Esoterica Sundate with Jessica Zafra

I am 6th from the left joining the crowd queuing for Jessica's signature.

I joined my friends to Solidaridad Bookstore in Manila where Jessica Zafra would have her book signing. Little did I know that the book signing is part of Elwood Perez's movie, Esoterica. To cut the story short, I joined the cast as part of the crowd queuing for Jessica's book signing. I could just imagine the thrill of extras with speaking lines, because I was thrilled enough just being part of a crowd. To top it all: credits rolled with our names, albeit not on the movie, but on Jessica's blog Worked All Weekend.

Photos from behind-the-scenes of Esoterica:

My Pick: 2013 Revisited

My 2013 was a blast. There were many ups and downs just like the years past, but there were few significant events that have made my 2013 like no other years that have gone by. The following are my pick for personal milestones and events of 2013.

Bell Church: Baguio's Hidden Temples

The Bell Church in Baguio City is located near the border of La Trinidad. In fact, if you are coming from the city center, either by a car, cab or jeepney bound to La Trinidad, the Bell Church is right before the arch that says Welcome to La Trinidad.

There is no entrance fee to the Bell Church, but the compound is open from 7 AM to 5 PM only. Within its walls are several Taoist temples intricately adorned with bells and dragons. These pagoda structures line-up the slopes of a mountain side.

Here are few of the pictures I took from the Bell Church.

Proclamation No. 655: 2014 Philippine Holidays

Here is one proclamation that we all look forward to: Proclamation No. 655.
Under this proclamation, the regular and special non-working holidays for 2014 include:

Ayala Bridge

This picture of Ayala bridge was taken during the Million People March last August 26, 2013.
This bridge is a witness to countless political marches and rallies.

Here are some of the facts about Ayala bridge.

Musings on the Million People March at Luneta

Today is National Heroes Day, a national public holiday to commemorate the national heroes who fought valiantly for the country. Any remembrance of this sort is eclipsed this year by the Million People March which calls for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or the pork barrel.

I joined the march to be counted as one of those who support the pork barrel abolition. Needless to say, I am among the millions of Filipino workers who feel betrayed, cheated and victimized by our corrupt and greedy public officials who allegedly pocketed millions of pesos through funding of bogus NGOs from their PDAFs.

Yapos ng Ulan (a repost)

I used poetry to express myself to those dearest to my heart when I was in high school. I gave about six different poems to six different classmates. I know they were not much to brag about, but coming from someone like me who feels like moving mountains each time I have to make an essay or a report, six different poems were an achievement. I'm quite sure too those poems were not Palanca materials, but they were poems nonetheless that were crafted from the depths of my innocent soul.

Last year when Habagat flooded the Metro, I posted Yapos ng Ulan, which I eventually took down this year when I decided to make this blog less personal, and more educational. Now, I am reposting the poem in the aftermath of TS Maring.