pasakalye

tayabas church, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

Mentioned in my first post here about an art first post appreciation class back in college. Well I found those pictures and posted them on flickr. Also found this thing that I wrote for the class about the trip. Totally didn't finish it. ;p

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Alas kwatro ng madaling araw... nagising akong nanginginig sa ginaw ng umaga. Tahimik ang buong bahay. Walang maririnig kundi ang ingay ng aking mga paa. Tumalon ako pababa ng aking higaan, nag-iingat na hindi magising ng aking pagbagsak ang aking Lola na nasa ibabang kama. Nag-init ako ng tubig, naligo, at kumain ng dalawang pirasong pandesal na tira pa kahapon ng umaga... Nasanay na akong hindi kumain ng agahan bago umalis ng bahay, ngunit iba ang araw na ito... Malayo-layo din ang Quezon. Kailangang hindi gutumin sa mahabang biyahe. Maya-maya pa'y nakagayak na ako at palabas na sa pintuan, isinara at tuloy-tuloy na lumabas ng bakuran...

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Madilim pa ng aking tinahak ang daan patungong sakayan... Ang mga bituin lamang ang nagsisilbing ilaw sa malamlam na daan. Tahimik at payapa... Marahil ay mahimbing pa'ng nagsisitulog ang mga taong maya-maya lamang ay pupuno na sa daan.

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Sumakay ako ng dyip paluwas ng Maynila. Ipinaabot ang bayad sa katabing mamikit-mikit pa ang mga mata, bakas pa sa mukha ang antok, halatang nais pa sanang ituloy ang nabiting tulog. Ilang sandali pa ay nagsimula ng umusad ang dyip at dahan-dahang naramdaman ang ihip ng hangin sa labas... Nagsimula na ang umaga...

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Papasikat na ang araw ng ako'y dumating sa pinagkasunduang lugar. Marami-rami na ring tao ang doo'y aking naabutan. Tulad ko, sila rin ay mga estudyante ng unibersidad. Unti-unting nagliwanag ang paligid. Isa-isang hinagkan ng init ng araw ang mga dahon ng bukang liwayway.

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Ilang sandali pa ay dumating na ang dalawang bus na aming sasakyan. Sumakay na ang lahat at kami'y tumulak na sa aming patutunguhan...

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Tahimik ang buong biyahe. Marahil ay dahil wala pa akong masyado kilala sa aking mga kasama. Walang masyadong mapagkwentuhan kundi ang aming natatanging dahilan ng pagsadya sa lugar na ito.

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Ilan sandali pa ay nakarating na kami sa aming unang patutunguhan. Inilabas ko na ang aking dalang kamera at sumunod sa mga nauunang mga estudyante... Isang lumang simbahan ang bumati sa aking paningin pagbaba ng bus.

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Tahimik akong naglakad papasok ng bakuran. hindi alintana ang mga taong kasabay sa paglalakad, tinitingnan ang buong paligid... matiyagang naghahanap ng bagay na kukunan.

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explore.

Bangui Windmills, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

i'm used to finding myself in unexpected places. just seems everywhere is a weird place to be. a welcome surprise every time. i would get somewhere and look around and see how everything just beautifully fits in. then i realize, how do i belong in all of this? i would see everything as they are, perfectly in their place. and i guess i'm just there to see the pretty picture they paint. an observer, always outside looking in. no.. better an explorer, always wanting to see everything there is to see.

we were kings

on his way home..., originally uploaded by bR!@n.

2pm.. once, used to be my favorite time of day. because at that time, all the grown-ups are asleep. and the only children around are the ones that dared to sneak away from being put into bed for the afternoon nap. so i know i was in good company. the streets will be so quiet at first, but as soon as we know that they are already dreaming, the streets are ours! for the next hour or two, the world will be ruled by children.. certain type of children.. the brave ones. we will play our hearts out under the blazing heat and fear no one, because for those precious minutes the world was ours.. and then eventually people start waking up. and as soon as we smell the delicious miryendas being prepared, we start running back to our houses, being the children of our parents once again.

ten years after

4th year MIDES, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

Stumbled onto my old multiply blog and found this one to be worth reposting here.


