[Project FeeTrail December 2014]: The most wonderful & busiest time of the year

It was my first time to tag along during my wedding florist sister's visit to her suppliers. My sister personally inspects these flowers, running her fingers through each petals, checking out the stems and health condition of the flowers making sure that she will be bringing nothing but the best for her clients.And after that, she personally and single-handedly creates all her bridal bouquets, all hand tied bouquets, bride or not, actually.

Forget the June Bride cliche, December is really the most popular time to get hitched. So popular that it was our busiest time of the year  that we did not get to shop for each other's gifts, with the exception of some important members of the family of course.

But we're not complaining, we are very thankful!!! I'm so proud of my sister!

My tagging along at 330AM deserves a feet shot 

We haven't really updated our website yet, but we update our clients list here.

I hope you're all having a great December, Bride or not. :)

[Project FeeTrail November 2014]: Last Sunday's Wedding Lingers

This month's Project Feet trail goes to the Transfiguration Chapel in Caleruega, Nasugbu, Batangas. This is my wedding florist sister's second wedding held here and it's my first time to set foot in this area.

As usual, we were "covering" event for www.aprillearaguas.com and I found myself listening to Fr. Allen's (from Caleruega) wedding sermon. To date, may I just say that, of all the wedding ceremonies I have covered, this, by far, is the most informative, educational, personalized, creative sermon that the officiating priest really did get to know the couple, shared to everyone at the church their love story, and was very funny and witty all at the same time. The sermon was long but his lecture was so worth it, I felt like whipping out a notebook and start taking down notes.

He spoke about investments, practicality, and all that ( I was already so close to tapping the shoulder of one of the guys from Nice Print Photography, our co-wedding suppliers, to ask for a copy of the video of the sermon clip alone, haha) and a lot more. But probably one of my biggest take away from the sermon was (non-verbatim):

"If you think, that on this wedding day, this officially ends all your heartache, you are wrong. It just means that you will experience all your heartaches all over again and a thousand times more. So you bettter think, (the bride) , think and decide while you can. This is your last chance. You can stand up and go to the reception since every thing is already paid anyway. I want you to imagine everything you went through. All the struggles, all the heartaches, failures and disappointments, and I guarantee you that you will endure that one thousand times more with the groom. Now, are you willing to endure that for (the groom)?"

Bride replied with a fierce "Yes Father!"

And of course, the little Carrie Bradshaw in me sneaked up behind my ear and whispered what Father Allen had said. I thought of everything I went through (You know of the feeling of going through hell and back, then brushing dust/ashes off your shoulder's after running through fire? That's what it felt like after reminiscing). I have not found someone who makes all those pain worth enduring for.

Special Guest: My mom who posed when she saw me taking a photo of the church from my phone. 

I tell you, I enjoyed the wedding ceremony. If the fifteen thousand cost of church is true and you get this priest, well it was so worth it. So worth it that I asked for the priest's name and have taken note of it. His sermon/ceremony was long and I learned a lot. I don't know the couple personally but felt how they were loved by everyone inside that church. More of that soon on www.aprillearaguas.com.

[Project FeeTrail October 2014]: Mesmerizing Marian

This month I already knew what my feet shot for October. I bet my friend Frankie (the ultimate Marian Knight) would very much appreciate this post.

I want to commemorate the experience of my first time to watch at taping at GMA studio  (because I've watched live shows there before) and I used to watch a lot of tapings in ABS-CBN (other network) and also during college.

Video recording and taking pictures are not allowed because the episode was taped to be shown for the following weeks. All the photos I took are stolen shots but most of the time I found myself positioning my feet shot.

The guard must've found me weird since instead of taking a photo at the celebrities, I was taking a shot of my feet.

Happy Halloween! How's your October?

[Project FeeTrail September 2014]: Hello Hong Kong, Merry Macau

This trip to Hong Kong and Macau has long been booked since last year. Aprille and I scored really cheap tickets online and decided to book a trip to Hong Kong as gift for our mom's birthday. It's our first ever trip together as a family. My parents have been in Hong Kong years ago and our mom's last visit in HK was back in 1997 so with all the new technologies and improvement, it's like seeing HK again for the first time.

