The Blueberry Star

Monday, August 15, 2022

There was a childhood memory I remember so vividly.

I was about 9 or 10. Lying in our bed in our light-green painted room.

Holding a song lyrics book in her right hand, my mum would sing "We're All Alone" (originally by Rita Coolidge) but she fancied Zsa Zsa Padilla's version more, judging from the photo of her on the page. For nights, she would sing it while laying in bed before we drifted to sleep. If Last Song Syndrome (LSS) was a term back then, you would say it hit her hard! But it was angelic. She would sometimes ask me to sing along. I never got to memorize the song but I can probably hum the chorus!

Whenever she held the mic, she would sing her pieces. She never got the timing right but she would finish the songs with a proud face. She would force me to sing at every family gathering but as a young and shy girl, I hated it! But I admired her talent and it's probably the reason why singing became my passion too. My siblings and I grew up listening to the radio almost every day, we even had our own radio in our room and would sleep with it on. Every Sunday, you'd expect 70s-80s songs playing on full blast. I've never heard my Dad sing, not even once. But he would be in charge of tweaking the radio's settings and would put Engelbert Humperdinck on repeat. I have a music-loving family, I would say.

When my brother was born, he also came to love music. Compared to the shy me, he was rather quite confident in showing his singing to the family. He would belt out Mariah Carey's songs. And my mama would always be so proud! She'd always be like "he got it from me".

And just like that, both my mum and brother were gone.

I bet they're jamming together in Heaven. If I can have a chance to visit them, the first thing I will ask them is to sing so I can have the same feeling of hearing it when they're still alive. I miss them both terribly. And while this is actually making me sad, I'm still grateful that music brought our family closer.

I will never ever not love music, and you two will always be on my mind whenever I sing. This is actually the same reason I got a G Clef tattoo music will always be a part of me.

oh and look at that, Fix You by Coldplay just started playing on my Youtube!

Thank you for comforting me. Indeed God has his ways.♥

Now I'm crying while typing. 08/07-22 2:56am

To be honest, I just suddenly remember this childhood memory as soon as I sat down in my chair thinking of what to blog about today.

In Loving Memory of my dearest Mother and Brother.

xoxo

Grace

Friday, August 5, 2022

Mid Year Life Update

You probably notice that most entries I do are about life updates because honestly, I got no other blogs to post. But since I feel like going back to writing, I'm here to share what went down from the start of the year up until July 2022.

This is gonna be one heck of a lengthy post so if you feel like staying and wasting your time keep on reading!

ang lapad vebs charizzz!

January, I finally received my Levi Ackerman Nendoroid that I pre-ordered way back in June of 2021. This is my second addition to my starting collection of Nendos. It was the peak of Attack on Titan S4 last year when it aired. Everyone, including me, was all hyped about it. The slots for the pre-orders were almost full when I placed mine. And after so many months of waiting, it is here! I can hardly wait to put this on display once my room is done.

And since we are already talking about AOT, I'll show you my OxygnxAOT collab merch. I got their Levi T-shirt, their Survey Corps cap, and a jacket. I was jumping with excitement when these arrived in the mail!

From an outsider's point of view, this might seem a little weird. And believe me, I got a lot of snide remarks about this hobby. Like, it's a waste of money, they are not real, etc.

I'm just gonna say, "try harder". Shoving the reality into my face won't hurt me.

Let people enjoy things geez.

Came April, I had the opportunity to attend Cosplay Carnival. This is my first time going to a con after the pandemic. Went there all geared up with, of course, my Survey Corps jacket on! Never felt so belonged to a community before. Everyone there was so nice and they really went all out with the costumes. Met a lot of cosplayers too but the main goal was to actually buy anime merch! I bought a Levi and Eren fanarts and had a quick chit-chat with the artist Shibaruirui. I love her works! They're always all over my Tiktok FYP. I also got a Card Captor Sakura coaster, and a chibi Mikasa keychain

Dyed my hair twice in 2 months! Personally, it was like my coping mechanism. When I get stressed or just down, it's always gonna be my poor hair that takes all the blame. Or just when I'm in the mood expect a new bob or a color change. You know what they say, "if you can't change your surroundings, change your hair".

Met up with a different group of friends too.

I cannot be the only one who has certain friend groups.

- the downright bad and naughty circle, the spontaneous ones.