When we were young, we thought we knew exactly what we wanted to be. During pre-school, I wanted to be a fireman. Then I grew up and realized, what the heck was I thinking? (“,)

The point is we always have our goals. Then life happens, and we loose track. We make decisions everyday that takes us closer to the person we will be. That person isn’t always the one we want… but what happens is we compromise and take what we can get. I personally think that the stage we know exactly what we want us to be, is during that last year in high school (when life was a blur and everything happens too fast).

You see, everything was even up to that point. Everybody had a fair chance. We had our whole lives ahead of us and the world was an “oyster” apparently (according to Ross, whatever that means). It was that year that we decided who we wanted to be, built our goals and started to dream. I guess I could say it was the time we decided to grow up and make our own lives.

That was a very big crossroads and everyone went their separate ways to try and chase that life. We were young optimists that faced life head on... But I guess we were too young to realize what the future really had in store for us.

Ten years after, here we are… still lost in this world, trying to find their place. I would like to think that a few of us already made it. But for those that are still adrift… well that’s life. We will eventually find our way and kick ass. But until then, the world can wait for our awesomeness some other time. ;P

missing the open road #daybreak

shedding light, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

4am.. you step out the front door and in an instant, you feel the whole world still asleep around you. you take your first breath in the morning air, filling your lungs with the cold, making you shiver to the bones. your mind tells you it's too early to be awake, but you shove the thought away.. i'll have a long way to go.

you throw your backpack on your right shoulder as you grab your duffle bag with your left hand. you feel the weight as you lift it and you remember how you packed everything in there the night before. your right hand goes into your pocket feeling for the car keys. the jingling sound echoes in the silence. i'm ready to go.

dumping everything in the back compartment you make your way to open the creaking gate. everything was too quiet, you'd think the sound will wake up the neighborhood. but no one takes notice. shhh..

finally you get behind the wheel, and at that point you know it's gonna be a good day. settling in, you make yourself comfortable. you put the keys in the ignition and you hear the thing come to life. you put the car in gear, release the hand break, and turn on the head lights. here we go!

raindrops

raindrops, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

it's raining again and you're trapped at home, trying your best to keep dry. the sound of rain banging on the galvanized iron roof almost feels constant that you'll miss it when you wake up one morning and the downpour finally stops.

you feel the cool wind on your face and you see trees swaying outside along with the raindrops. you turn on your tv knowing it's been raining for hours and you see the news.. flooded streets, traffic all around, classes suspended; the usual stuff. you look outside and you appreciate, for the first time, the foreign straight lines over imposed on your familiar background.

it was a welcome change of view. summer's over. your things will get wet, but that's what umbrellas are for.

1999

clock tower, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

1999. The turn of the century.. almost. It was a year of promise going into the new millenium. Somehow, the following year was seen as an opportunity for a new beginning, a time to start over. Possibly due to the fact that three digits of the year will be reset to zero. Square one.

1999. I don't know, something about the figure just grabs a hold of me. It almost literally spells out "anticipation".. "what's next?".. or probably the more appropriate "we got this far, now what?".

1999. I would imagine everyone at that time was busy preparing to go across one millenium to the next. As for me, I was just busy enjoying my final year in high school, thinking what college life would be like, and dreading the long commute I will be facing the next year.