Since this trip is a gift, 95% of the total expenses was shouldered by my sister and me. And because we already knew that beforehand, we saved up and researched all the possible discounts, made our own itinerary (to save up from tour agency fees), bought USD and HKD as per recommendation of friends who traveled to HK before.

When asked how's the HK-Macau trip was, I could sum it up as: Learning experience. On top of the other stuff that I already learned when traveling, here are my discoveries in this trip:

1. When travelling with a Senior Citizen (SC), it is important to have a big, nice, very comfortable accommodation. ( I flunked this part because we stayed at a traveler's inn/backpacker's inn. The photo looked nothing like the one on the internet and I was not informed that we have to pay cash upon arrival. But it turned out good because we just really need a place to sleep with wifi, and we saved a lot on transportation as we are situated in a good location, few steps from the MTR)

2. Check your itinerary, make sure it is SC-friendly. ( Macau is probably the best decision for the SC-friendly tour as we walked and discovered the city, watched the House of Dancing Waters-stay tuned for that post-and rode a comfortable ferry.) The other travel boo-boos we had was we had Ocean Park and Disneyland as part of the trip. It requires a long walk under the sun. Although my mom enjoyed the trip to the Peak Tram and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, all the walking tired her out at the end of the day.

3. Book your tickets in advance to avoid the hassle. I got discounted tickets from Madame Tussauds (due to early booking online), and discounted Ocean Park and Disneyland tickets (from Travel and tour office in MTR stations). My sister booked the House of Dancing Water a week before the trip so we will not be lured in getting the priciest tickets when we get to Macau (it's a tactic, I was told).

4. Coins are important and handy, especially in MTRs. Important to pack your own tissue (restaurants/eatery don't usually give them out freely), bring an umbrella, bring a huge garbage bag for luggage protections when it rains, and when shopping, use a stroller bag. Bring your own toiletries, HK doesn't have the retail (tingi) culture, so no sachet shampoo or conditioner available.

5. Check the weather, dress accordingly. HK weather in September is HOT. Like Summer in Manila. When we were there, it didn't feel like we are in a different country at all. I also downloaded a lot of smartphone apps to help us get around including currency converter, MTR map, and journey planner in HK. I also printed out a day to day itinerary (that I made myself) and instructions how to get around HK. We were able to roam around HK like locals, made friends with other fellow pinoys (there are a lot of them!) and if only I took a picture of every Filipino that my mom made friends with, I will have a collage.

6. When in HK/Macau, pay when you can pay using a credit card (provided you are a responsible spender, of course) you never know when your actual HKD cash will come in handy.  You can buy HKD at the airport, and it is surprisingly cheaper. But always make sure to have a USD with you. Another lesson I learned when buying dollars is it is illegal to buy dollars in the Philippines if you are not travelling. You can't just buy dollars and deposit it in a dollar account. That is why some banks require you to present your passport/plane ticket/itinerary. Some banks don't allow you to buy dollars from them unless you are an account holder and charge Php 100 for it (read: PNB).

7. Forget what it says on the internet, ask the locals to show you the good finds. Everyone was saying shop at Mongkok, but there are other places for really affordable goods.

8. Earlier this year, my sister and I traveled to Japan. Japan was the comparison point we had since it was the most recent out of the country trip we had this year. I learned a lot of culture and values stuff from HK locals, that in respect for HK locals, I will not write them in this blog.

9. Overseas Filipino Workers are really nice to Pinoy Travelers. Of course, not 100%, but we were blessed to have met really nice pinoys who gladly, and willingly showed us where to go. Also, its a good thing my friend Rogus and his wife Carie are based in HK, they delighted us with stories about life in Hong Kong.

At the Venetian, in Macau

At the Ocean Park Observatory, Hong Kong 

The night before our flight, Hong Kong released a Typhoon 8 warning signal and all business establishments shut down. They sent everyone home, regardless if there are still customers in stores. I was worried that our flight might be cancelled (I never experienced that before). Carie told me not to worry because storms in HK only lasts up to 6 hours, it'll be gone by the time of our flight. But at 3am, I got an email and text from our airline that our 10:40 am flight was moved to 2:50 pm. That's alright, but when we got to the airport, I found out that all flights were cancelled due to bad weather. To make the story short, I fought to get seats for the next available flight. Although it's no one fault, I learned that:

