PhotoHunt: GLASS

The Zuellig Building in Makati City is a 33-story edifice, mixing sleek aesthetics and sound environmental design, a sight for sore eyes amidst gaudy structures and urban blight.

Makati City, May, 2013, using a phone camera.

PhotoHunt: UPPER

One of the roads I drive on en route to the office runs parallel to the approach of our international airport. I was (un)fortunate enough to get this photo because of the intermittent standstill of the morning rush.

I wonder what it would be like to fly to the office everyday...

West Service Road of the South Superhighway, Taguig City, October 2012, using a phone camera.

PhotoHunt: STELLAR

The Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines is decked with star-shaped lanterns, all ready to celebrate Christmas. At the center of the plaza in front of the main administration building is the Oblation, symbol of the university, and ultimate aim and aspiration of the institution for its graduates, who number in the thousands yearly.

Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, November 2012 using a phone cam.

PhotoHunt: SEASONAL

All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day give us the timely, and not often ignored, reminder of our own mortality, death's inevitability, and the importance of living life to the fullest. Until we reach our final destination.

Heritage Park, Taguig City, November 2012, using a phonecam.

PhotoHunt: DANCE

Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga surely knows how to make a 10,000-plus-strong crowd sing and sway with her.

SM Mall of Asia Arena, May 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: ZAP

I think the moon is one of the most underrated icons of beauty. Most likely because we fail to fully see its beauty since it peeks around the time we're supposed to be sleeping. It doesn't help that it has also been been infamously associated with werewolves, lunatics, and all the creepy crawlies that go bump in the night.

I still happen to be awake at this unusual hour (it's 2.36am here in the Philippines as I type this) and while reading my Twitter timeline, someone mentioned about the moon. I looked up and out of the window and- voila- a sight I hardly behold.

I don't know if this is already the supermoon mentioned frequently as of late, but regardless, the moon will always be super, magical to me =]

the sky outside my house, Taguig City, May 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: STURDY

This is Stan, arguably the star of The Mind Museum, the Philippines' first world-class science museum which formally opened its doors last March 16th in Taguig City. Stan is a forty-foot Tyrannosaurus rex cast made from the most complete T. rex set ever discovered. No wonder he is the touted king of dinosaurs: if I were his prey then, his sheer majestic presence would have made me freeze where I stood. Exactly how I felt when I first got to see him up close at The Mind Museum.

The Mind Museum, Taguig City, December 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: TWO

I stared into too many of these in my supposedly 45-minute-drive home that turned into a 3-hour test of patience. My camera and my favorite radio station playing the right kind of music kept me sane.

While on the road, a small pebble may cause discomfort all the way inasmuch as a fleeting second of stunning vista can cause a lifetime of joy- if we choose it to be.

November 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: LIGHT

Shafts of light pierce through the drizzle falling over Metro Manila. In the Philippines, there's a belief that a pair of tikbalang- half-human, half-horse mythical creatures- are getting married when the whether turns, well, ambivalent. In any case, we wish them well, as we enjoy cooler weather in this most tropical of capitals.

aboard a Philippine Air Force chopper, October 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: TOGETHER

Its reputation precedes it the world over. To watch a Cirque Du Soleil performance is arguably a mainstay in many people's bucket list, what with their much-publicized death-defying stunts, intricate costumes, and overall jaw-dropping productions. That's why when the Cirque came to Manila, no doubt we really had to go.

Cirque did not disappoint. The 2.5-hour show was a huge cauldron of music and humor, a visual feast that often caused by heart to almost jump out of my chest and/or my jaw to drop to the floor. Some sections were more spectacular than the others, but each minute of the show had its stamp of Cirque hard work and artistry on it.

An amazing experience it was, to be front and center when the Cirque came to town =]

lobby of the Cirque's Grand Chapiteau, Quirino Grandstand, Manila, July 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BUSY

The repairs being done on this major bridge I use on the way to and from work doubled my daily driving time since May of this year. There's a poster counting down the days until the construction work is finished. As I see a lot of men and equipment focused on the job on hand, I really pray they get to meet the deadline they set for themselves, for the sake of our collective mental health!

along the Buendia Flyover - Osmena Highway, Makati, June 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: CARD

Following this PhilPost truck one time made me think of the lost art of letter-writing. In the age of emails and Twitter, how many of us have received birthday cards by mail lately? How many are still excited when the mailman swings by to unload a bunch of letters (minus the bills, of course)?

on the road to work, March 2011, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: PRENO (Break)

Gaano karami pa kaya sa atin ang tumitigil upang magbigay-pugay tuwing mapapadaan sa isang paaralan, opisina, o palatuntunan na itinataas ang ating watawat at kinakanta ang ating pambansang awit? Gaano karami pa kaya sa atin ang napapatigil upang isipin, sariwain, ipagpasalamat, ipagpatuloy ang pagpupunyagi ng mga nauna sa atin upang makamit ang kalayaang ating tinatamasa sa kasalukuyan?

