This was the bane of my existence. I so wanted to learn how to draw. I wanted to be able to create something visually appealing with just a pencil and paper. That is why I turned to the other arts. Yes I play 7 instruments. Yes I know how and have written songs. I took up photography and am pretty decent at that too. But ask me to draw and might as well shoot me now. I couldn’t draw something worth looking at for the life of me.

One of my 2012 goals was to learn a new skill. I put pencil to paper and began. (literally) Armed with a variety of youtube videos I set out to draw some sketches. Here are some of my initial drawings.

I’ve really got to get my lines down. As well as learn some proportion. But practice makes perfect. Or at least interesting.

Let me know what you guys think!

Please be gentle, as I said this is the first time I’m drawing something in my 26 years of existence.

Proves that you can learn anything on  youtube!

As all bloggers may have done, I also have decided to post on the first day of the new year. Not because I want anyone to read it, but more of because I want to be able to look back at 2012 the following year and see if I did do anything different.

Oh 2011 you were suffice to say an interesting year. A lot of travelling, new friends, new trials, and most of all new people in my life. Both good and bad. I’ve learned so much and I’ve wanted to end you already so fast and so quickly, not because I didn’t like you. It was one helluva a year. But primarily because I’m raring to go on to 2012. I tell this to myself every year. I stand in front of the mirror, stare myself down, and after doing a Robert DiNiro (You talking to me? Are you talking to me?) impression, I tell myself this is going to be my year.

Highlights of my year? Well, I went to Bacolod for food, went camping on my birthday, went to Vietnam, fell in love, got broken down, decided to try out the iPhone, lost my laptop due to overuse, got a new macbook air, finally got my car running properly, met some new friends, rekindled old ones, and most importantly grew as a person.

Yes, yes, cheesy as it may sound, I did grow. I learned a lot about who I was and what I wanted in life. As I cross the bridge to my mid-late 20s I realize now that every situation, every high, every low, contributes to who I am.

Anyhoo, we’ll be having a great new year. Bring it on!

Since this has been stuck in my head for the longest time!

 

Its no secret that I used to play golf. Dad used to make me play golf. We got started when I was 7 years old. I played for 10 years. I stopped when I was 17. Why I stopped is a long story. But I love playing golf. I love the technicality of it. The mental game. The demands for consistency. I love walking in nature the peace and quiet and the greenery. I love how every stroke is/should be a calculated and you only do battle with yourself. You are your own worst enemy. No trash talking and how you are able to talk for hours with the person you share the flight with. Very few get it. I am one of those few.

Fast forward 10 years later. I played golf in Malaysia and it brought back so many memories. I enjoyed playing with Martin, Tim, & David. I played horribly. I haven’t played like that since I started playing golf. What I was quite happy though was that form and skill was still there. I was just rusty. I could keep up with these giants. You see all of them were at least 6 feet tall. Martin and Tim were both Australian, while David was a tall Malaysian.

So yesterday, I decided to go to the driving range and work out my form. And indeed I did. I found my form with my irons. Learned how to pitch and chip, and my drive needs some work to correct a fade that comes. Anyhoooooo

I bought new shoes! (shrieks like girl!)

These Adidas adizero golf shoes were the bomb. I actually wanted something else but they looked like soccer shoes instead of golf shoes and going conservative and safe was best for the golf course.

I also dropped by the pro-shop and see how much the balls were. (yes I can hear the juvenile snickers)

It looks so sleek. Classic golf shoes look. Last time I played I was still using steel spikes. I heard they were banned now.

Now I’m excited to try these bad boys out. I have to buy some bags and find me some coupons for golf courses. Now, anybody want to play?

I lurrrrrve pancakes. The fluffiness. The unlimited possibilites. Oh yes pancakes you make my mornings bearable if anything else. Oh pancake I love how you never fail to disappoint. Even when you are not at your best you still mesmerize me. Every bite is soft and warm. Its like biting a kitty only tastier. The round shape is just perfect to fit in my mouth. You go well with just about anything. Eggs, Syrup, bananas, nuts, berries, cream, butter, peanutbutter, & of course chocolate. Oh pancakes you are so versatile. You, pancakes, make me happy. I can have pancakes for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even midnight snack.

I love you pancakes. You will never leave me nor disappoint. I can never have enough of you pancakes. A dollop of butter cream and some maple syrup and you have something so simple pancakes. Your simplicity baffles me and excites me. Oh the possibilities pancakes!

Pancakes, I’m forever yours, faithfully.

