Travel. Beaches. Food. People that would travel to places with you. These are things that are on top of my list today.

Kodaline’s Brand New Day started my day right with lyrics that seem apt for what I’m dreaming of, what I’m hoping to do soon.

Riding on waves, walking on sand
Digging in caves to find the treasures of the land
And if we find gold
Well, we’ll just throw it away
We can write stories bout the journeys that we made

 

Listen to Kodaline’s Brand New Day here and get inspired.

A lot of people get melancholy when it rains, and this Monday, the metro got its fill of the sky falling.

I do think this calls for songs that make you think, or make you happy.

Christina Perri says it best with her song called “Arms”, with lyrics like this:

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it’s easier for you to let me go
You put your arms around me and I’m home

Today, I hope you find someone to curl up with, and whose arms make you feel like home.

You can listen to this feel good song here.

Because even if the world is crazy and we’re all going insane, calming songs that speak of hope are good things to have in your playlist.

Lines like these are priceless too:

Shall I write it in a letter?
Shall I try to get it down?
Oh, you fill my head with pieces
Of a song I can’t get out.

Listen to it here.

I’m late to the party, but this weekend I watched and loved the movie Pitch Perfect. New girl crush Anna Kendrick’s deadpan stare just reminds me of Tina Fey, and I liked the character she played. She knew what she liked and she worked to accomplish what she wanted to, even if she had to grit her teeth sometimes to get there.

(But also it showed Grade A flirting with singing, and quips I could never pull off in real life but would like to see done and pulled off).

Mostly, I loved their voices when they sang, especially Anna Kendrick’s alto. 🙂

I got my ticket for the long way round
The one with the prettiest of views
It’s got mountains
It’s got rivers
It’s got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

You can listen to the song here.

Mountains, rivers, the seas, everything would be prettier with someone that makes you happy.

I hope you find someone who makes you grin today, with flirting, great singing, or just being.

Not that I’m angry. It’s just I think that there’s nothing riskier than falling in love and giving your heart to a person. You’re giving them the license to stomp on your heart, tear it apart, and leave it behind, broken and wasted.

But isn’t that part of the thrill?

Here’s hoping that this rainy Monday you’re looking at a person that’s worth the pain and insanity of the feeling.

I’ve been wanting to try Nomama Artisanal Ramen ever since I read about it on Spot.ph. It was a slow day at work and I was looking at places to eat after my shift, and voila, a photo of raw tuna artfully arranged on a plate made me instantly curious about the place.

So after month of anticipation and an opportunity to take a friend to somewhere new, I got to try Nomama Artisanal Ramen last week. I finally sunk my teeth into this:

The menu describes it as “Spicy Tuna Spring Rolls, avocado cream, spicy ponzu, arugula and alfalfa. ” It was as amazing as I thought. Fresh, spicy, soothing, and light all at the same time. I had to have it, even if it was a bit pricey at P330.

Of course, the place being known for its ramen, I had to try a bowl. I am not the biggest fan of ramen, more a pho girl, but I do like soup, noodles, and a bowl of something good.

I had the Ox Tongue and Chili Tofu ramen pictured below:

It was good, unusual with its slices of ox tongue, a bit spicy with the red sauce thing on top, with the tofu cubes melting in your mouth. My companion had the Nomama ramen, which was also really good, with an amazing pork broth.

All in all a good experience. I would definitely go back to Nomama just for the Tuna Loin, and am extremely curious about the Wagyu Ramen.

Nomama’s Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/nomamaramen

They’re found here: G/F FSS Bldg 2, Scout Tuason cor Scout Castor Sts, Quezon City, Ph

Prepare about P500 a head, and arrive with a empty belly, waddle out with their amazing broth sloshing around.

Now who wants to go back with me?

At my old workplace, people knew me as the girl that always had earphones on, volume turned up, at most every time I was alone.

I also used to work with music in the background, but I’ve stopped.I’m kind of liking the silence. It gives me time to think. Reflect on the events of my day. Look back on the decisions I made, think about what I need to do tomorrow. Just decluttering my currently feels like overloaded brain.

I like to talk in a quiet space too. Nothing in the background, mostly just the air around, no loud music, distractions. Really listening to the person you’re with, and absorbing what they have to say.

I think this is a sign of growing up, and moving towards a more reflective space rather than drowning out what I think or feel, but I’m also the same girl who wants to just shut up, buy a pint of double dutch ice cream and curl up with it and a book.

