Twelve-on-o-Twelve: A Year-end Gratitude List :)

There's been 365 days this year and 365 chances to live, to make it happen, and to let life happen to you. My 2012 has been FULL and AMAZING, that I can only end it with a heart full of THANKS. :D

So I compiled a quick list of of my top dozen super-thankyou-universe-dozen for the year (in no particular order) :D

1.      FINALLY managing to cut my "no-swipe's" at the office. bweheheh. I am one forgetful lady and I know it. But the most harm it has done to me was losing approximately 20-25 days worth of pay last 2010 only because I keep forgetting to swipe out of the office, and at some point got too embarrassed to file for adjustments. Thank God I was finally able to discipline myself to stick to a routine and effectively cut my “no-swipe” down to only 5 this year. Oi achievement na yun!

2.      The gift of “renewed” health. Sometime September this year, we went to a popular Chinese doctor over at Binondo, and I was diagnosed with ovarian cyst, gallstones, and fatty liver. FREAKY! So I went to a ‘real’ doctor and had all of these verified via lab tests and they all turned out fine. I know it’s just a bozo experience but this made me conscious with the things I ate because I swear I had a real scare. I even got to see a matured egg cell in my ovary during the ultrasound it was so cool heehee. I’m healthy! Yey!

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A Cab To BenCab

The highlight of our Baguio trip is fulfilling my 2 year-old dream of seeing the Bencab Museum. This is the Museum set up by National Artist Ben Cabreras in the mountains along Asin Road, Baguio. We took a 15minute taxi ride (main mode of transpo, all taxi drivers give the exact change! lol) and weeehew hello Bencab Museum! :D :D

AMAZING IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I felt like I was in a playground hahah. It's a simple three-story building, all painted in white, and with different rooms each having a different name: Erotica Gallery, Contemporary Gallery, Philippine Contemporary Art, Print, Patio Salvador, and the Bencab Gallery.

Daylight filled almost all corners of the place and made me feel like it tries to be one with the nature that it surrounds itself with. The white walls and simple cubic rooms provided the right backdrop to the different kinds of exhibits that the museum housed. The structure in itself is refreshing and awe-inspiring at the same time.

My favorite part of the museum is the Bulol Installation (see above). It's a whole wall filled with wooden images of people in a sitting position. Those are the Bulol's- gods of our Ilocano forefathers. Carved out from age old wood, these images are known to watch over crops and ensure abundant harvest and protection against natural calamities.

"Handcarved from hardwood abundant in the region, these primitive sculptures emphasize the male and female genitalia, representing fertility and abundance…"

 I kind of felt starstruck. This is actually an altar for the ancient gods, and couldn't stop myself from paying homage.

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Up...Up… and Away! :D The Baguio Getaway ;)

One year! How fast time flies! Wasn't it just yesterday when he asked me out for dinner after how many palipad-hangin-patay-malisya months? :D

"Time flies when you're having fun"

To mark the first of many years to come, we decided to spend a whole weekend on the land of Pines: Baguio City.

"Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. The name of the city is derived from the word bagiw in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet Region, meaning 'moss'. The city is at an altitude of approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion condusive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids."

- Wikipedia

I was a giddy kid as the Victory Liner Bus (1st time on Deluxe!) rode off to the north. (I tried the CR in the bus and I went out almost nauseated hahah.)

True enough, you knew you were already in Baguio when leaves of the trees changed from rounded corners to spiky thin greenies. It's been almost 10years since I last came to Baguio but I don’t think I was able to appreciate it the way I did last weekend. I really got to experience and get a feel of the place. Iba padin pag commuter ka! :p

The roads. Maygad. It's like a Rollercoaster City. Sharp curves everywhere, and their highways are more like high-WAVES. Pataas pailalim ang mga kalsada! And their jeepneys weave in and out of the streets without even breaking a sweat. I think they've got more powerful engines there than they do in Manila. Kung makapag-backing wagas!

 So I guess this could justify why on the first night I was DEAD.TIRED. My feet almost died. We walked around SM Baguio and strolled along the Session Road. Downtown Baguio is very much like Manila except that it's cooler. Literally and figuratively :p

They've got affordable dining lined up at the Session Road. We ate at Steaks Toppings, where you had a hefty serving of steak and great ambiance for less than Php150 a meal.

"Seryoso ka paglalakadin mo ulit ako dyan???" Medyo tawa-busangot mode nako nung hinihila ako ni Papa Ray. Hahah! He practically succeeded in luring my attention somewhere else to forget my tantrums (he's getting better at this actually lol) and managed to drag me back, climbing to SM. We had coffee and just took in the chilly Baguio air. It was some silent time discussing random matters (including our budget lol!) and I think, this is the part of the trip where we just breathed and really realized that, "hey sweetie, we're actually in Baguio! " :p

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