-Carlos

So I’ve been ranting about how shitty my Christmas has been lately and truth be told I am really in no mood to actually celebrate the season. But there is an upside! I got one of the things I’ve been wishing for ever since I’ve heard of it. I got an Aranez iPhone 4 case! Its so full of awesome! Since Arnold announced it and I’ve seen it on the site I’ve been dreaming of someday owning one for my iPhone. Its super stylish. Made from real kangaroo leather, I love how stylish and sleek the entire thing is. Its barely even there and the leather back adds to the elegance of the whole thing.

Its so sleek that a lot of my friends mistake that I don’t even have a case and that it just protects the back of the iPhone. Truth be told I love how it maintains the sleek shape and design of the iPhone while lending a tad bit of sophistication to the already sleek gadget. If you have an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s you definitely must check out these Aranez case.

Additional bonus, Arnold is a Pinoy-Australian blogger who decided to start this venture! Let’s support our kababayan!

You can check out his site at http://www.mrgadget.com.au or for the cases at http://aranez.com

Here are more photos if you are still not convinced!

ALSO THEY SHIP TO THE PHILIPPINES!!!!

My my, time really does fly fast. I can’t believe it has been 2 years already since I last flew out for the blog awards and yet here I am typing in the Malaysia office for the 2nd Nuffnang Blog awards! A lot of both good and bad memories that come with the blog awards. The blog awards itself was great. It’s something I am very privileged to experience and I do treasure and put great importance on my role and tasks as the Philippines’ Country Manager. But along with it comes the jolting memories of 2 years ago when I left all excited only to come home and be completely devastated. I somehow am reserving and holding back my excitement this year for fear of falling flat on my face when I come back.

But anyhow, the trip so far was pretty awesome. Loved the reception I always get from the Malaysian Nuffies!

Funny / Interesting story, when my plane started to taxi down the runway, I quickly dozed off so that at should at least cut 1 hour and a half of waiting time, but sadly after an hour’s nap, I woke up to us still being on the tarmac. Flight was delayed apparently.

I love flying in huge planes. The reason being is that we can fly so high and avoid air turbulence thus the flight was relatively smooth and had this amazing view at some point.

They served some food on the plane which rather meh. I wonder if its cheaper to just get some fastfood or some catering service to do it for them? Or at least have the passenger have the option to pick what is served? I wouldn’t mind McDonalds or KFC on my flight or maybe even Jollibee! But hey that’s what we get!

But at least the Lemon Square Pandan Cake and Kitkat (not seen in the photo) were pretty good!

Landed at KLIA this time and was amazed at how huge the airport was. Was hoping I won’t get lost in it!

I finally found my way to the baggage carousel and waited patiently for my bags. Luckily my bag was one of the first one’s out. Yey!

I found my way to the train and bought a one way ticket to KL Sentral where Sekar, Tim’s driver was picking me up. I just followed the purple signs and found KL Sentral Ekspress. It costs RM35 for one person and it took 28 mins only! Usually if by car it takes 1 hour and 30 mins and if you leave and there’s a jam, 2 hours!

The train was clean and quiet. I wanted to take a nap but the riding the train fascinated me.

I couldn’t help but tweet the entire train ride how much we needed this shit in Manila to help in the decongestion. After exactly 28 mins, I found myself at KL Sentral and this was an amazing place. Such a great transport depot.

It was a tiring day and I was glad to finally get to Tim’s place and get some rest!

I’ll be getting ready to see the stick man trophies soon!

I was recently going through my old blog posts and I realized how I missed just reflecting on the random absurdities in life. One of my favorite words recently has been the word absurd. I especially like saying in our vernacular: Absurdo. There is just this certain ring to it. The subtle Ah or the A the rolling or r’s and the abrupt and sudden end of O but said with force is just the one those words that capture so much character when saying, but I digress.

Back to the absurdities of life.

As I said, the subtle absurdities of life is what I miss most and reflecting about things is what I miss most. Every moment today is now spent on strategizing or thinking about the business and how to improve our bottomline. I am turning corporate. I am a corporate slave masked in common place clothes.

Take for example this entry. http://www.carloscpalma.com/2009/08/f-fail/

I think it was pretty awesome topic to reflect on.

And I quote:

“Ganun pala yun, iiyak mo ng konti. Tapos pagnilayan. At pagkatpos ng lahat move on. Don’t dwell on it. Parang perishable foods yan eh. If gagamitin mo either ubusin mo na, or i-tapon mo. Kasi wala na siya silbi. Mapapanis siya. Maari din i-ref pero may hangganan parin ito”

I miss being able to write like this.

I wonder when it will be back?

Maybe I should start here.

Hmmm…. what to talk about…

What about the concept of time.

