BAM!

I got a haircut...with bangs.  I'm channeling my (now more obvious) "inner" 12 year old.  

Bringing Back Boracay

After all the confusion, our Boracay trip was set to go. It's so hard to tell people how it was in just a sentence or two. It was intense, stressful, beautiful, peaceful, adventurous and fun. I firmly believe that the ocean is good for the soul. Despite having the beach be running along a string of bars, it was good for the soul none-the-less.

Boracay is very beautiful... it definitely has that picturesque view of white sand beaches and clear blue water. Here is a photo I got off Google since I can't seem to upload any photos to Facebook lately:


It's very tourist-catered, so on the downside, I didn't get to see much of Boracay besides the beach. I usually like going inland and seeing what else there is besides that they show to tourists, but we didn't have time.

It's amazing how I'm getting used to having to get used to short routines. Or maybe it's because I'm yearning for some sort of routine, so I make one no matter where I am or for how long. I was there for barely 5 days and I had a routine:

8AM Morning Swim: I woke up to either an alarm ("Put your hands up for Detroit...I love the city!"), or someone scaring me awake. Feeling groggy and unattractive, I would drag myself to the beach for a jump start. I don't know what it is about the ocean...strike that, I do know what I love about the ocean: I love how it lulls you into relaxation when you're floating on your back. I love how the sea salt somehow makes your skin feel nourished. I love how the sun rays stream through the water and waves when you dive under. I honestly wish I were a mermaid!

Anyways, a quick skip and a dive later...

9AM Shower and Breakfast: The hotel was kind enough to give us complimentary rooms...but how funny is it that the room with 4 girls in it has a malfunctioning shower? Doing so many shoots on location requires that I shower at least 4 times a day, no joke. Everyone thanks me, okay? No but seriously, thankfully we had 2 other showers between us all, so the worst it gets is that my stuff is scattered between three rooms.

Breakfast was nice to have. I'm really enjoying even having a routine of buttered/jellied toast and milk coffee.

10AM Hair and Makeup: I helped create the itinerary for the trip so I knew that we had to get into hair and makeup right away. There was some confusion prior to the trip so I had very limited wardrobe to work with. A lot of the stuff I prepared from wardrobe (Because I also work in the wardrobe department) did not make its way to Boracay, so some creativity was required. Thankfully, Sally, our makeup artist is completely amazing, and the shoots would not have been possible without her. We would do one or two shoots a day for each of the 4 girls that went and with hair and makeup taking up at least one hour for each girl, you can do the math and figure out how long it took for us to get everything done.

After shooting all day (and sometimes even into the late night), we would either go to bed, or go out to the bars. We went out for like, 2 of the nights we were there, always to Hey Jude, a very chill bar that had the best music. DJ Surf was a great mixer and me and Tascha put it to the test with our inclination to dance.

We also went to another place called Cocomanga's, which has this thing where if you do this 15-shot series of drinks, you win a free Tshirt that says something about the feat and you put your name up on their wall. The music was great and it had a lot of people, but apparently it's more of a local place to go to since it's off the main part of the beach. I even heard that it's a pretty dangerous club to be in, but I think as long as you don't give a reason for someone to bother you everything should be fine.

Also, can you believe that I met people from California while I was there? Not only did I meet Americans, but I met Californians...and not just Californians, but people who knew people I knew! We had mutual friends! Go figure, it truly is a small world.

However, of course something had to happen amidst paradise: someone stole my purse. I KNOW. No joke, while we were night swimming, someone came by and took my purse from under the clothes, which were under a chair. Seriously, that person hit the jackpot. I had my wallet, ID (but not passport, thank god), credit cards, cash card, my THIRD phone, Dwight's phone, my antibiotics, AND MY IPOD. x_X I just wanted to cry. Okay, I just can't dwell on it any longer so I'm going to move on.

On the second to last day we went island hopping with a boat but we were on the boat longer than we were on the island. I wish I could show photos and footage from my trips but the internet connection is limited here that it's just been impossible lately.

Anyways, the most exciting part was that I got to direct my first photoshoot with Tascha and Tabitha as my models. It was a great feeling. I very much enjoy being behind the camera. My concept was a bar scene brawl...pretty cool looking if you ask me! We got so lucky with the lighting thanks to Dwight. Now I'm working on editing the behind-the-scenes to it so that we can get a good video for FTV.

Okay, time for me to finish editing, so look forward to the next update!

Update

This week I had to say my first goodbye. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see her again, but saying goodbye is always a reminder of how fast time is passing us by and how we're so limited in what we want to experience. I usually don't do goodbyes. I just don't like them because I always assume that I'm going to see them again.

It's amazing the bonds and relationships you can make within such a short amount of time. You're around the same people all day, every day, and that makes you love or not love someone so much quicker. Thankfully, the people here are very cool for the most part so there aren't many issues as far as I can tell.

I wish I had more photos and videos to show but they're tough to get a hold of since everyone is always running around. I want to update on my weekend in Bohol, my diving progress, and just show things that have been happening in general.

As a random update, I broke my breath holding record twice since I last reported it to be 3:01 (I think that's what I last reported). Since then, I broke it at 3:23, and now 3:37! The record here is 3:40, and I'm determined to break it at some point for no real reason.

I hope I'm not jinxing it, but they're supposed to be sending us to Borocay for a work trip that will consist of photoshoots and exploring the area as a fashion destination.

Today was also Samim's birthday and Nelly threw a really nice surprise birthday party for him at this place we called Rooftop? I forget but it's nearby. Its a tall(er) building and you get to see a great view of Cebu, where you see the waters seperating Mactan and Cebu and the two bridges that connect the two islands. You see these fancy bridges and lots of modern lights and buildings across the water but if you look directly below the building, you can see all the squatters and slums littered about. Very obvious contrast.

Okay, I can't seem to find any interesting topic to write about...maybe someone can suggest something or ask a question and I can write a post about that. =)

OH, as a special treat, look for me in this BTS (Beind-the-scenes) video! =D

Yes, I'm still alive

Ah, sorry for the long delay in updates…things have been busy and chaotic as usual. For my update this time, I’ll just be documenting what has been happening since I last blogged.

This past weekend marked the first weekend I’ve had off since I’ve gotten here. Monumental! As I mentioned before, I had come down with some illness that everyone else is catching and has various reasons for its special appearance: the weather, being in the water, stress, etc.

