Goodbye 2012

It's less than 2 hours to the end of 2012! Oh what a year it has been!  Change has been a regular visitor.  And it has definitely challenged me.  Thankfully, I was able to go through it all without a lot of fuss and without any major incident.

I wanna recount the highlights of my year but my memory is failing me right now. Harhar.  But here are a few of them, at least those that come to mind right now. Will just try to add in a few more later if I could...

TRAVELS - I love traveling. Although it's not yet apparent in this blog, believe me when I say I do. Will just write about all the traveling later on. =)

1. With friends - I have had two major international travels with friends for this year - Hanoi and Singapore! I can only remember one local road trip for this year - San Juan, La Union for some surfing.  There's also that trip to Bangkok with BQ.
2. WORK TRIPS - I have been sent everywhere for work-related stuff - Jakarta (with side trip to Singapore), Subic, Cebu, Tagaytay, Pampanga, Oriental Mindoro, Legaspi and Tabaco in Albay,  Balanga and Baguio.
3. FAMILY GETAWAYS - My family loves traveling, too. We haven't been anywhere that requires a plane or a boat though. Here's our list - Subic Treetop Adventure. Las Casas Azucar in Bataan, and Sta. Ana, Aparri and Piat in Cagayan.

DANCES and CONCERTS

Be you

"It can be a relief to stop hiding, to accept who you really are and let the world see you that way, too. A little self-awareness never hurt anybody. Because when you know who you are, it is easier to know what you are about and ultimately, what you really need." - grey's anatomy

Math is sad 😢

The plane truth (borrowed from George Takei's fb account)

I want it that way

Everyone has a fun gene in them. The news people of ABS-CBN demonstrate it in their own version of a music video for a very popular boy band song in the 90s.  Why they chose 'I want it that way, I am not exactly sure.  But it adds to the cheesiness and the fun. Enjoy!

US Open 2012

Congratulations Andy Murray, the 2012 US Open Champion, the first British Grand Slam champion in 76 years!

I am a Nole fan myself but you deserve this!

The Harry Potter Saga...

... in 13 minutes!

Watch the eight harry potter movies in just 13 minutes. This video clip by keesvdijkuizen weaves the 8 HP movies into one seamless story.

I love the Harry Potter books and liked the movies although I personally think they could've been better. So for all you out there who are as obsessed with harry potter as me, enjoy!

The New Tennis #1

Federer, Djokovic, Nadal or Murray are no match to the shotmaking of new tennis hotshot Aangron! Aangron has swept his way to the new world #1!

Haha. I wish this was real life. But it's just a game, an iphone game called VirtuaTennis available for $0.99 at the app store. :) It's really exciting and as interactive as an iphone game can get!

Very low

I am not feeling my best. I am feeling down, lazy, with little to no energy to do anything. And I have a gazillion of stuff to do.

I couldn't think of any explanation for what I was feeling. So the only rational thing to do was consult an iphone app to determine where I am in my biorhythm.

Well, as you can see, all three cycles - physical, emotional and intellectual, are at their lowest. No wonder. The good thing is, everything is uphill from here! :)

Gene Kelly

He has always been mentioned by dancers and choreographers as an inspiration to them, as one of the greatest dancer/performer. I have heard him mentioned quite a number of times by Nigel Lythgoe in So You Think You Can Dance. He has also been mimicked and talked about in so many movies. But I have never really googled him to find out more and validate why so many people look up to him when they talk about dance, about performance.

In his 100th life anniversary, Time magazine shares some amazing photos showing Gene Kelly's grace, confidence and bravado in front of the camera --> TIME: PHOTOS: Rare images of Gene Kelly at a pivotal point in his career | http://t.co/LscC5xIA (via @LIFE).

Honestly, I haven't seen one of his movies yet. I have only watched some of the clips shown in some of the dance tv shows I follow. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some of his movies. Surely, I will be as amazed as everyone else and gain more inspiration to dance and dance some more!

Moving on

From the 'High School Musical' song...

I am going my own way... I hope i get to where I wanna be...

Lily

My sister's dog. Cutesy! Photo was taken by my brother-in-law using iphone 4s.

Dessert

My dessert for tonight! Yummy, yummy chocolate cake with caramel frosting! I wish i had the patience to bake! I also wish I still had my metabolism when I was an adolescent! Back then, I could eat whatever I want without getting fat but these days, a few extra mouthfuls of sweets immediately translates to belly fat! Argh!

Just keep on going

Most of life is hell. It's filled with failure and loss. People disappoint you; dreams don't work out; hearts get broken... and the best moments of life, when everything comes together, are few and fleeting. But you'll never get to the next great moment if you don't keep going.

This is a quote delivered by Sigourney Weaver's character in the new show 'Political Animals' it's quite inspiring but real and honest at the same time. It hit some nerve.

I will keep on going....

Getting in the Groove

Three consecutive weekends of badminton! Not bad. Slowly, I am getting there. Slowly. I still have a long way to go! But if I keep this up, i will be ready for Brazil 2016! Hahahaha.... A man can dream right? Seriously though, I am gradually finding it easier to play. My instincts are better, way better than a month ago. I am hitting the ball harder, with more authority and better precision. I hope eventually, I will be able to keep up with the 'big' guys! :)

Season 9

The top 20 of the so you think you can dance's season 9 performed this week. Four of them will be cut next week! Too soon, I say. I wish the dancers get to stay 5 weeks before any of them gets cut. Viewers can still vote each week. But the votes will be aggregated so that come the fifth week of performances, the dances are ranked and the bottom 10 get cut. This way, the dancers will get more chances of showing their talent, their personality. The current format puts some of the dancers at the mercy of the choreographer. And talented as the choreographers are, sometimes, they miss too to the detriment of the dancer. :(

Anyway, this week's top 20 performance is freaking amazing! Christopher Scott is a genius! Choreography was superb. Use of props was seamless. And the dancers he highlighted were great. Except for one. Hehe. The stepper guy, I forgot his name - what he did in his "solo" was so-so. It didn't really add any value, I think, to the entire performance. Contrast that with Amelia's and Chohan's!

Must watch performances this week - Travis Wall's unchained melody and Jason Gilkison's paso doble! Nigel was right in saying that Travis' choreography is really mature, well-thought out. Travis uses the intricacies of the music to his advantage. He lets it enhance his artistry! The paso, too, was spectacular! The best paso doble so far in the history of so you think you can dance! Right, Mary Murphy?

I can't wait for next week's performance. I wonder, too, how they will do the cut.

So you think you can dance is happiness! :)

to do list

I saw this fun to do list in facebook. I think it would be fun to do one or two from it if not all.

Numbers 3, 4 and 6 seem the simplest of the ten, not a lot of preparations needed.  Just a dose of courage for number 4 and 6 and  a shirt and some lemons for 3.

I have already accomplished half of number 7 but am not really kin on changing my surname to Acula.  Besides, that requires too much effort and money, me thinks.

If I were to do everything on the list, then my first name would also need changing. Say hello to Dr. Simon Acula.  Dr. Acula. Haha.  I would also need to learn how to drive and download the song "eye of the tiger". Haha.  I hope I get the confidence to start with at least one of them. =)