I’ve always wondered how I’ve always had time to spare despite being so busy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never had enough time to do everything I’ve wanted to do, but I’ve always have had time to give to the important people in my life or important things. I don’t know how or by what miracle I am able to translate this, but I do. I’ve had time to learn photography, learn the industry I am in, meet with people, fix my car, take breathers, compose strategies, come up with budgets, and somehow fall in love. But I do and I have.

What a silly concept. Running out of time. And yet, thousands and millions of people seem to run out of it everyday. There never is enough. I agree, there never is enough time. That is why we choose what is important to our lives and what makes us happy and we make time. I’m learning how to do it. I haven’t mastered it. My bucket list only grows longer. But I’m checking one item at a time. If only funds were unlimited as well!

Yup I am a marshmallow baby. Although I may resemble like a marshmallow, (a burnt one at that) I am rather pertaining to the test wherein a group of toddlers were sat infront of a table with a huge marshmallow infront of them and asked to follow instructions. If within 5 mins they don’t eat the said marshmallow, they will be rewarded with another. This was to test the EQ and delaying gratification.

I think I failed this test.

My EQ and delaying gratification is extremely low. You put something for me infront of me and I will NOM that shit till there no more! (assuming its food!) I would have thought that as I grow older, I would learn to be more logical and delay gratification, but sadly that is not te case. The older I get the worse I become. It becomes existential turmoil when you place something that I want in front of me and tell me I have to wait.

I hate waiting.

But some people love to torture me. Case and point, Danielle. She got me 3 gifts this Christmas. I don’t know why. I’ve blogged about Danes before. And on the note where one is suppose to wish the receiver of the gifts well, she writes…

Let’s see how long I will last before ripping into the gifts. Good thing I’m flying out on Monday. Will leave some of the gifts on my desk and stop thinking about it!

Thanks Danes!

Yup. Its 1:3o in the afternoon and its a public holiday and yet I find myself sitting here, at our office, going over financial statements and powerpoint slides. Going over and over each and every single action item to ensure that things are accomplished or on track for next year. We did ok this year but not to what the potential could be. So here I am, while everyone else is at home in bed, or out gallavanting, typing away and at the mercy of my laptop. Don’t get me wrong. I love what I do. I completely and totally enjoy what I do. I love the culture, the people, the actual work that we do and the service I am able to provide. That is the only reason I am able to speak about so passionately and be so convinced that our product works. I guess you could say I am committed.

Commitment

I never understood this word. I never knew what it truly meant. I always thought that it was sticking to what you say. I understood that part. But to entirely grasp the concept and feeling of commitment utterly escaped me. That was up until recently. To love something and be there day in and day out was commitment. Not only for the happy times but also through the rough times, took commitment. I am afraid to generalize that this is what we lack today. I admit, I too lack commitment before. As soon as things got tough, I got going. There was always an easy way out. But at some point in a boy’s life, he turns into a man, and stops running away. He stops hiding. He man’s up, and admits,

“I will take you on.”

To love and to commit unconditionally. This phrase which seems to arbitrary echoes through the halls of our consciousness day in and day out. I am proud to say I too am committed. Its been tough lately, but I still am here. I’m not going anywhere. I am determined to make this work. (If you know me, and few of you actually do, the double entendre was intended. )

Do not get me wrong either. I am not sticking to this just out of mere principle. No my friend, this is not some wanton disregard for one self, but rather a calculated risk. Although I commend people who stick by their principles, sometimes doing something out of pure principle while losing sight of the original purpose is quite dangerous. No, this is not a principle thing. I am sticking by my decision of choosing you through rough times and good. You just gotta ride out the storm.

The past week was a very disturbing week and yet enlightening still. I learned a lot. It was very disturbing in a way that I felt myself wallowing at the bottom of my emotional well after being on top of it. It was a week of high’s and lows and I realized I was capable of feeling again. Concurrently, it was an enlightening week because I realized how vulnerable I actually was. I opened myself up after 2 years and found myself hurting once more. I learned how to deal with this hurt and how to deal with the problems that came tumbling my way. I talk about dealing with a lot of things during this past month/week as if I am able to cope already, to that I say nay. I am neither coping nor already coped, and yet I am. Slowly but surely learning. Liking. Loving. Once again I feel a warmth in the cold place that was my chest.

Listening to John Mayer always gives me great comfort. He has the talent to capture both in melody and with his words the exact perfect sentiment.

I find myself now completely captivated and deeply taken by her.

I wake up each day to your messages hoping that one day I would wake up to you by my side.

I love how you laugh at my corny jokes or the way you give me this face whenever I try to be cool. You said, I am a nerd. Dorky dorky me and yet somehow you find what’s cute and amazing and fall for that. You are amazing.