I’ve said it before and I’ll still say it: this place needs its own reality TV show. Hollywood, are you listening?? Friday was my day off due to filming and it was spent mostly in bed as I was the most sick this day. I took my scuba test and passed, which means I just need to complete two more dives in order to get certified! Unfortunately, I’ve been sick and congested, meaning I can’t equalize my ears so I haven’t been able to go out. I think I've been pushing myself to excel so much that my body has been breaking down and getting sick.

Anyways, onto the good…

Even though I was sick on Friday, I tried to save up any energy I had for that evening because Dwight was taking us to a friend’s private birthday party. I had heard that this place we were going to was a gorgeous mansion, but I had no idea what to expect. The place WAS gorgeous! I wish I had pictures to show you…maybe later I’ll grab them from other people. If I thought the courtyard was beautiful, the living room blew me away, and nothing compared to the view from the top of their “patio”, which was of their gorgeous yard and pool. They had tiny candle lit everywhere along the pathways and pool with floating flower arrangements in the pool. They had another section of their “yard” that was set up with banquet tables and were serving the most delicious food. They even had koi ponds that reminded me of Grandma’s, of course, lol.

Saturday was spent at Shangri La, which is a very nice hotel nearby that has a nice beach area and pools. It was a nice day spent playing Volleyball (I know, ME, playing volleyball!) and seeing the sun set while having nice conversations.

Sunday was spent out by the Yacht Club, which is where the owner kindly invited us to hang out and go island hopping for the day. He has this amazing home built out of wood that sits on the edge of the island and has this little pier that goes out into the ocean. His place has these high ceilings with his living room being open out to the ocean so you get this amazing view and ambiance. It was his birthday so we had great food and cake to go along with the day. I wish I had pictures right now, but I don't...so hopefully later.

Monday was a day of learning. I hadn't planned on working in the next movie much and they suddenly called me in the morning to be a stand-in, which is someone they use in place of the actors to adjust lighting and all that. It's interesting to see how they film such a different movie so it was a learning experience.

Afterwards we met up with the same friends from Friday and Saturday and ate at this restaurant called Alejandro's, which has GREAT food! I knew there was good Filippino food here!

Tuesday was a blur...so much work and I'm still sick. I feel quite light-headed and dizzy by the end of the day.

Today (Wednesday) was a day full of photoshoots with Cathal. He's leaving on Monday, too! We did like 4 concepts, which is quite a lot for one day. It was fun though, because there was 4 of us girls instead of being alone.

Okay, that's a boring update, but it's just to let you know what I've been up to...until next time!

Pre-wrap

I can't believe how fast and slow time passes here. Each day feels like 3 days, filled with work and and a lot of exciting events. I think this place would be absolutely PERFECT for a reality TV series...no joke, it would be way better and funnier than The Hills. I can already imagine the pitch..."Welcome to Hollywood...in the Philippines." LOL. Everyone is such a character, no faking needed!

So Wednesday was our last day on the boat for filming. We only had two days left of filming and instead of finishing up the film, we're putting a hold on it until December because there is another movie starting filming Monday.





I thought that was funny with the girls tanning near the Hot Set. We're not supposed to touch the area of a Hot Set but they were done with it. Below is Ken giving direction for the next shot on the boat.



For those who wanted to see the catsuit, TA-DAAA!



I'm sorry, I'm a ham. But yes, me and the other girls had to wear this for hours at a time. It was definitely challenging but it made the shot look a lot better!

I thought our lunch that day was hilarious. Remember how I said they don't do vegetarian? Well they surprisingly attempted at having a vegetarian option that day.



Hahaha, it's just MORE green beans! LOL



Despite being focused on set today, we managed to have some fun. Jumping off the top of the boat was scary and exhilirating!



Of course, one of the risks of swimming in the water was jellyfish, remember? Poor Nelly, she got stung on the face and lips the day before while shooting a scene!



Here is my usual safety diver, Kakoi. They call him Cockroach as a nickname, lol. The crew guys are always joking around and seem to always have a good time. I wish I could speak Cebuano!



The best part of the whole day is the sunset. The sunsets here are incredibly gorgeous. The night before, there was a full moon and it looked so surreal to have the moon out, huge and reflective in the water on one side and then this beautifully colorful sunset on the other.





Here are the guys getting all the equipment off the boat. It's a long process!



And so ends my experience with Deep Gold...which is still on Hold, lol.

Day 101 of filming

Sunday (yesterday) was supposed to be my one day off but I ended up working on a few projects. I woke up, walked to this little market with my roomie, Marie, came back to buy a sandwich from FTV Cafe and was suddenly whisked away by Pe-tah (Peter) to wardrobe and makeup. I was needed as a body double for the film even though I'm not done with my certification but my instructor was confident with my progress in the course. It was a little intimidating but exciting at the same time.

Today was a good day. It had poured the night before so we were hoping for good weather (rain makes the water too dark and murky to film). The water level has really risen from the last photo I put up of the beach by our lawn. Good thing those houses are on stilts!



I'd also like to clarify my role as a body double: I'm NOT doubling as a nude body. I'm mostly in this black cat suit with scuba gear or a swimsuit. They send me with a safety diver in case I have any problems and makes sure I don't drown. Most of the crew are local Filippinos and they all have a funny sense of humor. They've been trying to teach me some Cebuano (the local dialect) and I have a terrible time pronouncing them or even remembering them. All I know is that "Gwapo" is handsome and "Gwapa" is beautiful.






One of my favorite parts today was that I got to use this little water scooter for one of the shots. We decided to name it Banana Split. Unfortunately, this also meant I had exposed skin as opposed to the catsuit and so I got stung by a lot of jellies. I never knew to do this, but to prevent them you either coat yourself in oil or lotion. If you're already stung, rub vinegar on your skin and it goes away pretty quickly.



Being on set is really fun and interesting. Things I never thought about are thoroughly thought about while filming a movie. Things like, continuity with a scene and its props are keenly observed. We do the same scene several times until it's perfect and I thank every moment I'm in the water that we're doing it in tropical waters for its warmth. They do a lot of BTS (Behind-the-scenes) so hopefully I'll get footage and photos to show you all.



I've never loved my job as much as I do while I'm on set. One of the best parts is seeing the ocean floor. My safety diver knows how fascinated I am with seeing everything and lets me know what I can touch and gives me random items to observe. He showed me a sea snake today (it was slithering along the ocean floor, striped black and white) and put a couple brightly colored sea slugs on my hand. They were so soft and smooth! It's a lot of fun and I'm constantly fascinated. It's also very beautiful when I swim through schools of fish. The tiny silver ones make it look like the water is glittering around me.