Isang paalala mula sa ating Pambansang Bayani, Jose Rizal, sa panahon ng paggunita sa ika-150 taon ng kanyang kapanganakan:



PRENO = BREAK

I wonder-

How many among us stop and pause when the national anthem is being sung and our flag is being raised at a school, office, or program?

How many among us stop to think about, reminisce, be thankful for, and continue the efforts of those who came before us to fight for the freedom we enjoy today?

Please see the reminder above from the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal, on the occasion of his sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebration-

inside Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, June 2011, using a digicam.

Wordless Tuesday: PATIENCE

Enduring this volume of traffic everyday, twice a day, until the repairs on this bridge are finished in August. Hopefully of this year =]

along South Super Highway in Makati, 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: DIRTY

Whenever the light turns red at this intersection about 10 minutes away from our office, I find myself looking at this distressed-looking house. Despite the ravages of time, its beauty is still quite visible, the intricacies of the architecture and workmanship more obvious when one gets nearer this still-imposing edifice. It's probably a century old but a few touches here and there, it may just sparkle like the way it did in its heyday.

Quite frankly, I'm suprised that this house is still standing. Many similar homes in the area have been torn down to give way to modern high-rise buildings. And to think that it sits on prime real estate! But I'm glad this home continues to exist; being old should not be automatically equated to it being dispensable. Too many buildings have suffered that fate. Economics and heritage can co-exist and should not always be each other's antithesis.

corner of Laong Laan and Lacson, Manila, February 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: ROAD

That crazy cacophony of the city, its madding crowd: can't live with it, can't live without it..

atop a condotel in Makati City, March 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: CLOSED

I pass by this car repair shop twice everyday, and I find it always closed, probably because my day starts too early and ends too late compared to the shop's. I hope the only thing that will draw me to it is its funky color and not any car trouble.

near the corner of Nagtahan Bridge and UN Avenue in Manila, March 2011, using a digicam.

Wordless Tuesday: SALES, DRIVE

Traffic jams have spawned micro-entrepreneurs among those living near the roadways. From bottled water to quick nibbles, newspapers to cigarettes, this 'captured market' is not too difficult to sell to.
along the South Superhighway, March 2011, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: ITIM (Black)

Ang isa sa mga gusali sa Bonifacio High Street na malimit na makinang at maliwanag ay pansamantalang nabalot ng dilim nang makilahok ang buong lungsod ng Taguig sa taunang EARTH HOUR noong 2010. Ang Earth Hour ang sabayang pagpatay ng ilaw o/at di mahahalagang gamit na de-kuryente upang maging isang mahalagang makabuluhang hakbang tungo sa pag-alaga sa planeta at sa kumakarampot na mga pangangailangang pangkalikasan.

Sa Sabado, Marso 26 na, sa ganap na 8.30-9.30 ng gabi ang Earth Hour sa taong ito. Makilahok at tumugon sa hamon ng isang oras na patay-kuryente hanggang sa panghabambuhay na tuwirang pagbabago para mapalawig pa ang kumakaunti nating rekursong pangkalikasan.

ITIM = BLACK

The usually bright and glittery buildings of Bonifacio High Street has been turned ito pitch-black space as the entire city of Taguig participated in Earth Hour last year. Earth Hour is the simultaneous switching off of lights and/or other unnecessary electrical gadgets meant to be a symbolic gesture of unity to save the planets dwindling natural and energy resources.

This Saturday, March 26, Earth Hour will happen again wherever you are on the planet, from 8.30-9.30 pm. Be part of this hour-long show of global action which will hopefuly be the start of a lifelong commitment to care for our planet and each other.

Building 3, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City, 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: LICENSE PLATE

With a car like this, I guess there's no better way to travel than with the top down- Manila traffic, heat, pollution, and stares notwithstanding =]

en route to work, East Service Road, Taguig City, August 2010, using a digicam.