10. In the event of a cancelled/moved flight due to a force majeure, You will have to call the airline call center (Cebu Pacific Manila Office) to rebook your ticket, otherwise you will just be considered as a chance passenger. Re-booking your ticket means your names are on the list and secured. But you can only do it once, if you re-book again on another time, you will have to pay the charges. I also found out that when your mobile phone's roaming is on, Globe charges you Php 120.00 per minute. I spent the first call to Manila for about 5-7 mins then got cut off. The second call was a success lasting 13 minutes with secured plane tickets. The next day Globe cut my line off saying I exceeded my line credit and that I have to settle it first. But my mobile phone plan was on auto-charge in my credit card, so they definitely heard from me. They heard a lot from me.

Anyway, when we finally reached home, I wrote this lengthy Facebook post to commemorate the day:

Braved Hong Kong's Typhoon signal 8; got drenched running in the rain trying to get to the airport; reached the airport found out that all flights to MNL were cancelled; called airline in Manila and fought for the last seats for the last flight of the day; got stranded for 12 hrs at the airport; camped out and napped at McDo couch; had limited pocket money; read the news about the bad weather flight to HK from MNL hrs before our flight; concealed anxiety over expected turbulence by chatting with friends via Viber and Line; finally got our new flight ticket boarding pass; flight back home got delayed by an hour, landed in the Philippines at almost 2am; and now I finally get to sleep on my own bed by almost 4. Hong Kong was fun, but I am really glad to be home! Thank you Lord! Good Mornight!

[Project FeeTrail August 2014]: Shabby chic, Serene and Sweet

If you've read my Project Feet Trail posts for a while now, you will notice how this shot is very similar to a certain post in October 2012 during my cousin's inter cultural wedding (also designed by my wedding/events florist sister, Aprille Araguas)

It was a lovely day for a rustic themed wedding and I love the whole feel of the exclusivity and intimate setting. The place even had a nice room for wedding suppliers to set up. I would like to gush more about the details but I'm going to save that for the actual complete wedding post at www.aprillearaguas.com.

In a previous post, I said how this is my first time in Casa San Pablo but our second time to cover an intercultural wedding. Hence, this automatically goes to my Feet Trail collection. This shot was taken after the wedding ceremony and I decided to include that little white lantern as well.

The -BER months starts tomorrow! Time flies so fast!

[Project FeeTrail July 2014]: Here in Hero's Home

As I have posted in instagram, it has been more than two decades since I set foot inside the house of Philippines' National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. This deserves to be in my Project FeeTrail.

I remember when I was in second grade and we went to this house for our class field trip. I still recall the stair case, the wishing well, the four post bed that looked like those in horror movies.

New additions now are documents up for display like this log book of Jose Rizal's mother (?), I think, jotting down expenses. Cute, because we have similar handwriting but hers is fancier and it is also nice to know she does the accounting of the budget.

Second photo to the right below shows Dr. Rizal's relative, hanging out at his tombstone. I do not know where his tombstone is, but all I know is he was shot in Luneta Park. And because the reflection of my feet is included in the photos, these made it to this blog post hehe.

And I gotta brush up on my history.

[Project FeeTrail June 2014]: Just when I thought this project is getting boring

If you happen to have read my blog for a while now, you know that each month I have a feet shot project that I started in 2012, called The Project FeeTrail.

It started when I noticed I collect a lot of feet shots, then each month I take a photo of new places I got my feet into.

Last month, I felt the pressure to have something new each month. Because I don't know what else to feature since I don't find myself in new places these few weeks, I thought of just coming up with something mundane to take photo of.

And just when I thought it is getting boring... one Saturday morning I found something to spice this project up!

My friend Kat and I were brisk walking around APEC one weekend morning when we heard a loud "Moo" coming out of nowhere! 

Then we heard one jogger said that a cow fell down in a "gutter/hole". We couldn't believe it is possible and we just have to see it for ourselves, so here is the 4 month old baby cow who fell down the hole.

And baby cow likes to have his photo taken!!!

The next morning, the baby cow is no longer there. We were told that they used a rope to pull the cow up. 

It's July first tomorrow! How did the first half of your year go? 

