Week Before Valentine's 2011

The whole week before Valentine's Day started out beautifully for me.

• I managed to finish work on time.
• I was able to go to VTRs/auditions.
• I got in contact with some of my colleagues in the theater industry which I have been planning for a while now. I know I need to further hone my acting skills and hopefully I find the right theater company for me. If only my schedule is not this toxic (I barey sleep as usual), I'd gladly join PETA. It's on my wish list this year.
• The universe must be listening to my heart's plea when I was given an opportunity to showcase my talent in a video shoot. Honestly, despite my lack of sleep, that was the first time I felt really alive and exhilarated after a looong time. It's really different when you're doing your heart's desire. You don't feel tired, you don't feel short changed. You're just grateful, happy and feeling blessed. Hayyyy....Acting... it's the only one in my long list of passions that I have a love-hate relationship with. Let's just say that I'm in love with it again. Last year, I dodged most of the VTRs my agents sent me to coz I just didn't feel like it. After all, the business of acting is 10% acting and 90% waiting. Nevertheless, this year, if I physically can, I should just say yes to every acting opportunity.
• I made concrete steps to start a career in training. And guess what? The people I'd be working with are mostly theater actors too. I feel that where I'm headed at this point in time is just so aligned with my inner desires. Hopefully, when this new career path gets lucrative enough, I can use big funds for my other passions like soap making, reselling clothes and making beaded accessories which I will turn into regular businesses as well. *Crossing my fingers*

So my week was going well until a little bump appeared. My mom got food poisoned...

Visit to Pandin and Yambo Lakes

The following is a post I drafted while we were staying in Casa San Pablo last Feb. 14, 2010. Can I just say that so far, this has been the best Valentine weekend celebration of my entire life?! ^_^

For those who want to read this Valentine travelogue from the beginning, please clickthe link below:

Valentine 2010

~~~oOo~~~

Several weeks prior to this trip, I was already thinking of places we can visit for this year's Valentine weekend. Then I happen to browse one of the travel magazines Peter brought home from his Ad Congress trip in Subic last year--- Sidetrip. This mini magazine is just so full of interesting information about places to visit in Luzon. One of the things that caught my attention was its feature on San Pablo's 7 lakes in Laguna. Since we were already in Casa San Pablo that weekend, we might as well check out these lakes to see if they're really as beautiful as Sidetrip prortrayed them to be. I've had my fair share of disappointing nature finds when traveling. But I admit, there have been nature discoveries which I found priceless. Guess which group did these lakes belong to? Guess! Anyway, I decided to not expect much and just enjoy where this trip would take us...

The staff at Casa San Pablo told us that of the 7 lakes, Pandin is the best. So that's where we decided to go. While looking for the road sign that was supposed to lead us to Pandin Lake (we just followed the directions given by the staff, as well as the map we had with us) we chanced upon this nice-looking cafe called Folcon Bakeshop & Coffeeshop. It's beside a quirky little boutique called Cheapangga along the main highway. Anyway, we still haven't had lunch by then and we were starting to get hungry. We didn't know how long we were from the lake, so we might as well stop, eat and ask for further direction just to make sure we won't get lost.

Casa San Pablo Valentine Stay

The following is a post I drafted while we were staying in Casa San Pablo last Feb. 14, 2010. Can I just say that so far, this has been the best Valentine weekend celebration of my entire life?! ^_^

For those who want to read this Valentine travelogue from the beginning, please clickthe link below:

Valentine 2010

~~~oOo~~~

Feb . 14, 2010... I now sit here, at Casa San Pablo, one of the nicest bed and breakfast places my hubby and I have ever been to, feeling so happy and content with my life. We checked in here last night (Feb. 13, 2010), right after our windsurfing activity. Well, not necessarily right after, coz we still had to drive for almost 2 hours just to get to San Pablo City from Caliraya. The moment we entered the resort, we were just so enamored by it's tranquility and beauty. We immediately checked-in so we can change into our swimming attire and enjoy the swimming pool under the stars.

The room we got was room # 7, formerly the guest room of a renowned Filipino poet, Rofel Brion, who is also a family friend of Casa San Pablo's owners. Some of his poems are framed and hanging on the walls of this room, showing tribute to his great talent.

Windsurfing at Lake Caliraya Surf Kamp

The following is a post I drafted while we were staying in Casa San Pablo last Feb. 14, 2010. Can I just say that so far, this has been the best Valentine weekend celebration of my entire life?! ^_^

For those who want to read this Valentine travelogue from the beginning, please clickthe link below:

Valentine 2010

~~~oOo~~~

While figuring out where next to go, we saw this cottage-like dining place. We remembered this was the same food stop we've been to some 4 years ago, when we first did our Laguna road trip with Ate Rose. The place was already much bigger but it has the same scenic view of the lake at the back. I wondered if the food is still the same --- scrumptious, affordable and comes in large servings. It is!

Lake Caliraya Surf Kamp, Japanese Garden and Lagos del Sol

The following is a post I drafted while we were staying in Casa San Pablo last Feb. 14, 2010. Can I just say that so far, this has been the best Valentine weekend celebration of my entire life?! ^_^

For those who want to read this Valentine travelogue from the beginning, please clickthe link below:

Valentine 2010

~~~oOo~~~

It's amazing how when you've done something you never really thought you could do, you open yourself up to more creative ventures you never even bothered to think about before. This phenomenon may have something to do with being able to accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, and acknowledging the fact that you can be limitless, albeit imperfect, if you really want to be.

Take for instance what happened to me this Valentine weekend. I did plan to take up windsurfing lessons. I first fell in love with this water sport, no matter how superficial it was at first, when I marshalled the Neil Pryde Fun Board Cup in Boracay last January of 2008. Being a marshall at that time, for one whole week, I witnessed a lot of action in the windsurfing and kite boarding divisions. They all looked fun and I thought if these people can do it, maybe I could too! But weeks turned to months, and months turned to two years, and still, I didn't have the courage nor the time to go windsurfing. Then finally, on our Valentine weekend this year, I thought it's about time that I give it a try.

Caliraya Surf Kamp

Entrance is Php75 for day trippers and Php150 each for overnight campers. You can rent a tent for about Php300 or bring your own.

We went to Caliraya Lake in Laguna in the early morning of Feb. 13, 2010. It was freaking cold... I wasn't wearing any bra (like I usually do) and so my nips were really crying for attention. It was even colder than that time when we went to Baguio for my birthday 3 years ago, and with the wind blowing so strong plus the occasional drizzle, I started getting anxious. Could I really do this? Am I really up for it? Do I really, really want this? And so like my doubting psyche would sometimes do to me, I started noticing the other unpleasant things about this whole trip. The venue was at Caliraya Surf Kamp where the famous lake is located. It was pure nature. There were no cottages, no proper toilets and bathrooms, the soil was made of silt, full of moss and other seemingly yucky and slippery substances. It would surely be uncomfortable and I didn't have to undergo this kind of hassle.