That thing called future

The  Intro. So after a decade of not writing anything really, I’m posed to think to write of something explosive. I have no idea why, but, maybe because it feels like a comeback. The feeling became worse when my friend Calvin revamped his blog already by putting actual pages and fixing everything and including recent projects he has been working on (more on that later), and there I was checking out his new site and thinking to myself, why the heck* not write something?

I could list a lot of explanations why I couldn’t blog despite the fact that I feel like I have a lot to share. But maybe then again, having a lot to share because of having a lot of shizz happening means less time for actually sharing it. But as I was helping out in an event related to my summer internship, it really made me think, seriously, why the heck am I not writing something?

The Dream. The event was for Lancome where they launched Emma Watson as their new endorser. Click here for pictures and others. I am technically not part of the Lancome team, I am part of Kiehl’s but I helped out anyway because I’m such a good person. Kidding. Lancome and Kiehl’s have the same brand manager and I helped out with registration and handing out press kits. The event was awesome. It was held in Skye Lounge and we were all wearing white and everything looked so posh and so nice. But what’s better is that handling registration and seeing all the names reminded me of what I have always dreamed of becoming. Aside from my undying princess dream, I have always wanted to be a magazine writer. From the moment I read my first Candy until the moment I have upgraded myself to reading Preview and Cosmo, I have always envied the lives of the people behind those pages. Why? Read further. Chos.

I guess I loved what they write about, the pictures that come with what they write and how they write it. I remember being so amused that this was a real job. And so as I read the names of the people on the list, I did not have a hard time recalling which magazines they represent. Sure, I may have mismatched some but I was definitely amused at the fact that I could recognize a huge percentage of the names on the list. And I was starstruck (deep inside) as each of those names came out of the elevator and approached the big white classy Lancome registration table we were proudly standing behind of. And as they said, “Hi! I’m <name> from <magazine>.” and then proceeded to chat with other writers already inside the venue, all I could do was simply tell Cha, “Mygad, this is the dream.”

Emma Watson for Lancome, Skye Lounge. May 15, 2012. L’Oreal (Luxury Products Department) Interns Cha (shu uemura), Joan (Lancome), Me (Kiehl’s). I was feeling the photo wall. Haha.

The Reason. And I thought real hard about why this is the dream which made me think of why I like writing. Believe it or not, despite being really really talkative (seriously), I feel like I still have a lot to say and I get to say it through writing. Also, I always think of a lot of things. I like reflecting on things. As a self-confessed overthinker, I go back through my day and think of things I have learned and things I could have done, etc. And all of these I get to lay down through writing. Aside from the typical reason of ‘having something to leave behind or having something to hold on to, memory-keeping and the like’ which are also very important, I realized that writing will always be the better version of myself. I get the chance to edit my thoughts and present it in a way I want to present it. So different from normal me saying random things and going back saying why in the world did I say that? It comes with being madaldal I guess. Writing provides an opportunity for me to organize myself and my very messy but (I’d like to believe) worthwhile thoughts.

Why not journalism or creative writing? I was never into journalism, I seriously think I’d be fired first day on the job for trying to write ‘serious events’ in a much less serious way. Haha. I haven’t totally ruled out fiction but I doubt I could write a novel though. What I’d be really interested in, and I think it’s part of my list, is to be a kid’s storybook writer. I think a huge part of what shaped me (chos) were Adarna books. I’d read them over and over, including the part where they explain what the book is really talking about, beneath the colorful pictures and seemingly simple series of events.  Anyway, so I’d love to work for a magazine (one that’s aligned with my interests) because I guess I realize that these writers constantly experience new things.

Magazine writers get to try out new products first, get to meet tons of colorful people, go to events, adjust to the ever-changing trends of the world, read a book and watch a movie just so they could share their thoughts about it. This “job” is just too good. These people get paid to discover the world.  They are paid to pay close attention to the world, what it needs, though most of the time what it wants, what it has to offer and they dive in to experience it – and then they get to tell people about it. This job’s basic requirement is the drive and curiosity to seek out new things and the courage to try them out. You’d say that other jobs have this also, sure, but I think this is more fun. And having it as a job requires you to be constantly excited and curious about things and in this day and age (triplechos) where sleeping is such a luxury, shutting out the world occasionally could be very tempting. So yeah, the job assures that you’re always looking at the world through excited eyes, through eyes that know or at least have to believe that there is something out there worth writing a story about.

The Ticket. Talking about this and thinking about it make me question what I’ve actually done to move at least a little bit closer to my dream. Nada. Shaaame. Just creating this somehow public blog is (deepdown why I really made it) to try and poke an eye into this awesome world – through blogging; yet I can’t even regularly write in it. And so, I will try to make this pledge to invest much more in this dream. If there’s anything I should’ve learned from Finance, it would be that big projects need investments and investments are made with the belief that you would get something out of it in the future (different from a gamble where you really don’t know what’ll happen, investments is expected to give you something in the future). So I need to invest in this dream. [Another anecdote would be the guy asking to win the lottery everyday but then has never bought a ticket.] I shall be constantly buying tickets or working to buy those tickets. And I have a few things I have in my mind to use as instruments: one of them is to at least regularly blog. Plus, in case I don’t get my dream, at least trying it/trying to blog about things I experience, is almost just as good. The only difference is I don’t actually get paid for experiencing the world. But then again, it was never about the money.

Bow.

P.S. I really ought to do the things I have always dreamed of doing. After all, I do not totally not believe in the 2012 scare. Haha. Plus the whole YOLO philosophy thing my brother keeps telling me. You only live once. That’s so true, anyone can die but not everyone lives. Grabe, words of wisdom right there. Time to live, Timmy. I won’t be able to afford a ticket in the huge submarine being built in China.

P.P.S. I had this random burst of fear a while ago about the future (hence the title). I have no idea where I am going to end up in and I’m not sure where I want to end up in. It’s starting to sink in, senior year’s approaching. The real world leaves no room for excuses, more on that later. Haha.

*This is not a poser term. I really don’t use it but I’m not comfortable writing down hell here though that’s what I really use. I have serious issues. 

Kids love athletes because they follow their dreams. -Up in the Air

Earth Day

That crazy catch-up semester after my exchange is finally behind me! Words cannot describe how I felt yesterday. All I can say is, thank God that’s over and I can finally move on with my life. Haha. I just hope and pray that my grades turn out fine. Anyhoo, my summer has officially started though my summer is basically packed with work but no worries, happiness is a choice and I choose to be happy. It’s summer lovin’ time! ♥

And what is the best way to kick-off your summer? (Though you have probably kicked it off weeks ago, which was just how it was designed to be.) I say, CELEBRATE EARTH DAY in a very fun way. I know there is just around two hours left for this Earth Day, however, the fun doesn’t need to stop  tonight! And more importantly, our environmental initiatives and commitments don’t stop tonight!

Hence, I want to share with you Kiehl’s Earth Day Photo Contest 2012! So Kiehl’s Manila is spreading the environmental commitment of Kiehl’s and suggests 5 easy and very doable environmental commitments for everyone! You can join the contest by 1) liking their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/kiehlsmanila) and 2) Click the Album entitled Earth Day Photo Contest to learn about Kiehl’s environmental commitment as well as its 5 tips.

Here’s how I did it:

This tip says that by using your pockets or your bags directly for small purchases then you can avoid the use of plastic. I really like this one because I can confidently say that I live out this tip. I cannot count how many times I have told cashiers “Miss, wag na i-plastic.” Yes I’m very proud. Haha. So there, I do think it helps a lot. Think about it, you buy a piece of gum and have it put in a plastic bag then you get home remove the plastic bag and throw it away. Whatiswaste. By giving the cashier the option not to bag your small purchases, you not only avoid unnecessary waste, you actually help the stores as well. I learned from my JEEP Immersion (still to be blogged about) that groceries spend thousands on just buying plastic bags. So yeah, this environmental tip is win-win for everyone; but then again, so is any other environmental tip out there. It’s really win-win for everyone. It’s just sometimes hard to see. And so, the picture on the right is me buying a skirt and asking the cashier to place it directly in my canvas bag. The picture was set up obviously, but that’s not the point. Haha. The point is that you see that we can do it and it’s so easy to do it. And that I try to do it, with or without the contest. And thankfully, the cashier and the saleslady were game enough to take a photo. So there. Of course, I will try to continue “using my pockets (or bags)”, the commitment does not stop with the picture. Kaya nga commitment.

 There are four other environmental tips in Kiehl’s and you should check them out by visiting Kiehl’s page. Don’t forget to join the contest. You get a chance to win free products from Kiehl’s Rare Earth Collection. You can also learn more about their products through the Earth Day Photo Contest Album. There’s still a week left for the contest, still plenty of time to be creative!

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Let’s try and do something, no matter how small, to save our Earth, alright?

Young Blood

Yaay. First thing that was forcibly registered into my brain today was that my article about my exchange experience was on page A11 of Inquirer, under the Young Blood Column! I was groggy, moody and disoriented (definitely not a morning person), when my mom showed me the article; but of course, I got happy and excited in a second. I must admit I have been hoping and waiting that they publish it though I have no idea how Young Blood works. I don’t know if they publish everything that’s sent to them or what, but however the system is, I’m still very very very happy I got to read it on actual newspaper – the type of paper that has always (ever since I can remember) irritated my ever so sensitive nose.

Reading something I wrote on actual newspaper! That feeling is priceless. The feeling that the editors barely touched it (again I don’t know how it usually works) is awesome. Although I wrote it around 2 or 3 months ago and that I haven’t checked them again since, it’s amazing that every word is still so strikingly familiar. I even knew which adjectives were coming next.  I don’t care if it’s mababaw for some or what but being published has always been one of those things I daydream about. In fact, posting a scanned part of the article and posting it here is something I’ve always imagined. Yeaaah, making my dreams come true one by one. Not bad, Timmy. Its actual happening makes me feel that I don’t suck at this: writing – which I enjoy doing just because. It makes me feel like I can do this, in the future, whether that future is near or far. At least I now have proof that I have taken a tiny tiny shot at it and my tiny tiny shot was reprinted at least a thousand times (again I’m not sure). Haha.

You can read the full article online. For the record, I did not come up with the title. I feel weird reading the title, it makes me think that someone had an eye surgery or something. And well, that someone is me. I didn’t know what title to put and my mom (who emailed it) added it apparently. Great. But it’s fine, I couldn’t think of anything better anyway, but still, maybe I wouldn’t have gone with “brand new”. It doesn’t sound like me. Haha. But anyway, thanks to everyone who congratulated me and even more thanks to the people who enjoyed reading it. Really, it means the world to me. Thanks thanks again. You’re the best. I remember writing in my blog before (which I never promoted) that as long as I get to write something that could potentially be meaningful to anyone, just anyone, then writing would be an awesome thing to do. Knowing that (at least) some people enjoyed my article is just. awesome. I have got to widen my vocabulary. Haha. And to Melissa who posted “i think you just successfully put into words what i’ve always wanted to say about my exchange program. thank you for this! made me reminisce about my own experience.” Thank you. It’s the best thing I could hear from anyone, I think. I don’t know her but I’m glad she felt that way and I’m even happier that she let me (and others) know. Loooveit. Looovethismorning.

As for the the guy who commented that I’m probably sheltered and not exposed to much information. Haha. It’s no problem. I agree. I don’t read newspapers and I only read novels when I have the time (though I really enjoy reading). As for the sheltered comment, I am not rich (I was and am on scholarship) but I am sheltered, I guess. So it’s okay. I just wanted to add that he may be right that I can experience other cultures without leaving the country, maybe, but I think I would be right if I argue that  of course having experienced things outside, having some concrete experiences to grasp, is an entirely different experience. With that, I respect the guy. He seems to be a very good writer, so yeah. Haha. World peace. Plus my friend said, “Hoy, that makes you legit. May haters ka.” And somehow I think she’s right.

P.S. Technically this is not my first published work (proud!). I wrote a short story before and was published in Junior Inquirer when I was in Grade 6! Haha. It’s called Alamat ng Mais and I wrote the story for my FIlipino subject. I perfectly remember the feeling of panic when I saw the title of that story on the newspaper. I was panicking  because I felt like my teacher would think I just copied the story! It took me one paragraph through the story to realize that the story was mine. I checked below the title (which somehow I forgot to do), and saw “Kuwento ni Timmy C. Caparros”. It is now framed and proudly hanging over my dressing table. Writing has always been a dream, I guess. I hope I get to do it more.

Here’s to the future.

Happy Place

Camsur Watersports Complex. April 7 & 9, 2009 (and other forgotten dates). This is one of my most favorite places on Earth. I suddenly missed Bicol and this place so I chose it for my Flashback Friday! Chos. Before you judge me, I would like to state that I am far from being perfectly capable to wakeboard and I can only handle wakeboarding in the winge park (I forgot what it’s called, it sounds like that. Haha). It’s this tiny strip for beginners. I haven’t tried the big cable part but I hope I get to someday, that’s why I want to go back this summer! My mom is from Bicol and my grandparents are there so we come back pretty often but the last time was summer of 2010, I think.

The place is small but it’s pretty nice. There are very cheap accommodations too. Renting out stuff and paying for using the park is not expensive either. The only problem is that you have to line up for rentals during peak season, but if you have your own coolshizz, then you don’t need to line up. I also tried kneeboarding there but sooner or later you’re going to have to try wakeboarding. It’s awesome, they let you use the beginner stuff and there are really friendly teachers there who will teach you how to do it. You can stand up on the board just after a few tries. I got to do it though I really usually suck at these things. Well, so the point is, I love going to this place. It makes me feel very cool (pacool) and the atmosphere of the place is always awesome.

Find your happy place.

Wine and Cheese

Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival. October 29, 2011. So this festival is this pretty huge fair or expo of different wine brands from different countries, also lots of cheese varieties (a looot), really cute bakeries and others (e.g. dumplings and lechon). A lot of the vendors were foreigners and the fair is  actually sort of divided according to country (if I remember correctly). There were also live performances in one part of the place and people everywhere had wine glasses and doing some serious wining and dining. You can buy wine tokens for HK$10 each which gets you one glass of wine of your choice (any type of wine in the fair). Some wines require you to give two wine tokens but since we were with our beautiful friend Melissa who charmed a lot of vendors, we got away with using just one for all our wine choices. Haha. I learned three things that night.

One. I know nothing about cheese. All I know are cheddar and mozzarella and maybe some other cheese in Yellow Cab‘s four cheese pizza but apparently there’s so much more to life than just those four cheeses! Haha. Melissa bought this meal with melted Raclette all over it (fifth picture). It was so good. I was so amused with the half of cheese being heated from below and this French chef scraping off the gooey Raclette of the cheese ball to the bread and cold cuts and everything else in that French meal. I bought another French meal, a smaller one with no Raclette. I don’t remember what cheese was included there but it was also very good. Glad I tried it!

I learned later on that Asians come from a lactose intolerant race. And maybe that’s why we’re not so big on cheese compared to Europeans. I later got to try cheese from Melissa’s hometown (I can’t remember what it’s called, I’ll ask later) and cheese from Holland! So many cheeses and in so many forms. Good to know, good to know.

Two. You can injure people with some French bread. I forgot what bread we took home for Jihed but I just remember it’s so hard. It’s really good but it’s hard. We took turns pinching off the bread when we got back to the dorms. I only ate a few pinches but I went to bed pretty full. No wonder most of them say that the ‘white bread’ (aka Tasty) is not real bread because it has “nothing” inside compared to their rock hard bread. They’re kidding of course but now I get why they can get through most of the day with just eating bread.

Three. I do not like real wine. They taste so bitter and pasty and strange. I mean I feel the authenticity of the wine (haha) but it was really strong. I think I have to attend some hardcore training or wine appreciation courses so I’d understand why these things are so expensive and well, how you can tell different brands/countries of origins apart. They all tasted the same to me. At the end of that night, I still preferred cheap ol’ Novelino to those wines.

Going to that festival was a great experience! Learned a lot, tasted a lot of new things and felt so cultured. Even though I didn’t like the wine, I loved the cheese and the different pastries! I would love to try more food expos/fairs here and around the world. Mercato or Binondo, anyone?

Rule # 32: Enjoy the little things.

Lazy Susan

From Top to Bottom: Dumplings for lunch in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the Bell and Drum Towers, Buffet Lunch, Street Food (It’s like caramelized santols on a stick.), Dinner in this traditional Chinese restaurant we found on the street (Most of it were spicy.), and of course Peking Duck (it’s pronounced as peeking)! Just wanted to share something about the food we ate in Beijing. Everyone told us to try Peking duck so of course we did and of course with the cucumber sticks and the special sauce! Reminded me of pritson which I absolutely love as well! The other dishes all remind me of the food we ate in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Spicy but really good. Photos by Kathleen

Always

Untitled from timmy caparros on Vimeo.

San Fabian & Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan. June 2011. An old video I made to document our last hurrah summer trip, courtesy of Cel‘s awesome family! (Be nice. I took this with a digital camera that’s pretty old, edited with moviemaker and just put stuff together. Haha.) I want to go back. It’s more fun in the Philippines!

We may not be in love, but we will always have each other.

Tea Time

Qing Shan Ju Tea House, Beijing, China. November 18, 2011. This tea house is located at the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven. Part of our tour was to attend a tea ceremony in this place where they show you how to properly prepare and drink tea, teach you about the specific benefits of each tea and, the best part, let you taste the teas for free. (The catch, of course, is they will try and convince you to buy tea at the end of the ceremony. Since the one preparing our tea was so nice, we decided to buy one can of lychee tea which came with two peepee babies!)

I’ve only been a fan of tea a few months before I left because my mom suddenly wanted to eat in Teriyaki Boy all the time and we would always ask for the house tea. I know it just tastes like water with a little hint of something, but still it was pretty nice. I got even more used to it in HK, of course, since they serve free tea in almost all restaurants there. It’s also fascinating how I’ve seen my classmates bring their special tumblers with the container for the tea bag inside. I guess the market for tea drinkers is that significant. Haha. I’ve also seen tea served from different things: from a simple plastic pitcher, from actual teapots and my favorite: from a small bowl with the tea, then the waiter pours hot water into it then you have to cover it then quickly pour it into your teacup. It was challenging but was cool – seemed a pretty authentic way of drinking tea. So, with my growing appreciation for tea (also milk tea), I was pretty excited for this tea ceremony. (Plus, the fact that it’s free made it a lot more fun, unlike our friends Eric and Sander who paid 500 yuan for a tea ceremony.)

Tea Ceremony. I feel bad now for forgetting the name of our teacher. She was sooo nice. That’s good marketing skills people! So, she taught us how to drink tea. It sucks because I forgot most of it. I know we have a video for it but I can’t find it now. I just remember that the tea was in the taller cup first then poured into the small round one (please correct me if I’m wrong). What I can’t forget though is that after the tall cup is emptied, we were instructed to smell it then roll the thing on our faces for a quick hot massage. It may sound ridiculous but it felt pretty good. Then, you drink from the small circular cup; holding it with your three fingers, the ring finger supporting the bottom and the pink finger pointed upwards. Classic. Then you should finish the tea within three sips representing, health, something and longevity. My memory sucks, I’m sorry.

