Trentahin

Caramel cake from Estrel's. Thanks Chi!

Two Tuesdays ago, on a Tagaytay day trip/joint birthday celebration with my law school friends and my mom (and Jenn's mom), I wrapped up my week-long 30th birthday celebration, Months ago, I considered having one big party for my 30th, but I realized it's better to have several intimate celebrations than a big one so I can spend more time with each of my friends/family. (Besides, I don't have the budget for a big celebration. Hehe) To be frank about it, I wasn't feeling my birthday the entire week. Exactly a month before my birthday, my cousin from the US also turned 30 and he was posting mildly depressed status updates about it on Facebook. I didn't realize how depressing it actually felt until I turned 30 myself. That week, I felt more irritable than usual, and I had one ugly dream that sort of rubbed in certain issues in my life and left me feeling deeply upset when I woke up. As the week progressed and I started to meet up with my friends/family, I felt blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who have stood by me through the years. Yiz, so cheezy. Hehe. God reminded me of all the blessings he has given and the experiences he had allowed me to go through, including the recent US trip I had with my family, that I have no reason to feel bad about getting a year older.

Yesterday's Morning Run

I decided not to join the law school blockmates' out-of-town trip this weekend at the last minute. I really wanted to join and was looking forward to the food trips/probably our only trip as 1/4 of a block, but I almost had a fever from last weekend's trip and I thought it would be better to just use this time to rest. Besides, it's mother's day and it's been years since I last spent it with my mom. I always had wedding shoots the past few years so I wasn't able to join the celebration. I tried to make up for the years of being in absentia by spending the entire day with her yesterday. Today, we're going to church and probably having lunch or dinner with the family. 

Since I had nothing to do yesterday morning, I joined the Milo Apex Running Clinic group for a run at the U.P. oval. Part of the program is the weekly Saturday early morning runs at U.P. or Bonifacio High Street. The call time was at 5:30 in the morning and it was supposed to prepare us for the fun runs we're going to sign up for. On several occasions, I've attempted to join one of those fun runs, but the 5:30 a.m. (or earlier) call time had always deterred me from signing up. I felt that running in the morning would keep me from doing anything else that day, since I'd be too tired to function. On Friday night, I was contemplating on not going, since I slept a bit late. I always feel uncomfortable around that time - my entire body isn't awake yet and my tummy feels weird. But I decided to run anyway. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it, and I didn't feel as exhausted as I expected. I actually felt more refreshed the entire day. Of course at around 9 pm drowsiness kicked in and I had to sleep earlier than usual. But in all, it felt great. I can probably run in the morning and have enough energy to still shoot in the afternoon. I also enjoyed running with a group, it keeps me more motivated. I realized there are more runners in UP on Saturday mornings than there are on weeknights. 

Running Again

After almost an entire month of pigging out during my US vacation, I was determined to lose all the fat I've gained by going to the gym. It was difficult going back, but once I started attending classes, exercising became a habit again. I haven't ran outside the gym since I got home though. I mostly attended the group classes at Fitness First. I was already contented with my usual routine at the gym until a few weeks ago, when my good friend, Riza, texted me about Coach Jim Saret's running school. Taking up running seriously was actually not on my priority list (in the meantime anyway), but I thought the price of PhP1,800 for a three-month running training, plus a singlet + expert tips + opportunity to actually improve my running form, was very reasonable. Presumably, it would also get me to finally sign up for a real fun run, which I'm always too lazy to do and make all sorts of excuses for. 

Last Weekend's Adventure

Guess who's the new Instagram fan? Hehe. And to think I used to diss Instagram because I would rather shoot in analog. 

Last weekend, I found myself riding a ferry from Caticlan at 12 midnight; spending an entire day at Shangri-la Hotel; and spending some time with other suppliers from the wedding industry. 

At Terminal 3, where ALL flights are delayed:

A few hours later:

Good thing I had my laptop with me. I was able to finish two slideshows and edit some photos for clients.