1999. "I got this far.. now what?"

college mornings

grills, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

i start my typical day waking up from bed, which is actually nothing more than an old mattres that i lay down the family room every night. i look out our window grill to see the morning light then i look at the time on the old family wall clock (that we had since i can remember) and compute how much sleep i got after staying on the phone for hours last night. after realizing that it's just been three hours since i finally went to bed and the headache kicks in, i do a quick recall if any of my morning classes have any scheduled exams. if i was lucky and only had lectures in the morning, i will happily sink my head back to my pillow and go back to dreaming. (snooze..)

hours later, when i wake up on my own accord or when the living room gets too busy and i'm forced to evacuate my squatter of a bed space, i would get up, pick up my "bed", and finally get ready for school.

the usual morning ritual follows. eat brunch... or lunch, depending on how much i slept in, brush my teeth, take a bath, and finally get into my school clothes which is usually just the same as what i would wear at home (shirt, shorts, and slippers). as soon as i'm all dressed up like... well, someone buying "suka sa tindahan", i will head on out the door (with a hundred and twenty pesos in my pocket) and take the hell of a commute from Bulacan to Diliman.

"when lightning strikes..."

"when lightning strikes...", originally uploaded by bR!@n.

Life has a weird way of doing things. Somehow feels like I'm retracing my steps.

Being back here feels so surreal. I know I've been here before, but somehow everything feels so different and at the same time so much the same as they were three years ago.


How many times have I walked through these same streets, going to the office and coming home? Familiar stalls line up the sidewalks as I recall the times I pass them everyday. Almost all the things I remember stayed the same and it's only me whose changed. It was like being misplaced in time. A younger me used to explore this city, but now it's just me.. all grown up with the burden of responsibility.


The setting was certainly different. The circumstances were all the same. It was work that landed me here before, a junior engineer excited to explore a new town. For one month, this was my city and I enjoyed its experience.


Now three years after, I'm back right smack in the middle of it. A lot has happened and although physically the city hasn't changed a bit, I know I have. 


back from taiwan... (April 29, 2008)
: http://bhry23.multiply.com/journal/item/9/back_from_taiwan...

the long road ahead: 2011

road signs, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

For the third straight year, I find myself on the road starting the new year.

The traditional New Year Road Trip has come to symbolize the long journey that awaits all of us in this coming year. Much like the long road ahead that we need to traverse, all of us will now face another long year. We all have our goals at the end. Let us all remember as we journey through 2011 that the important thing is not reaching our set destination, but learning and having fun along the way.. and of course, making unforgettable memories.

P.S. By now all of you should know that this is just a load of made up bullshit. Cheers to the New Year!


View the complete set on Flickr here...

2010: watdaef?!

all drained out.., originally uploaded by bR!@n.

I was never fond of surprises. Growing up, I was always able to get what was happening before they surprise me. Well, that was not the case this year...

2010 was full of unexpected turns and detours. Starting the year not expecting anything new is a mistake. A new year will always bring about change and new experiences.

How many times will you get to be a bridal car driver in your lifetime? Learn new dance steps and fashion a fedora hat? Pioneer new technologies for worldwide information security. Find yourself to be alone after long good years just for the sake of a good future. Experience Christmas again in a whole new light.

Change is good. It allows us to grow. 2010 has given us all another year's worth of experiences. Hope we all learned a lot from it.

I would say the year was a "transition", somehow preparing us for the things to come. Nobody knows what that is.. guess we'll just have to wait for 2011.

lead the way

turn right.., originally uploaded by bR!@n.

The sun's coming up. We've been driving all night. 


Where the heck are we anyway? Does anybody know? 
Just trust the GPS.


Oooh carpool! What exit was that again? Shoot, we just missed it. Now we have to make a 40 mile u-turn.


This road seems to go on forever... And by the way, we're almost out of gas.


Better stack-up on energy drinks on the next gas station. We have 400 more miles to go.


Cruise control!

"apple inside"

"apple inside", originally uploaded by bR!@n.

I dropped by Trinoma's Power Mac Center today to get my macbook's DVD drive checked out. The optical drive has been acting up since I tried installing the Snow Leopard CD about 2 months ago and this would be my last chance to get it fixed with my AppleCare (which will expire by the month's end).


Had this bad boy for 3 years now and not once did I regret going for it. Who would have thought that my first ever personal laptop will be a Mac? I have always been a Windows guy, sticking to the norm, conservative views and stuff.. but at that time, being radical was the thing to do. At least that's what it felt like. 