Anyways, that was just a recap of a day on set and tomorrow will be similar. Today we got off super early at like 6:30PM! So that means we can be social and go eat dinner, yay.

I wish I could introduce each of the amazing individuals I've met here so far, but I figure that would be some sort of invasion of privacy, lol. I honestly do think that it takes a certain type of person to fly way out to the Philippines, alone, ambitious, and willing to work hard. Everyone is so different but get along so well! I've never worked in an environment where I actually loved all the people. Usually I just huddle in my corner and do my work, but instead, I find myself having the best time with these people.

Out on the town

Last night was kind of a girls night out. Well, it started out that way and we met with people along the way!



Here we are in front of Casa[blanca] posing before we go out. They're all laughing at me because I fell over the curb. Typical.



We went to go eat at this restaurant called Spice Fusion and it is by far the best restaurant I've been to so far as well as my new favorite. Do you know what I found??

HAINAN CHICKEN! And it was decent! Not the best, but definitely decent and tasty!



We went to this place called Alejandro's and there happened to be some event going on where a local TV channel was looking for their new VJ. We just all went in and being foreigners, we tend to catch a lot of attention. Even me, people are always asking if I'm Japanese...I guess I do look Japanese??? I can't really tell. But yeah, they're always asking if I can speak Japanese (negatory). On the flip side, no one cares that I'm part Chinese (Sorry Mom!). I've always like blending in with the locals and my surroundings, but being recognized as a foreigner around here does give you perks. It looks good for the establishment to have a bunch of enthusiastic foreigners come and have fun so they often give us free drinks and the owners come meet with us.

Family, don't worry, I don't drink excessively and I always make sure I'm safe (or at least am in the most safe situation)! Cebu is actually one of the safer areas of Asia that I have been to. I'm not talking about the Philippines in general, but Cebu is safer than other areas I've been to. The people here are generally very kind and warm. People knew my name around here after just a couple days! It's a big difference from the States.

Anyways, I thought I'd introduce you to Dwight. He's our go-to guy for anything. He welcomes the models and takes us out to places so that we know where to go and stuff around Cebu. He also has one of the only single rooms in Casa and (gasp) is the only one with CARPET. This is a big deal, people. LOL



In other news, Tasha got this drink that was named "Lick my balls" and we were all just grossed out and curious about it at the same time. Apparently it just tastes like Orange soda.



Hope that didn't offend any of you!

As I mentioned before, there was some contest or search for their next VJ for some local channel and Mika thought it would be fun to try out.

So what we were supposed to do was:
1. Tell them about us ("Hiiii, my name is Kristen and I'm from California...the United States...::blink blink:: I here in Cebu to see what else is out there and to take in everything I can!")
2. Tell them why they should pick us ("I should be your next VJ because I'm spontaneous and always up for trying something new. Especially if it's food!")
3. Interview someone ("I hear men sweat and women glow, but I'm beyond glowing now; I sweat like a man. How do you stay so glowy??")



Anyways, we just did it for fun since, obviously, none of us are going to be there for long, but I definitely feel like I went out of my comfort zone and I'm pretty proud of myself for that! I'm pretty sure I looked as awkward as I felt because I tend to cover my face and turn my back to the camera (so they said).



After Alejandro's, we went to a regge place called Kukuk's Nest where a famous DJ was playing. He's apparently the guy who brought regge to the Philippines and it known throughout the country. Pretty cool!





Here is a closing photo of the place...all these places that we go to are generally pretty small. I haven't seen any nice big clubs like I'm used to in the States, so it's definitely a different feel. However, it's been fun and I can't complain because I'm with good company.

So here I am, Sunday morning, and I have a day off (even though most people don't because we're filming). Hopefully we get to go island hopping today...I'll be back with an update!

Current life is random with a chance of anything

The thing about my work is that it's completely unpredictable. Completely. In almost every sense of the word. It can be a great thing, full of fun and excitement and possibilities, but also many other frustrating things that lead to productivity and discouragement. My daily schedule varies on an almost hourly basis, but generally, it's supposed to be something like this:

7:30AM Morning Workout
I love them, but they're WAY TOO EARLY. I seriously need just a half hour more sleep. 8 or 8:30 would be perfect. Thanks to Ramon, we're getting some tone back into our flab!


This is Ramon (our trainer) and Nelly (being dramatic) lol:


9:00AM Underwater Breath-holding Exercises
They are exactly what they sound like. So far, my personal best is 3:01. The record is like 3:40 or something.




9:30AM Diving Lessons
I'm still getting certified for my PADI diving certificate to be a body double so I've been watching videos and diving for the past few days.




This is Senyo. He makes sure we don't drown while we're training.

1:00PM Usually lunch time around here after diving
I already gave you examples of the food here...

2:00PM Wardrobe
I'm working in wardrobe and I do a lot of inventory.


This is Ramiro and Fiona. Ramino is one of the best makeup artists in Cebu and quite famous, I hear. Fiona is my boss and the funnest French/Scottish girl from London. She totally reminds me of Ugly Betty and being in the wardrobe room, lol.

In between office work, I plan photoshoot concepts and basically whip up the whole thing from scratch. It's quite a lot of work and but I love coordinating creative projects by trying to figure out the timing with everything going on at the same time.

HOWEVER, if we're filming a movie...

If you're a body double, you're on standby all day. The second they need you, they call you and you have to report in. Also, we have to work 6 days a week for 12 hours each day...usually going over that, actually.

Today, I also had my first photoshoot! Yay! Cherry made me this amazing dress that was supposed to be remniscent of a mermaid (one of my dreamss!) with some crazy makeup.





Unfortunately, the shoot was probably a mess as I did get a little freaked out by being underwater the whole time. I want to improve, improve, improve! My safety diver would give me the regulator whenever I needed it, but it definitely was hard to get used to. Also, my dress was very long and while this gave wonderful movement to the photos, I had a hard time controlling all of it.



As my own update, Sunny left today! =( Even though I've been here for a little over a week, you'd be surprised at how much longer it feels. I'm here 24/7 so this little microcosm and small community definitely speeds up socializing. It's like college/dorms 2.0. Speaking of college, the school also had their graduation ceremony today.