She also said that teas should be served from clay pots because the pots absorb the taste and makes teas in the future better tasting. She also showed us two cute things: a) peepee boy, a clay baby figuring which you immerse in cold water for a while, then you pull it out, pour boiling water on it then the baby pees b) this flower, which of course I forgot. It starts out as a green ball and then after immersing it in water, it opens up into a beautiful flower. (Seriously, they got good marketing strategies there!)

We got to taste four types of tea: a) Ginseng Oolong Tea which (according to their brochure) is good for memory, energy and kidney health b) Lychee Black Tea good for anemia and an upset stomach c) Jasmine Tea good for eyes and liver (stuffing Jasmine tea in pillows is also apparently good for headaches and sleeping problems and d) Fruit Tea which is good for digestion and which you could also just eat on its own (minus the water and everything).

Play. I loved this part of the tour. These are those things I really want to try out and experience. Aside from taking pictures and checking out the sights, I wanna do things like this. Like in the famous Move-Eat- Play videos (found in vimeo), my favorite really is Play. There’s so much to learn in this world. My favorite part was when he tried out glass blowing, pizza making and flamenco dancing (well, I think it was Flamenco.) I’m still trying to figure out how to travel and do those things at the same time, especially if you’re broke and have limited days in a certain place. Mmm. Suggestions? I hope you learned something, even just a little since I didn’t really get to explain the tea ceremony properly anyway. At least I tried. Hoho.

I think, life is a series of trade-offs.

Hong Kong Halloween

Who knew I would have my big Halloween dream in Hong Kong? Haha. I didn’t get to Trick-or-Treat. That ship has probably sailed for me 5 years ago anyway. At least, I got to dress up and scream and laugh and do these awesome things instead.

Ocean Park Halloween Bash. October 19, 2011. Early halloween spent in Ocean Park where they had many haunted houses with really scary characters walking around and scaring you like a pro. We also got to try out some rides inside the park which I could handle much more than the haunted houses. Haha.

Yang Hall Haunted House. October 24, 2011. My dorm hall (Yang) has this annual haunted houses set up in our residence halls. Their costumes and make up were pretty good. And, as I get scared very easily, I kept my head down while walking through the houses, just like what I did in Ocean Park.

Halloween at LKF. October 31, 2011. Now this was another experience altogether. From the MTR station, the place was already packed. There were so many people, the guards had to divert the people to another exit and the whole walk to Lan Kwai Fong took an hour long. (Note: It takes two minutes if the usual exit was open.) I felt like we were entering a concert that did not pre-sell tickets and everyone was hoping for a spot. It’s not as bad as it sounds, though, so many people had interesting costumes. Some went all out for this, like the first guy on the first picture. There were a lot of groups like this and they really were scaring people in the line. They were pretty good, even better than the Ocean Park people. When we finally got to the district itself, it was dancing and taking pictures with the most interesting costumes on the street. Awesome Halloween night.

Will you be Pocahontas or sexy Pocahontas?

East met East

Chinese Calligraphy Workshop (Global Cafe). October 4, 2011. The international office organizes “Global Cafe’s” every other week where we get to do some interesting things and get to meet interesting people. My favorite one is definitely this calligraphy workshop because I’ve always wanted to try it out. I originally had calligraphy as one of my subjects until I found out the Arts Campus was four train stations away and it was at 8:30 in the morning. But still, God is good, I at least got to try it out here. And well, I sucked. Honestly. Haha. Veronique (from Beijing) gave and wrote me a Chinese name, which I’m holding up with her above, which means love China. (True that.)

Chinese Dumpling Wrapping Competition. October 26, 2011. One of the activities during the International Festival was a dumpling making competition! We had a Global Cafe before that taught us how to make them (though I missed most of it and only caught up to the eating part). We made awesomely shaped dumplings, as you can see. And, we made choco-banana dumplings. Yes, you read that right. We had mashed bananas and nutella inside those dumplings. What is innovation? Hoho. We sold our dumplings to the judges as “East meets West”. We didn’t win because the other teams had fancy presentation skilzz and the meat probably tasted better, but still, we love each other! Points for teamwork!

I’ve got the moves like Jagger.