I was in a foreign country, far away from home for the very first time. Everyone was speaking strange and most times, hand gestures were the only means of communication. For the first time, I was the minority.. the foreigner in their land. Right there, being different wasn't a choice, it was something to deal with. But hell yeah, it felt awesome! It was ok to be strange, in fact people expect it from you. You stick out from the crowd anyway so you can be as radical as you want. (There was also something about being in Japan that gets you all tech savvy and feel creative and stuff, but of course that was already obvious.)


Of course nowadays having a Mac isn't all that special. Since the boom of the iPod, Jobs has been successfully getting more and more slices of the market share pie. from Macbook Airs to the iPad, I'm not anymore feeling all that special.


Nevertheless, I'm still happy with my Macbook. It's given me three good years and has always inspired creativity when I'm on it. I know it will be time to upgrade soon, but I'm in no hurry.

Mac101 (December 8, 2007) : http://bhry23.multiply.com/journal/item/7/Mac_101

stand still

moo.., originally uploaded by bR!@n.


It's been five years I've had this life, taking it as it comes and living it as it goes. No plans in the works, no decisions being made.. a stand still if you may. One big pile of random things. Not everything has its purpose, but every choice has its reasons. Somehow, in this disorganized heap, there is a means to some end. An end which is not yet realized. And no one's in a hurry to get it figured out. There's still lots of things to do.. and a boatload of mistakes to make. So.. hell yeah, anything goes.

glass

glass, originally uploaded by bR!@n.

As my first post on this supposed to be photo blog, I think it is just appropriate to put this shot that got me hooked into this hobby. Taken more than three years ago on our trip to Batangas, this shot was my first attempt of portraying art via photography.


As a kid I kind of knew that I'd be interested in this kind of thing.. if I can afford it. I have always appreciated looking at pictures growing up, specially portraits. There's something about bringing out the personality of people in photographs that I find admirable. I later found out that it was not easy to do this in real life, but that's not our subject for this post I suppose.


Back in college, I took this art appreciation class and I kind of enjoyed it. (I wanted to take the photography class back then but my budget kinda didn't let me.) One final project for the class was a field trip to Batangas and the instruction was simple; "keep an eye out for art". Everybody was supposed to find art anywhere we could within the trip and it's our choice on how we will present it. I chose pictures back then because it was the easiest thing, just find beautiful stuff and take pictures of it. I used a film camera because we don't own and can't afford the digital ones. My pictures we're total crap, but it was then that I realize that taking pictures of art is not just as simple as pushing a button.


fast-forwarding to three years ago, the GF and I decided to go on an out of town trip to Batangas to take on this challenge again. I have just decided then that I could take this hobby seriously and maybe even get one or two tsamba shots here and there (in the premise that somehow technology will help improve my non-existant photography skills). I just bought my trusty H5 then, which I still miss now, and just went to try this thing again. After about 10 minutes arriving in Anilao, sitting in the terrace overlooking the waves, sipping our very welcome welcoming drinks (it was a very hot day and we commuted all the way), I took this shot noticing the pair of glasses blocking my view of the ocean.


I didn't know what it was called then, but later on I learned of this thing called "still life" - taking pictures of inanimate, ordinary objects and try to represent them in a whole new artistic way, far off from how they are ordinarily perceived in everyday life. I became a fan of this kind of photography instantly. It was very different from my original perception of taking photographs - just finding beautiful things and clicking away. This presented the challenge of finding beauty in things we normally take for granted. It also presented the answer to why I can't get a pretty picture of already beautiful things. It turns out that seeing art and translating them into photographs is not an automatic process. The photographer will always play a part on how the object will look like in their photos and it will require the eye for art to be successful. It was also fun and I sometimes even surprise myself with the results. It's easy enough to find subjects since it can be anything, anywhere and it provided me a lot of practice.  


From that one shot, I knew I will be at this for a long while... I needed a lot of practice anyways.