Okay, tonight is a Saturday so we're actually going to go out tonight. I've only had one day off since I've been here and so I'm looking forward to some fun, to say in the least. Hope everyone else is doing well and that my post was entertaining enough!

On Site

I haven't talked much about the company I'm working for yet...and I probably won't go into too much detail right now, but I thought I'd show a bit of the grounds.

This was the view of the area from the temporary room I was in the first night; as you can see, we have modern technologies like cars and buildings. The main building you see on the right is actually a huge pool where it is specifically built to film underwater scenes for their movies. It has lots of hand rails build along the sides and floor of the pool so that we can hang out in between takes as well as huge windows to film through. I will be body-doubling for the movie they're filming in that pool right now, actually.

You can see that the beach is right behind our property.

Here is the view from our outdoor lunch/bar area. That little shack you see on the left is called Tiki Bar and we come here at night to grab drinks and just hang out. Sunsets are really beautiful here. We have stray cats and kittens who come beg for food.

This is also the area is where they serve us free meals during filming days. Filming days are very long. We have unpredictable call times and stay past midnight. Thus, the better quality of food is really the only upside to those days (and good company). I'll show a few examples of what we eat in a sec.

Here are a couple zoomed in shots of the stilted shacks they have out there. The beach is very shallow for a far distance and there are locals out there every day collecting shellfish and other food items.

On filming days, meals are provided for us which typical meal generally consists of: soup, rice, a vegetable dish, two meat-like dishes, fruit and juice/tea. Being a vegetarian is nearly impossible here; everything has meat in it. One of my friends here is a vegetarian and whenever she requests vegetarian they give her either chicken or fish because being apparently they don't count as meat, lol.

We don't always get free meals so otherwise we either have the FTV Cafe which provides food and coffee and the Canteen which provides food like this:

But here are a few examples of what we are fed on set:

This was like, porkchop, some egg egg thing, fruit, veggies, soup.

The real winner was the pumpkin soup with the crispy buttered bread slices. It was the only truly delicious thing I've eaten here.

I thought their cafe name was funny though:

Look at all familiar?? LOL

Also, I thought this was kind of interesting; they put rice in their salt shakers to keep the moisture out!

Yes, it is very humid here. Wildlife is abundant amidst the buildings and despite the modern facilities we have we are constantly reminded that we are NOT in our developed home countries.

One example of such a reminder is the mutant creatures that thrive here. DO YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THIS SPIDER?? In this photo, it seriously was like 6 inches from side to side!

Oh. Mah. Gawd. I won't ever get used to it.

Did I mention we have ostriches on site?

Well, I hope that was a good intro for now...this post has taken me one evening and part of my morning to do since the internet is a bit slow with uploading photos! Hope all is well at home, I'll be updating about my diving lessons, the nightlife and other random adventures soon! So stay tuned...

Tired

I had my first day of dive lessons and I have to admit that it's a lot trickier than I imagined! I definitely psych myself out with everything that is going on, not to mention remembering to breathe during it all! We're still on production schedule, which means really late nights. I'm super exhausted so I will update with more interesting stories and photos later! I just wanted to check in...

Mom and Dad, yes, I am still alive. =D

Heathcare

As some of you know, my eye had been really red and irritated before leaving for the Philippines. It seriously had been two weeks since it was giving me problems and really starting to worry me. I was so nervous about how the healthcare was here as well as the cost but at this point I really had to do something about it. On Friday I had made two trips to the nearby hospital, Mactan Doctor's Hospital, as the nurse at work had recommended me to do so. I was a bit nervous to do so as you hear all sorts of stories about taxi drivers kidnapping and driving off with lone female riders, but apparently that is not a concern to anyone here at Bigfoot. I had to make two trips since the optimologist wasn't there in the morning (things are very casual here...if they're not there, they will be there "later") so I had a wasted trip. All my taxi fares there and back were about 100 pesos (which is a little over 2 USD) but on my last trip back it was only 75 pesos! I hate when they take the long way because they're just trying to take more money from me while wasting more time. -_- Unfortunately, the roads here are many and confusing so I can't tell when they ARE taking the long way.

Anyways, the facilities were okay. I'm just thankful that the guy knew what was wrong with my eye and gave me these super steroid eye drops. The check-up with the medication was only about 700 Pesos I think, which divided by 45 is its USD price (around 15 USD). And I'm happy to report that my eye is getting MUCH better already. I will note, however, that he was checking my eye without any gloves...which made me nervous because he's touching everything else in his office.

It's actually only 6AM here and I'm back to my jetlag schedule it seems. I really would like to wander out of the compound and see what the early morning life of people here are, but I'd really like to go with someone else just to be safe. Whenever I drive by it seems to be so lively and the roasting meats are very tempting to try.

Oh well, I am supposed to meet my diving instructor at 11AM so I have 4 hours to kill if anyone has Skype/MSN/AIM =)

Skype: hybiscuskiss
MSN: hybiscuskiss@hotmail.com
AIM: hybiscuskiss

I say, Cebu

Work has been busy so far. They're finishing up the filming for their current movie and so everything "normal" has been put on halt in order to funnel all people and resources into these last few weeks. I'm supposed to be working with Fashion TV and report to their department, but I haven't really been given much direction since everyone has been scrambling.

Onto the great news: They want me as a body double for one of their actresses and that means that I get to be scuba trained and certified! I start training tomorrow so hopefully that means I'll be diving in Malaysia at some point this year. ::crosses fingers::

Last night was a Friday night and despite my battle against jetlag I decided that I needed to go out so that I could meet and mingle with my other co-workers/interns. I finally went into Cebu City to check out their nightlife. We went to two places; the first place was called Loft and was "more upscale". Next, we went to Pump, which was surprisingly PACKED with Koreans! Like wtf, where did they all come from?? No idea...but at least they had some normal hip hop club music going on. Also, they had some amazing French fries!

Afterwards, we attacked a McDonald's and I got a good ol' fashioned icecream cone. =) I was talking to one of the guys here and he said he's got approval to work on a new project: a surf tour of the Philippines! I was like whaaaat, surf tour?? He said that hopefully it will happen if he doesn't get put to work on the next film and I asked him to put me on the project, lol. The project has a high chance of never happening (because things like that happen often around here) but it would be amazing to go surf for free here! One can only hope, right?

Today was supposed to be my day off. The days all seem to run together because I never know what my schedule is like. I wanted to go check out one of the beaches, but the only other girl who no work wanted to go to the mall...and who am I to object to shopping?? Just kidding, I was really good and didn't buy a single article of clothing. I did, however, succumb to a hairdryer, bobby pins, shower scrubbie, and other necessities. I also ate quite a few times so I think most of my money went to food. =(

So overall, the best part of my weekend so far is meeting people. I was feeling pretty lonely and confused about how things operated around here so I was feeling a bit down. Everyone is pretty friendly for the most part. It's kind of a strange microcosm here.

Slow Torture

It honestly seems like the internet gets slower and slower the longer I'm here...and it's only been barely 2 days.

"That's so dial-up!"

No but seriously. I get really cranky when I have bad internet. >.<

First Day of Work

I woke up 3 hours earlier than I set my alarm clock so here I am updating my last blog with photos and emailing.

After my tour of work yesterday, it seems that all my business casual office attire is still a bit too "business"...everyone dresses pretty casual.

As far as the water goes, I have to use it to brush my teeth and wash my face since I don't have bottled water yet, but I'm definitely not drinking it. I'm just waiting for my skin to break out. =(

Also, my eye is still really red and irritated and I hope I can get it checked out by their nurse or whatever eventually.

I'll try to take some photos of the compound today since I woke up early.

Today, I'll be getting my new work badge and reporting to Fashion TV. I hope I can get involved there somehow. Okay, I don't have anything else to udpate but hopefully by the end of the day I will.

Intro to Cebu

**Update: It's been updated! =]

*NOTE: I wrote this entry assuming that the internet was good enough to upload photos...it's not. I'll add in the photos when they upload!

So it's only about 9PM here and I am just crashing from the jetlag. My flight was pretty good...the best long distance flight I've ever had. What a difference in the airline, no joke! From LAX to HK was about 14 hours and from HK to Cebu was less than 3.

Here are some pictures I took of the sky...it's one of my favorite parts of having to fly.







Here's what I ate for breakfast: Seafood Congee! It was pretty good actually, a good prequel for food to come.


Yay, I arrived at HK! Too bad I couldnt stay longer to find something yummy to eat, lol.


And here are a couple arial shots of Cebu. Honestly, there was an amazing view right as we were landing but the stewardess made me put my camera away because apparently having that electronic can jepordize lives during take-off and landing. Even though it's still in my hand, off. -_-





As you can see, Cebu is very well known for it's dive sites.

I was picked up by another intern (M), who's from Sweden, at the airport and managed to check into my temp room for the night (being switched to another room tomorrow). I hung out in my room for a couple hours emailing family and proving that I'm still alive. Here is what the rooms look like:






As you can see, it's meant for two people and I've already managed to settle in with just myself. =]

Today I had a bit of this "orientation" where we went through papers and rules and took a tour of the area. It's actually pretty impressive, all the tech that they have. I'm hoping to work in either Marketing or Fashion TV...tomorrow I'll be reporting to FTV.

You log in with your fingerprint...even to unlock certain doors! Pretty James-Bondy!

Later, me, another intern named J and the origional intern M all went to get me a sim card and some necessities. We took a Jeepny, which is basically like a tuk-tuk, for those who know, or a tiny cramped van-like vehicle they stuff with as many people as possible. It only costs 8 Pesos (and 45 P = $1) so it's the cheapest transportation by far. I was pretty burnt out at this point...especially with my eye still being irritated and being jetlagged, still. I forgot my camera so I didn't get to take photos.

I got a simcard for my phone for like 1 USD and 100 credits (which = 100 outgoing texts) for a little over 2 USD. I drank this "Mocha Loca" smoothie which was supposed to be expresso, chocolate, watered down milk and lots of ice, which was slightly questionable in my mind as it used ice in general...however, I drank it because the Swedish girl says its her favorite. I'm not sick yet so so far it's okay.

I then went to the general store near it and bought some necessities like shampoo/conditioner, soap, scrubbie, bug repellent (I haven't been bitten yet...I don't think), some chips, laundry detergent (I think I'm doing it old school...myself), toothpaste, etc. That came out to be over 600 Pesos, which, divide it by 45 and thats how much it was in USD.

Overall, I've had a bunch of mixed feelings today. For most of the flight over I felt like I was just watching a movie play in front of me. When I got here I felt pretty alone and confused since I knew no one, didn't know how things work, didn't know what to do, etc. Though, after meeting the other new intern, J, it's helped a lot. At least I have a couple new friends so far. Wish me luck, I'm EXHAUSTED.

In HK Airport!

And now begins my traveling updates! This will be a quick one as it's just to let everyone know that I made it to Hong Kong for my transfer to Cebu. There's a longer story that goes with it but maybe I'll write about it later.

Bummer

Today was not so good as far as surfing goes; I went out with Chris and the boys and on only my second wave did it end up popping up higher than I thought and slamming back down on my head. I came up too fast and all that. I could FEEL the shock of the impact go down my neck. Sucky feeling, to say in the least. I think I was more pissed about my lack of ability and distressed about the board than about the pain. It took the front chunk out, which blows because it's not even mine. To make matters even more frustrating, I was planning on going at LEAST 4 more times in San Diego before leaving for the Philippines. Totally bummed and out of commission. Ugh.

In other news, this week has been full of happenings. Monday and Tuesday were OC, Wednesday to Friday was beach camping at Faria with my dad, and last night I went down to Hollywood again to see Alan and even met up with some other friends in Jtown (what what). Maybe I'll write about camping another time...I did have a great time surfing while I was out there.

Mundane Excitement

I've recently met someone who claims to cease being excited about barely anything these days. He says his reason is because he's done everything already, that nothing is exciting and new anymore. I think it would be terrible to experience such a feeling. To no longer be excited about daily things? There are so many experiences that are still so beautiful to me; things that are sometimes seen as mundane and boring are somehow reinvented to me. I can't imagine living in such a bland world.

The past 24 hours have been full of what I think are mundane excitement.

For example, I almost forgot how much I enjoyed fishing until yesterday. Not only fishing, but we caught crabs, too! That was a first for me and I got super excited and gleeful. I'm not even sure if that's a real word but that's how it felt at the time! I got so excited, I squealed when all the crabs started crawling about, trying to get out. I felt like I was 10 years old. Poor crabs, so small but so tasty. Not only that, but I had never seen crabs SWIM! It was so bizarre! It was like seeing pigs fly or something. The air felt good and the water sounded nice, so it was worth the wait.

Surfing this morning was a mix. On one hand I hate feeling like I've dragged someone else out when they don't want to be there and/or they won't have fun but on the other the water felt really amazing. I woke up feeling so terrible, but the water pretty much literally washed it all away for a while. I like just lying on the board listening to the ocean and bobbing about. And honestly, my favorite part of the morning is seeing the first ray of sunlight break through the clouds and light up the colors of the ocean. It really is the most beautiful color! This deep greenish-turquoise...I can't even describe it or replicate it. It's just always glittering, always changing.

I have a few new goals:
- Learn how to surf a shortboard
- Surf in a tube
- Surf with dolphins

We took a stroll on the pier during the day quickly and my favorite moments were:
- Seeing the painters paint all sorts of pretty things.
- Watching the shore curve around and go allll the way down the coast.
- Watching a mother and her child play in the waves. It was so wonderful to see!

Not only that, but I also love:
- New swimsuits
- Perfect hibiscuses of brilliant colors
- Seeing dolphins
- Diving under a wave and looking up to see the lights and colors streaming through the water.

And since I'm on the topic, other things I love:
- A great salsa club with flowy skirts and dresses.
- Colorful things
- Outdoor orchestra performances
- Warm summer nights
- BBQ with friends
- Kisses on foreheads

And I guess that's enough happy optimism for now. =)

Going, going, back, back...

Sunday, September 07, 2008

• Hollywierd

  I was in Hollywood for almost the entire weekend it was everything I could have expected it to be.
  
  Friday: Kat and Cassie came up to visit ME in Morfus! We stopped by Nordstrom's grand opening before going down to search for Venice Beach, which was an utter fail. lol. Then we went down to Hollywood to hang out with Alan and friends. Bar C for dinner, then Cabana Club after.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Saturday: Gina's Bachelorette Party! For having less than a week to plan, I think it went really well! I hope she had fun, thats the most important part. Maggiano's for dinner, a surprise limo, Hush Lounge, and Club Social.
  
  
  
  
  Hush Lounge. As a side note, this place had the most attractive people all in one place! Seriously, amazingly good looking people. I think it's because it's super exclusive right now since it's still in its first year of being open.
  
  
  
  Our sashes were pretty cute, I must say! Miss New Booty, Miss Chievous, Miss Behave, Miss Terious, Miss Conduct, Miss Demeanor, and The Bride to be! I even made one Miss Ogenist which we had some guy wear, haha.
  
  Okay, enough LA party scene for me. I'm dead.
  

  
  

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Green Light

So it's been a while since I've updated...

Being back in Morfus has been several things:
1. Comforting
2. Comfortable
3. Fun
4. Dull

Really, if you don't know my town, you really won't know the full meaning of what I say about it so I'll just leave it at that.

I WAS, however, able to spend time with my neighbors, who are like the brothers I grew up with. Except they're blonde and have blue eyes. Chris and I have decided that if we're not married by the time we're 35, we're going to marry each other. Cliche, but true. I really do think that he's one of those rare people I could live with, converse with and maybe even raise children with...but could never MAKE children with. Does anyone else understand that concept? Maybe it's just me. But they're like family and I really appreciate the sort of bond we've developed over the past 17 years (Dang!).

In more current news, this weekend I went on my own little road trip: SD, OC, LA and back to MP.

The rest will be just phrases strung together for my own benefit.

Friday: Called up a gang of people to go OUT. Used the same excuse: It's my last night in SD! As my friend puts it, "it's been your last night in SD for the past month!" haha. I was tired of being dull in MP so I had to see people and have a little fun. Got all dolled up and then ditched the heels to have a beer pong tournament at Adam's.



4 tables at once = 16 people playing. Good times! Mixed all my people together: AKPsi, DSP, Freshman Year, Grad Students, etc. Good mix of people, good mix of everything really. Surprising. I got into my first fight at party. Didn't let it phase me afterwards much but dang that GUY (yes, it was a dude...I KNOW RIGHT? WHO PICKS A FIGHT WITH A CHICK??) deserved a beat down. I got one kick in and got pulled away. I'm not one to start fights or drama or anything of that sort, especially in a social setting, but seriously, that guy shouldn't have been there in the first place! Played 3 games of beerpong, surprisingly held my liquor very well! The male species is ridiculous but it was all fun and I had a great night even with the fight. Finally went to bed around 5?





Saturday: Umm, waking up early for surfing was an utter fail. Not only did we not wake up early, but we were like dead slugs all afternoon. We finally went surfing at like 1PM and got totally thrashed. So pathetic! We recharged for the night again and went out to Bar Basic in downtown.



Yay we're cute! Happy Birthday, Viv!







I'm happy when everyone else has a good time and is happy. =) OH BOYS! You make my world go like whoa! Only Kristy, Kat and Cassie know what I'm talking about. =)

Sunday: Ended up not going to OC after all so I hung around SD for another day and night...Cassie has a BBQ/Pool Party at her house in Oceanside so we chilled there (new white bikini, yay!) and drank delicious sangria!

Monday: Went surfing and then to find a place to eat...only to find our first three choices to be closed due to Labor Day??? Go figure! Kat Kristy and I ended up eating at Wahoo's, yum! I left for OC and hung out with my uncle for the evening as he also needed to fix my shoulder (from the accident from last month). We ate the best ramen I ever had in my life! What a treat.

Tuesday: In the morning, we went surfing out in Newport and not only was it a good day for me, but I saw dolphins playing! It was amazing! he worked on my shoulder again and then I left for a roadtrip of LA. Let me say, that I hate driving in LA. I went from OC to East LA to Monterey Park to San Gabriel and back to East LA and got lost every step of the way. Ugh! I could have made the trip twice! I ended up staying an extra night in E. LA because my uncle wanted me to come back in one more time the next morning.

Wednesday: Went to get my arm fixed again, starrted driving back and then got a call from Daanish to hang out in LA. What a coincidence that I was passing Sunset! =) Finally got home pretty late.

Aaaand that's a very brief/boring summary of my "weekend"!

Catch Up

August 9, 2008

California never fails me!

I've been in OC/Dana Point/Laguna from Tuesday to Friday and it was actually a great trip.

Monday I went up to OC to see my lovely friend, P! I had to wait for her to get done with work so I killed time by bugging V&V until then.

P and I decided that for a Monday night, a random choice and a strong drink were in order. We scoured the internet to see what there was to do on a Monday. So far, there were a lot of karaoke bars listed. I have this irrational fear of karaoke so we chose this random spot called Johnny's Saloon. I'm not gonna lie, we were a bit intimidated to go in as we didn't think we met the tattoo and piercing quota, but we grew the balls to go in. It was pitch dark...except for the minimal red lighting. It had all these black and white paintings/photos all over the place and midgit dummies hanging around. Pretty creepy, really.



I found this picture off their MySpace, lol. I have no camera for the rest of summer (can't find my charger). Fortunately, the bartender, Bruno, was awesome. He gave us free drinks and mixed up a concoction which can only be compared to a Peachy Keen...he said he just mixed his own though, so unfortunately I don't think it can be replicated. =( Relatively strong, no overpowering alcohol taste and no hangover from it, so it's an A+ to me.

We decided to leave after some sketchy drunk guys kept talking to us. We talked with them for a while but they started getting dull so we escaped to our haven (the ladies' room) and then snuck out...only to find them outside smoking, lol.

Tuesday I drove down to Dana Point to meet up with my family. We decided to go see Pageant of the Masters down in Laguna where they were having this huge art festival. I have to admit, being once an avid painter, their art was AMAZING. So inspiring, I wish I kept it up.

If you don't know, Pageant of the Masters is:

Ninety minutes of "living pictures" - incredibly faithful art re-creations of classical and contemporary works with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces. An outdoor amphitheater, professional orchestra, original score, live narration, intricate sets, sophisticated lighting, expert staff, and hundreds of dedicated volunteers have won recognition for the Pageant as the best presentation of its kind.



And honestly, I'm not surprised. I couldn't believe that what I thought were huge paintings and statues were actually people! It's totally worth going, even if you're not into art or whatever, just seeing something like this is just mind boggling for anyone.

The rest of the time was spent having beautiful dinners along the coast, going to cute shops and boutiques, lounging by the beach with my family and just having a mini vacation. Nice.

Sorry for the long, dull summary, this blog is for me, you know. =)



August 3, 2008
Many people have been asking for clarification about my plans and my internship in the Philippines so I thought I'd just summarize quickly:

It's at a film production company called Bigfoot Entertainment which was founded in 2004 in Cebu, Philippines. It's new, but they have a film academy there and have already filmed quite a few movies with notable actors.

My internship is broken up into two parts: for the first two months I'll basically be their slave working on film sets and pre/post-production stuff. It consists of long hours and days, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Jealous already? lol jk.

If after the first two months they like my work and I want to stay, they will extend my contract for another 4 months. Hopefully, I'll be in their marketing/pr/creatives for marketing their movies and such. That was I can build up a portfolio and maybe get a job in the industry after the internship. I'm not sure though, so we'll see.

So the reason I chose this kind of arrangement instead of 6 months in the marketing internship is because I didn't want to commit 6 months right away to the Philippines. This way, if I really don't like it I can leave after 2 months. =) Also, they pay for my flight there and back, give me a small stipend to survive and housing. So if anything, I'm not losing money (I hope). If you're interested in this internship (there are a lot of different departments...even real estate!), you can go to this webpage: www.bigfootentertainment.com/internships and read through it briefly. Their interns are pretty qualified for what they do though so be sure to brush up your resume if you apply. =) I think I just got lucky.

So I hope that clarifies a bit...what are you guys doing now?

Kristen attempts to be ambitious...lol alliteration!

Today I moved out of my apartment in San Diego. I haven't felt any sort of sadness or nostalgia about it, really. Maybe it's because I'm temporarily living with the same people but in the neighboring building, lol. Or maybe it's because I just assume that I'm going to see them soon. Poor Trina, we ended up stuffing so much into Irvin's future room. We have at 3 beds, 3 desks and a whole lotta other stuff in there! I even had to put the bike in the bathroom, lol. I couldn't even get the whole room in the picture so there is even more stuff on the sides and in the closet to the left (not the closet you see here).


Anyways, thankfully I had Adam and Kevin help me move the big furniture pieces or else I would have just cried. To thank them, I helped make them dinner!

Adam and I have been talking about steamed clams all week. So finally tonight, we made them! They didn't come out as amazing as I hoped for, but they weren't bad for the first time winging it without a real recipe.

Oil
Butter
Garlic
Shallots
Green Onions
Celery
White Wine (cooking wine)
Clams
Salt (ended up being too much)
Sugar (to balance out the salt)


Joanna and Robert made DELICIOUS salmon, and now I know how to cook fish!

Garlic Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Hot Oil
Lemon


Tasted SO GOOD! Then Trina boiled some broccoli for us. Sooo gourmet for us college students, haha. I'm getting fat I think, though (Shuttup, I know I'm skinny but I'm gaining chub) and I will try to start doing exercise again. No muffins for me!

Anyways, time to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be the last day to move and clean!

Current life is consistent, not chunky

As I was talking with my friend, Katrina, today, I realized that my life has been very consistent lately. Consistent in the idea that I've been seeing the same friends and doing kind of the same things for a few weeks. It's kind of nice! During the school year, I'm always juggling AKPsi, Freshmen friends, DSP friends, random friends, of course schoolwork, and just always on the go with seeing different friends and groups of people. I guess it's kind of saying that I stretched myself out a bit thin. I never like neglecting friends so I'm always playing catch up with them.

But this summer I've kind of just let myself slip into a very comfortable way of life. I like it. I wake up knowing who I can call and have a general idea of their schedule. I think part of it is because I have nothing to do...don't get me wrong, I'm not as busy and so that's probably why I can be so leisurely. But it's nice and I'm enjoying it!

As of now, life consists of:

1. The beach and surfing. Usually I go with Calvin and sometimes Kristy...all part of the Absolutelynothingtodo Club. I swear I'll take a photo for proof that we're actually going out in the water at some point.

Here's that photo I promised. But seriously, the photo doesn't do it justice!

2. KatCassieLinda
Okay, maybe not Linda as much as we'd like, but I still clump her in with us! If I had a consistent group of girl friends, they would be it. =) <3 143 *teehee* /nerdiness

Today, we actually went to the beach to just lay around like normal girls.

3. Emailing Irvin, the Boy.
I really dislike long distance relationships, but I guess I'm acclimating. Acclimating in the sense that I'm getting used to not seeing his face, hearing his voice or have a sense that I still have an existing boyfriend! =( If you're bored, you can read his new blog here: www.idnguyen.blogspot.com He actually has some funny things written in there since he's interning in Vietnam.

4. AIM Chats with Will.
No seriously, I am online for a lot of the day (I'm not gonna lie) and apparently, so is Will. But not only that, he actually keeps up a good conversation! Yesterday I learned that his least favorite smells are of corn and peanut butter cups. His favorite smell is of peach cobbler. Ta-daaa!

5. Pretending like I'm going to finally pack up my life and clean out the apartment.

...yeah. Why else do you think I'm procrastinating with this blog entry? lol.

Weekend Getaway

...with my girls! Saturday was Cassie's graduation party and I was happy to be able to make it. Kat picked me up to go to Oceanside where Cassie's new house is at. On the way, we picked up our favorite Linda from the train station who managed to buy a whole new outfit while waiting for our lagging butts. The train station is only 15 minutes from Cassie's house but we managed to somehow get lost and take a whole hour instead. But that's okay, if I'm going to get lost there's no one else I'd rather get lost with than these two girls who don't know where we're going.

We finally arrived at Cassie's and it was such a nice house! Just the right size with a great backyard that had a pool and firepit. I don't think I've been in the pool for that long since I was like 12, lol.


Brian found a lizard...and a frog.


<3 My Freshman girls.



We had a slumber party that night...as in we slumbered during the party, haha. We went to bed pretty early as Kat kicked Linda out of her bed.

The next day we went down to the Harbor to get smoothies but ran out of time so instead we dropped Linda off at the train and found a really good Crepes place. I don't usually like crepes, but this place was delicious! O_O I am drooling just thinking about it! I should have taken a picture, darn.

After that, we walked on the pier before heading back down to La Jolla.

And as of this morning, I received my contract for the internship in Cebu, Philippines. O_O Making me nervous! I'm set to leave early October.

P.S. Everyone should start a blog so I can keep up with you all! =)



July 18th, 2008
The Perfect Day

Despite my mini-meltdown, I am enjoying my summer. Today was basically a perfect day being active, eating well, random moments, constant laughter and basically having fun.

It's a luxury I won't have for much longer, but these days, it's nice to have absolutely nothing to do. And I'm not the only one; we have a good group of people who also have nothing to do. We have so much of nothing to do that we have to spread out our plans so that we actually have something to do each day.

Because today was that great, I'm logging it here so that I can remember (because everyone knows how my memory is).

My parents spent the night last night and despite having an uncomfortable sleep on the lumpy couch, we woke up early to get breakfast together. I took them to Hash House in Hillcrest because I knew they'd appreciate the large portions of "healthy" food.




We came back, packed up some stuff and went on their way back home.

I then had another gap of nothing to do. So I called my surfing buddy and we went...surfing. Or at least tried; it was really choppy and/or I'm just really terrible at it still. I've reached a plateau in my progress with surfing and it's really frustrating. My knees and legs are all banged up and bruised from getting up on the board.

After that, we decided to have a barbecue to finish off some of the frozen meat we had in the freezer. Just a hint, a great recipe for chicken breast is to coat it in oil and season with garlic salt and chili pepper. No joke! That's it! It was so juicy and delicious! I only brag because it's true! On the other hand, our beer and lime recipe was a fail. Don't do it, it ends up tasting like nothing but chicken. Add in some mint icecream sandwiches, a stuffed monkey and some good timing and you've got 20 minutes of solid laughter.

PB was next on our list of nothing to do, so we quickly cleaned up and went down to celebrate a birthday. Tonight was just so random and crazy as I ran into not one but TWO high school people. One I used to be really good friends with in 2nd grade and haven't really spoken to since and the other I haven't seen since high school It was a very much welcomed run-in. I also saw a Singapore friend and it was nice to see someone from that era. Tonight was a blast from the past like whoa.

Even though we swore off PB Bar and Grill, I actually had a lot of fun. Terrible dancing and mimicking are always a recipe for good times. Honestly, people who take themselves too seriously while dancing don't realize that they'll be our next victim. People gotta let loose and just have fun! Don't try and look too seductive or try too hard in general...everyone can tell!

Anyways, tomorrow is Nordstrom's huge sale so we'll see what's up if I wake up in time. Peace, Love and Happiness!




July 17th, 2008
Clutch

So it's pretty much decided: I'm going to the Philippines. I haven't signed the papers yet, but by emailing the internship coordinator to "check in," it has made me mentally commit.

On the good news, I'll be doing a 2 month stint and if they like my work I'll stay for another 6 months. Worst case scenario is that I'll have a 2 month test and then bail if I really can't handle it. So until I leave for that side of the world again, I feel like I'm stuck in transition. I'm floating between two worlds, just waiting to shift to the next gear. Until then, I really just need to tell myself to CHILL OUT and relax.

Today I had a mini freakout for various reasons, none of them really new or interesting. I guess the process of actually moving out really hit me hard about having to decide what to do and where to go. Having my parents come down shows me how I'm different and yet the same and either way I'm not comfortable with it. Not having the boy around as my reliable best friend has made me question our future as a couple. How are two people supposed to maintain such a close intimacy over 10-11 months being worlds apart? How will I maintain the friendships I have here?

So many different paths to be taken and I'm terrified I'm going to pick the wrong one.

I can't seem to explain this to anyone because everyone says, "Don't worry, you'll be fine." And I understand those words, I do. I understand the intent behind them, but their soothing effect has lost any influence over me. I need something more to really feel secure and those words don't help in the least.

I'm trying to shift gears, but I feel like I'm stuck on a hill.

post-move test

this is a test

Chris

I just met with my neighbor, Chris, for some coffee and catch-up. We've always introduce each other as "my neighbor, Chris/Kristen" but to extend his title, he's been my longest childhood friend, the brother I never had and real family. We've always been neighbors, but not always friends. I met him in kindergarden, on the bus, and little did I know that he lived across the street! We took the bus together, carpooled, walked home and had younger siblings who were also the same age. We played Treehouse, rode around on bikes, rollerbladed and played almost every day. Every time it was time to go to another school we had to fight rumors of being boyfriend and girlfriend. That was really annoying.

By the time we entered high school together, we started avoiding each other completely. We went through changes, phases, and basically stopped talking because we pissed each other off. But once we graduated, there was a slight change. I went off to UCSD and he went to community college.

Nowadays, it's become apparent that we've come a long way since Kindergarden. We pick up like no time has passed, and no words can describe my appreciation for such friendship. It's transgressed friendship, it's just family now. Real family. People you just can't seem to get rid of despite your disagreements. I hope I can have more Chrises in my life. =)