[Project FeeTrail May 2014]: Sandals, Season, and Sayings

Sandals
We've been experiencing really hot summer that reached 39 degrees. T'was the season for skin breakouts, dehydration, and anticipation of electric bill shock. An air-conditioning unit is no longer a luxury to be installed inside the house. It is a lot of effort to go out especially during lunch hour until 3pm. I've even temporarily ditched closed shoes and switched to sandals when I don't normally do that when travelling to the city. And I have started dressing down and wearing too-casual clothes for work because of the heat.

[Project FeeTrail April 2014]: Standing in Sablay

I did think about what to put for my project FeeTrail for April 2014, because of two things:

1) I've been to Japan (my very first time ever!) and witnessed the Sakura Season.
2) I attended my Graduation for my MS Degree.

Then I chose this photo of me wearing the UP Sablay for my graduation for my Project FeeTrail.

I can always go back to Japan for the Sakura season, but you cannot really go back to the moment where you march to the stage in front of the whole University to received your degree.

Thank you April 2014, you were wonderful!

[Project FeeTrail March 2014]: Standing in Stones at SMX

I took this photo during our event at SMX last March 4-5. Not really an exhibitor but more on working behind the scenes. I was able to sneak in a few minutes to check the booths as well and I saw this display and decided that it'll go with my project Feetrail for March 2014.

I've been so busy during this 2-day event but I'm so glad we had this event because I get to sleepover at my bff's house and managed to pick up important vacation documents. It's like I got two free trips to Manila!

I saw this exhibit at UPLB's Science and Technology Exhibit held at SMX. From the moment that I saw this display, I knew it's going to be in my collection for my Project Feetrail 2014.

Anyway, UPLB's Science and Technology exhibit was a huge success. Although I cannot say that everything is really great, knowing that I worked behind the scenes, but it was really good that we were able to pull everything off in just a couple of months or so.

Can you believe the first quarter of 2014 is almost over?

[Project FeeTrail February 2014]: Dipping Feet in Diliman

I've been to UP Diliman before, either just passing through or went directly to an office inside the campus. I've never seen their oblation other than the internet and television of course.

So when we had an official business trip to go to UP  Diliman and meet at the Quezon Hall (building behind where the oblation is), I couldn't help but take a photo.

Also I noticed that I can take my project feet shots as there are three project feetrail shot -worthy (Top to bottom from the left):
1. The steps leading towards the oblation, when standing in front of the Quezon Hall.
2. The steps opposite site of the oblation is where they held their commencement exercises.
3. The square, glass-like floor decor on the base.

And this is just in one building alone!

There is an on going urban legend across UP campuses (among students) that you shall not take photos of yourself with the Oblation while still in your academic year or else you will not or will get delayed in graduating. I felt confident taking photos of the oblation because I already graduated, cleared and received my transcript, but just when I was about to take a quite embarrassing "selfie"with the oblation, the people we're supposed to meet already arrived.

Whew! :)

[Project FeeTrail January 2014]: Making it in Marikina

January 11, 2014 is the day I traveled South to North (and vice versa) on all kinds of land

 transportation in the Philippines except riding the pedicab and railroad trolley.

I left at 8:30 am at our house and took the tricycle to take me to the nearest bus stop.

I got off at Magallanes to take the MRT (train) to go and meet Karen in Glorietta.

We took the MRT again to go to Cubao to go to reach Marikina.

We took the FX to reach the main city.

Then took the jeep to get to  the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish Church, in San Roque Marikina City. 

Just in time for Karen and me to perform our ceremonial "cross across the baby's forehead"as god mothers of our friends' first born daughter, Madison Brigh.

We were able to sneak in a little time for this documentation, because I told Karen I really want to have a feet shot at that "walk of fame-ish"park that they have and since it's my first time in Marikina.

After the ceremony, we hitched a ride at Mike's car to get to the reception.

Took the jeepney again back to Cubao - Edsa.

And finally reached (actually brisked walked like crazy) to get to the bus station.

At 10pm, I was home.

It was my first time going commute to this bus stop in Cubao. Karen was giving me directions about which way to go, which is Aurora, which is Edsa, and I just stared at her dumbly. Maybe because, it's already evening and I am in the middle of Cubao at night and still have a long way to go. I lived in the city for a decade and still a little que horror with directions.

I was almost tempted to hail a cab, like I used to, but then I just decided to suck it up and do the best that I can with Karen's instructions. I did it, yey!