In Between Shoots

I just came from a birthday/baby dedication shoot in Crowne Plaza in Ortigas. Now I'm at the A.Venue in Makati for shoot no. 2, a silver wedding anniversary in CCF Makati.

In a few hours, less than 12 to be more specific, I'll be leaving for the U.S. with my sister's family. I'm super excited about this trip for several reasons. It's the first time we're going to be complete again as a family since my brother's family migrated to the U.S. in 1999. It's also been a while since my last U.S. trip, the last time was in 2006. This is also the first time I'm going there armed with my DSLR. Traveling hasn't been the same since I took photography seriously and invested in gear. Being a photographer has given me a better perspective on things and allowed me to see beauty in the most ordinary places. The past few days have also been quite stressful for me and I need a change of scenery.

As expected, my mom hoarded a lot of items from the grocery/market. It looks like we're putting up a sari-sari store in Sanfo:

 

Thank you Ate Espie (from the office), my source of local Pinoy goods. Hehe

I remember getting so excited about opening balikbayan boxes whenever relatives would come home from the U.S. I think, though, that balikbayans are now more enthusiastic about receiving packages from the Philippines than we are about receiving from them. Most U.S. brands/products are available here anyway, so imported goods are not a novelty anymore. It's more difficult to bring local goods/brands to the U.S. It's funny how my relatives can get oddly specific about what they want us to bring. My aunt asked me to buy mazapan de pili from Sevilla's in Greenhills (with a stern warning not to buy pastillas since they don't want that). My 8- year old niece, Sophia, asked for "kawaii" stuff, including stationery and other items. I bought some cute post-its and stuffed toys from a Korean store and the Daiso Saizen store at the mall. My eldest sister looked at what I bought and said, "Wala ka bang biniling may matutulong man lang sa mundo?" My cousin asked me to bring her yema, specifically, the triangle-shaped ones, all flavors of San Mig Coffee, and to quote her, "pangkayod ng melon, yung cute." I had no time to buy the last one, but I was able to buy her yema and coffee. I also bought shingaling for my sister-in-law.

The only downside about this trip is the expenses. Though my dad paid for my ticket (thank you Papa hehe), I have to bring my own pocket money. I didn't realize going to the U.S. has a lot of miscellaneous expenses. That's why I agreed to do a double-shoot today (thank you Sofia Genato and George Padua for throwing "rakets" my way. Hehe). I know I have to get up very early for tomorrow's flight, but at this point, money's more important than my health and well-being. Hehe. Besides, I can rest during the 13++ hour flight (if I could).

Traveling, though, is something I would never regret spending on. I'd rather spend on it than buy an expensive, tangible item. The experience I get from traveling is just priceless. Up until now, I can vividly remember the very first time I went on a trip and all the other trips that followed. It's interesting how I can recall the tiniest details from my first trip - the songs being played (A Pet Shop Boys song was blaring on my uncle's car radio when they picked us up from the airport); the smell (our baggage reeked of bagoong, no thanks to someone else's faulty bottle lid); the bloopers (my sister went to the male restroom at the airport since she couldn't understand the sign. hehe). If I could, I would collect all the little items that would remind me of each trip. Trips have also become my life markers.

So yes, I'm really excited about this trip, and I hope it will be something we can do on a regular basis. 

I'll miss the little dog though: