of that irresistible blue berry cheese cake in front
of you was worth it last Christmas eve... or New Year's...

Lastly, in making resolutions...
The thing is, you basically want to let go of what doesn't
work "with" you and "for" you that's why you give yourself
resolutions. It's crying out for change, right? Right.

They all denote one thing in common.
"L-E-T-T-I-N-G G-O!"

I chose this picture to remind me of the little things in my life,
whether good or bad that one way or another,
I would have to let them go. There's a reason behind it
why you have to do so. Whatever they may all be,
we shouldn't forget the most important of all,
for GROWTH.
Your own and theirs.

This is a picture of my friends. The eldest girl is Waipapa,
the boy is Buddah and the little girl is Teehei.

The Baileys!!!
I got this shot when we went to the park, my last play day with them.
I've become close to these Maori children but they had to leave for New Zealand
with their parents for school. Traveling stopped the kids
from having a stable set of friends.
I, for one, know that it's all better that they grow up steadily.
If I was Miri Bailey ( their mom ), I would have done the same thing.
I will forever remember them together with Hogan.
But we had to let them go.
And I can't wait 'til our paths cross again.

FEBRUARY
"THE WEDDING"

My cousins and I were very close. Coming from a family with
two sisters (no brother), I became very close to my cousin,
the youngest of our batch, ALVIN DEL MUNDO, now a certified architect.
He was my brother from another mother.
We had our share of youthful fun together with the rest
of our other cousins and my sisters that we practically grew up together.
But since he was just a little kid back then, we ought to keep an eye for him.

For the love month, I moved his picture with his wife that I took
during his wedding from December (the month that they got married)
up to February for I want to share my point of view to all of you,
most especially to men, about the wedding that you're going to give yourselves
and your wife to be maybe soon or in the future.

When I go to weddings, I always look at how it was planned
and how it was laid for all to see. For me,
this is how the groom adheres to what the bride deserves
or it's his way of looking at her. The wedding should be the
proof of how the groom envisions the bride.
From the motif, the location, how it's going to happen,
the people that's going to be there... things like such.

I am so proud of him to have been so successful
and blessed in many ways. His parents were always there
to support and guide him all the way, his wife shares the same
desires and goals with him and his career is at its golden years.

Lastly, he was a gentleman to show Renchie, my now cousin-in-law,
his love thru the wedding that he gave her.
I was even personally swept off my feet.
His personal touch on the music, the tactics, the food,
the program, the AVP production too... they all
had gave it so much energy and life.

It was the wedding of the year for me indeed.

MARCH
"NO FEAR"

Another powerful tool for me, besides LOVE, is having no fear.
In a lot of superhero movies, being fearless makes you stand out,
makes you extraordinary and makes impossible things doable.
In our daily lives and in our REAL world,
it's commonly known as CONFIDENCE and BRAVERY.

Here, I represent to you, 2 photos I've got for the month of March.
The first photo was taken in Samoa of Hogan Toomalatai receiving
the traditional Tatau, a rite of passage amongst Samoans.
Only the bravest people of heart and mind are the ones that would do this nowadays.

The second photo amazed me with Dylan Yung's talent.
Here, you would see 4 performers (one of them is me)

squeezing out every confidence they got
as they dance out to a number of people including their bosses on the side.
The angling of this shot kind of emphasized the idea.

Both of these photos depict the tools that we need in living our lives
to the fullest. We only live once and we should make the most out of it.
I love it!

APRIL
"DISCOVER"

Living life includes discovering things that you're

not familiar with. You'd be surprised that although

traveling seems to be the best thing to do

to get immersed to something new,

there are still some things that are actually around

you everyday that may give you that feeling of first experiences.

Lately, our camera, CANON EOS 50D,

opens up my eyes to seeing something deeper

or more upclose. Our lens is good enough to show me

different perceptives in taking a glimpse of just about everything.

From focusing, colors and angling.

All of these had made me appericiate the world in its abundance.

I choose this picture of me in front of the rugby field one fine afternoon

when Hogan along with our friends had played in the rugby league.

It was a great experience to come out of what's familiar and push

yourself into doing something else besides what you do everyday.

Taking pictures that day had made me appreciate rugby more

when all that I had before was constant "zero" knowledge

about this sport.

MAY

"FINDING BEAUTY IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES"

This picture by a good friend of mine, WENDELL JOHN FRANDO,

inspires me continuously to find beauty in everything.

As for my hobby of taking photos, I casually take walks to

spot subjects, photograph them and share it to friends.

Before I knew it, I had compiled a lot in one of my albums in Facebook

and Wendell saw them.

I appreciated his comment encouraging me that I should

consider "unusual" subjects. I didn't get what he said at first so I asked

him what he meant about it then he lead me to this picture

then it made me totally get the sense.

Then I realized that could be applied as a rule of life.

Sometimes, we tend to focus only on the

blinding beauty of almost everything that we tend

to forget that beauty lies within the purpose of something

or somebody. It lies within...

JUNE
"BE YOURSELF"

I'd like to feature this photo of my friend, Kelly Boyles.

She's one epitome of the word "REAL" in it's truest form.

Here could be a picture of Cruela in couture, but what I see more is that

great aura of GIRL POWER. I love her for knowing how to

have fun, being responsible, being on top of her game and staying humble.

She keeps everything in her life balanced and stays real and

true to her friends, family and of course to her own self.

That's what's most important.

I love how she treats herself good by celebrating her life.

She knows what she deserves and doesn't take any shit from people

(if you know what I mean).

JULY

"PLAY"

I blogged about the auditions that me and my friends did for the

launching of Toy Story Land here in HK DISNEYLAND last year but

I never got the chance to share how it went.

Malyn Punay, Aaron Jan Mercado, Giles Earvin Santos,

Stevenie Fu, Lawrence Law and I, along with numerous cast

members of HK DISNEYLAND, got the chance to model

the toy story land clothing and apparel as it opened November last year.

It was a sublime experience for all of us

as a series of castings and photoshoots were done

& this photo was one of the finished products.

We did have a lot of fun and we get to

do something else that's worth remembering besides work.

Life is full of surprises alright.

AUGUST
"SUNSET"

My boyfriend, Hogan Toomalatai,

took this during our trip in Samoa. It was just

too beautiful to let it pass without capturing the moment on cam.

The colors, the clear skies as time passed by while

watching it was beyond satisfying.

We don't get hold of beautiful sunsets like these in Hong Kong.

And so, we realized that we miss it.

It's very similar to sunsets in the Philippines too.

SEPTEMBER
"DEATH"

As inevitable as it may seem to most people, I never

knew that DEATH remained taboo to me after learning about Steve Job's
uneventful farewell as iphone 5 was far more than expected.
I was figuring out whether to wait for iphone 5 or buy an iphone 4 for already
since I was going over a week without no mobile phone.
The night before his death, my boyfriend and I were weighing which to purchase.

I literally jumped off the bed when I heard of this tragic loss the next day.

I admire him for being able to serve his purpose before he died though.

And that made me panic a little bit as I told myself,

"I wish I could fulfill my purpose too the same way he did."

Because the follow up thought to that was,

I'm still far away from fulfilling what my true profession is.

I'm a certified nurse, but I don't serve as one.

I have a lot of dreams like writing a book but all that I got is a title.

I am actually in PANIC about certain issues that maybe I'm too late to do stuff

or I'm getting old to start something else up.

Hence, I see death as taboo because I still got a lot of things

to do, experiences to hold, and growth to earn.
I don't know if it goes the same with you
but I am still not ready to bid farewell. Not just yet.
But that's not in my control, is it?
Make it count. Make everything count.

OCTOBER
"INDIFFERENCE"

Ahhh, every person's ambition is an escape.
This month always gives Hong Kong people this much opportunity
to be somebody else as they hail the season with splendid
array of costumes, late night parties and out of the ordinary get togethers.
They allow themselves to portray themselves as any famous icon
such as: the ROBOCOP, the MUMMY or the EGYPTIAN PHARAOH.
These are just a few examples.
I chose this for the month of October to encourage
your creativity, innovative skills and freedom of expression.
Go for it!

NOVEMBER
"SCORPIO"

My month. Lately, I've developed the baker in me as I occasionally
indulge in the therapeutic effects of this hobby,
as how my friend Ms. Malyn Punay made me realize.
Besides the fact that I am able to save money and learn something new,
Hogan benefits from it as well when I make chocolate pound cake.
I don't find satisfaction with chocolate (yes, I know... I'm the only one who's not a fan)
but I'm pretty ok with not tasting it while I bake it.
I love how baking gives a scent of
"home". It's always nice to go home to a house where
there's always something baking.
For the month of November, learn something new.

Though these cupcakes are truly amazing as how they were made,
perhaps, it's just the Scorpio in me that admires the presentation.
Probably, these cupcakes were made for a bridal shower.

DECEMBER
"SHARE"

God never wanted us to be alone. Hence, he gave us the intelligence
to identify the most essential element of living.
"L-O-V-E" !!!
This picture just talks of it so much so I choose this
for the month of December.

The month of most holidays, it is just good to
share everything that talks about love.
Your time, your undivided attention, your love.
Be thankful for the happy times and don't regret learning from pain.
You are what you are because of what you had gone thru.
And you are comparable to nobody because of your survival skills.
Hold on to each lesson as you face a new beginning yet again.
As the year ends, have a recap once again.
And share it with your family, your friend, or your special someone.
They might learn something from you.