2013 Favorites

Favorite Movie - Iloilo
I would like my dream movie to be like this, personal but well-crafted, dramatic but real, insightful but not didactic.




Favorite Song - Daft Punk ft. Pharrell "Get Lucky"
Good ol' electronic music that makes you feel good,  gets you up to the dance floor and doesn't make you throw up.




Favorite Album - Emblem3 "Nothing To Lose"
Guilty pleasure of 2013.  If you're a child of the 90's, listen first before you judge. :)




Favorite OPM Song - Yeng Constantino "Chinito"
Never mind the music video that's derivative of a Taeyang-Dara K-Pop collaboration.  Mind instead that this laid-back love ditty has got to be one of the most original OPM songs to come out in recent years.




Favorite Music Video - Miley Cyrus "We Can't Stop"
Get past through Miley's tongue-wagging and explicit exhibitionism but focus on its well-photographed images and meaningful art direction that serve the song's lyrics right.




Favorite Viral Video - Ylvis "The Fox"
Just because the video introduced us to a song that never fails to make me smile or laugh!




Favorite Game - Candy Crush
Seriously, who didn't get addicted to this game this year?

Favorite App - Waze
Finally, I can now drive anywhere! Thank you to whoever invented this!

Give Thanks Despite A Blue Christmas

Despite the unfortunate events that happened to our family this year, there are still some things to thank God for.  For one,  I was able to celebrate my birthday in the company of my Annaliza family.

Birthday surprise on the set

With my Annaliza family

Another birthday cake during Annaliza's Christmas dinner

Birthday boy!

Just before I left home for the holidays, I was also able to squeeze in fun reunion with relatives & close friends.

Annual Christmas dinner with my closest college friends

Annual Christmas treat to my beloved pamangkins

Christmas, so far, has been "steady".  I mostly stayed home because I got sick upon arriving here.  My sister and I decided to forgo noche buena.  The tradition just reminds us so much of Nanay, we didn't want to turn it into a "cryfest."  There had been emotional debates among us regarding some legal matters on Nanay's death.  It's still not resolved but it gets me depressed.  I pray God gives us the strength and wisdom in coming up with a decision, and I also pray that Nanay will guide us.

Visited Nanay's grave during Christmas day. God, I miss her so much!

It's not all blue Christmas, though.  I was able to meet up with some childhood friends for Christmas dinner.  Some old family friends also invited us to celebrate the occasion with them in their homes and I appreciate that.  The fact that I'm with my family during Christmas and without work-related stress is also a blessing already.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Tatay's and my cousin Jimbo's birthday. We'll also have our annual Christmas party with neighbors.  We definitely feel the void left by Nanay but we need to move on. If only, it's that easy.