- the sosyal circle, the ones you usually meet in a cafe or expensive restaurants.

-the high school & college friends who luckily, are still connected with you.

- the ones you go to for life advice.

We might vibe differently, but the love I have for these people is

rather unexplainable!

My first staycation this year was with my best friend and his college buddies who became my friends too! They kind of like took me in, like a stray cat.

But now we're just all hanging out like we've known each other all our lives.

And if there's one thing I love the most about this group is that everyone likes music. Like is even an understatement. THEY LOVE MUSIC!

So much that our usual bonding would be jamming together or going to karaoke.

They are my go-to people whenever I write songs. Especially my best friend, Bill. He'd help me out with the chord arrangement and how to make the song sound better. It's nice having these kind of people who shares the same passion as you.

Going back to my story, we stayed at Selah Garden located in Pasay. It's actually one of the hotels Bill's mom manages. So we got discounts!

Our room is called Stellar Room, it's a loft type of bedroom that has 2 Queen size beds and a King size bed. This 45sqm room can house up to 6 guests. Just enough for the group.

A 3D2N stay was worth it. We swam and had good and sumptuous food.

Staffs were very accommodating too! They also offer fun activities such as wall climbing and zip line to name a few.

One of the highlights of this blog is probably this!

My whole fam was shocked when my sister broke the news to us that she's pregnant last year in November. We literally came from checking and hearing the baby's heartbeat through a doppler, from getting his first picture through ultrasound, to having her Gender Reveal in April, to finally giving birth to her son. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I was just praying that Ate and the baby would be fine after the delivery. At the last minute, in the operating room, she was left with no choice but to go through a C-section since the baby was too big.

I remember rubbing her belly before she went to the hospital asking her son to not make it too hard. I think he listened.

He is a bouncing and healthy baby boy.

Thank you Kai for not making Ate suffer so much.

Welcome to the outside world, Gennady Kai Isenheim!

The rest of the fam is still confused by your name so they're sticking with Bogart lol

But you will always be my patatas since you looked exactly like one when you were born. I hope you'll be someone who has a generous and sincere heart when you grow up. Tita Grasya will be here to support you or make you cry

but lovingly !!!

Still, in April, our company had asked us to report back to the office.

While commuting and being on-site may be rather costly, I did enjoy it because I can have a social life lol

Now don't get me wrong working from home is good. It's comfortable and has fewer expenses but seeing your officemates and being all loud is what I truly miss. These photos were taken on our first day back at the office.

Unfortunately, this will not be for long. Our company will be laying us off by June.

The pandemic did damage the business thus, us being let go.

Enjoying the remaining days we have left!

In the last week, we all swore to drink together every day after our shifts.

And we did just that!

Photos were taken each day of the week.

The team got closer since then, everyone was down to literally anything.

We would talk about life, love, and even the most random stuff you could think of. I was never a fan of beers so I opted for cocktails. Different drinks each day.

At one point, I think I got to taste every cocktail available on their menu.

Came the last day, I did not put on my usual eyeliner because I knew I will be crying. :( We had a small farewell party. I got all teary-eyed while some talked about their most memorable moment during their stay.

I think the saddest for me was when I shut down my computer and packed my office stuff. This company accepted me despite my irrelevant work experience. They took me in and made me so much better. I will always be grateful to Intrado for honing my skills and giving me experience that can be useful for my next job. To the management, for being patient and helpful. They saw potential I didn't know I have. To my workmates who became family, thank you for the friendship.

I will miss you all and I wish nothing but success in your next job and in life. ♥

To these three who stuck with me through my lowest.

TL Yssa, Xander and Muy. (Yoyo and RK)

and to the new addition to the family, Sadae.

Thank you for making my stay in the company enjoyable and worthwhile. Work became manageable because you were all there.

Whatever happens in the future, I hope you will all be happy and successful.

From the bottom of my heart, I love you guys!♥

Came July, we had another staycation!

This time it's for Bill's birthday celebration. I already made a blog about this so

just click here if you want to read more about it!

In the last week of July, we went to Baguio which I also made a post recently.

Again, just click here for a more detailed blog entry.

and that wraps up my mid-year life update!

A lot has happened already and with a few more sleeps, we'll hear

Jose Marie Chan!!!

And since we are all caught up, I will be back on my monthly blog entry series starting with August.

Did you skip some parts?

Did you read it all?

If yes, then thank you!