I guess we all have to find our serenity somewhere. Now mine includes silence.

What makes you calm?

And all the men and women merely players.

Chances are you’ve heard these lines before, from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, but also, it’s the fundamental idea between one of my favorite theories in Sociology called Dramaturgy, a theory that suggests that a person’s identity is constantly remade as they interact with others, that is an ever changing thing depending on who they’re with or where they are.
Before you tune me out as a dork or nerd that uses theories from her college major in everyday life, think about it. Doesn’t everyone have a persona? This theory merely offers that a person’s social self is played out on a stage, and his actions, words, and all things that he does present to others to give a particular impression to others.

That being said, how many personas does one person really have? Do we really have an actual “real” self? A “back stage” that no one else is privy to. Do we manage our personas even with the people that know our most intimate selves, or do we try to control the audience to the reality we think we present to the world?

In this theory, the back stage is the persona done when there is no audience. That bothers me a little, because for me it means for every other person than ourselves, we present an augmented version of ourselves to control the impression we make, for people other than ourselves.

Sure you may say in your head that you are yourself in front our your family, your loved ones, and others, but how confident are you in that presumption? Don’t you hold at least 1% back? And why do you? These people are supposed to accept you unconditionally and know you backwards to forwards, up and down. How much reality do you really present in the platform at home, or with people you love or care for?

I guess I’ve been thinking about this because I’m not really sure who I am anymore. My life has taken a turn so severe that I’m being forced to look at me for me, and I don’t know where the actor ends and the person begins. When you ask me now who I am, I will give you shallow answers like “I like ice cream.” or “The beach rocks.” but who I am intrinsically, I’m still figuring out.

So I’m a little lost. I’m definitely not acting too much because I suck at it, but I am admittedly taking on personas for the different aspects of my life. The work persona, the person I am with different groups of friends, the one with certain members of my family.

I think what I’m saying is that even though I put on different faces, they’re still a part of me. I may not be 100% sure who this person is, but it’s a person that’s on her way to finding out. If it takes 10 weeks, 10 months, or 10 years, I know it’s a work in progress, and I will have fun, be in pain, hurt others in the process, but I will know who that person is.

Who are you today?

 

I’ve always been a fan of Grey’s Anatomy. One episode in particular spoke to me, because one of my favorite characters said his goodbye in it. One quote from that episode still resonates with me until now:

Did you say it? ‘I love you. I don’t ever want to live without you. You changed my life.’ Did you say it? Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it, but every now and then, look around; Drink it in ’cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow.

Certainly this life is unpredictable and that’s what makes life ever so exciting. We never know for certain what our choices might lead us to.

I’m thinking it’s up to you how you want to live it.

Risk it. Because you deserve to know what will happen instead of just wondering “What if”. Even if you fail, you tried. You experienced putting yourself out there, and giving it your all. If you fall flat on your face, or get humiliated in the attempt, you did it. You didn’t sit back and let life happen to you. You moved it. Your actions, no matter how small or big, have now put into effect a whole lot of other repercussions that may change another person’s life, or many others in the process.

I like the quote because it just doesn’t concern the emotional part of your life, but all parts of it. Make a plan, Set a goal. Work toward it. Feels like me. I make plans. I set goals. I do my best to work towards the things I want to accomplish, and the goals I do have, I know are reasonable for the most part, and achievable in a logical timeframe.

However, I do like to leave things to the stars sometimes. To drink it in. Realize that in the process of working towards something, I might miss the process, miss life itself.

I’m learning to balance, and it’s a work in progress, one I’m trying to remember. Especially now that I have more freedom over my choices, and can dwell too long or focus on one thing and forget others. And I’ve learned to be more expressive of how I feel towards the people around me, be better when being there for them, and just basically be more open to new things. Honesty works, even if it sucks. It may hurt, but it’s always better than the alternative.

So say it. Because it’s true. Because you feel it. Say it today. Because it all might be gone tomorrow.

 

 

Rainy days and Mondays don’t necessarily bring me down, but this Monday, I feel more like sitting under the sun, sand between my toes, sipping a cold drink before running and diving into the salty foam.

Franco’s Better Days feels like summer, and the video ain’t bad too.

How do you keep the long face with these lyrics?

Spreading good vibrations yeah yeah ai
No harm/hurt to be cool, from heating off too soon
So may I give love to you
Give love to me
No matter what the do or say
We’ll be on our way

Have a great week. 🙂