Just you scrolling here is enough for me :)

Have a great rest of your day everyone!

xoxo

Grace

Monday, August 1, 2022

Back to the City of Pines

Guess who's back in Baguio after 3 years ???

It is I!

Finally took a quick escape to my happy place. I'm not much of a traveler but Baguio is legit my fave city amongst all I've visited. And to be there, just breathing and doing nothing makes me feel at peace.

I've been wanting to go back for the longest time. In fact, I've been wanting to live there too! It has always been a dream of mine. Maybe one day I can fulfill it once I have the means to do so. They opened up to tourists last year but they require a negative swab result and a QTP code from Visita Baguio which was a bit of work so my lazy friends and I kept on rescheduling it until we found out that they no longer require them. We booked rooms through Airbnb and off we went. It was a smooth 4-5 hours drive from Manila. We also got a QTP code in case they look for one.

Do you see the fog? uwaaahhh!

We checked in at our unit around 2 pm. This is located at Moldex Residences, a bit far from the city proper but I loved every bit of it. It's quiet and a little private.

The view from our condo is soo beautiful. This photo just doesn't do justice!

I could live here! ♥

The best part of our unit is this terrace!

We spent the afternoon resting from the long drive then had dinner at the infamous Good Taste.

There was a pile of people lined up outside. Waited for about 15-20 minutes to get a table.

We had Buttered Chicken, Beef Brocolli, and Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet.

Took a refreshing night stroll around Burnham Park after. Supposedly, we planned on bar hopping but they close earlier than expected. So we decided to have alcohol and stayed at the Airbnb instead.

Here's everyone!!

It's also the birthday celebration of our TL and a good friend of mine, TL Yssa ♥

Catching up while sipping on Soju =is probably the best way to end our first night.

The next day, we enjoyed a simple breakfast while admiring the view and feeling the coldness of the weather.

I'm soo in love. ♥

Yo girl went from sipping alcohol last night to sipping tea in the morning.

As if it's gonna make up for all the food intake yesterday lol!

This will be by far my fave Baguio memory.

Me in my pambahay clothes, messy hair, sipping tea on this tiny terrace while appreciating how beautiful mornings in Baguio can be.

After what felt like a lifetime of staring into nothingness, we prepped up and went on our second day.

We had lunch at Bistro by the Hill located at Camp John Hay.

I had their Spaghetti Puttanesca with Chorizo and TexMex Fries.

Rating it 9/10 for both dishes. Generous serving and delicious!

The next stop was at Chocolate de Batirol.

There's a looong line too so we had to wait for about 20 minutes.

Like the tourist that we are, we took photos to kill time.

This cafe is situated in a rainforest garden.

They serve hot chocolate and other Filipino cuisine.

Chocolate de Batirol is actually hot cocoa made from tablea, or blocks of ground and roasted local cocoa beans.

I got their Hazelnut-flavored one.

It was epic.

Now that the night is nearing we all decided to stop by Sky Ranch Baguio.

Rode the Viking and the ever-popular Baguio Eye which I really enjoyed.

Because one, I'm not always up for the thrill (I know boooring right?), and two, I'm scared of heights. But since I was with my group, I felt like I could be brave. and indeed I was.

At this point in time, we were all starving from all the walking we did.

Believe me when I say I enjoy walking now and this is a cold city so I didn't mind it at all. It was the uphill slope that made me tired lol

Walked around SM Baguio and Session Road to have our dinner.

Feeling like a frustrated 20-something school girl in this fit!

50s Diner is one of my fave restaurants in the city, I actually prefer the one located at Military Cutoff Rd but with dead legs and starved stomachs we were left with no choice. The vibe is pretty much the same though. The food was hella good of course! They were never short on servings. It's always full.

Just look at my Clubhouse order. I was expecting some tiny, cute cuts of bread but what they gave me could feed 4-5 people!

The one in Miltary Cutoff Rd is just less crowded and not located inside the mall making it seem a little private to me.

We went back to our Airbnb and called it a night. Planned to leave first thing in the morning so I slept early.

but lo and behold this mf woke up at 2am!!!

I couldn't sleep at all.

I stayed at the terrace, played some music, and embraced the coldness while feeling sentimental being the drama queen that I am, I probably shed a tear or two lol

Had some time to contemplate life and everything. This was such a perfect moment for me.

I'm just so in love with this city ♥