Quoting one of the lines from Ted Mosby of "How I Met Your Mother" that struck me the most, "Nothing good ever happens after 2am". 

Why? Because we make nothing but bad decisions. 

Anything done and said after the said time of the day are terrible, worse, the ones you would regret the next time you wake up. 

But there are some truths to it so hear me out.

Our minds tend to get tired of being awake and active throughout the day thus, us being at our most vulnerable at night. Our brains just don't function properly as well as it does in the daytime. Midnight in general is certainly not the best time to make judgments, jump to conclusions and evaluate. Aaaand that is a scientific fact so whadduppppp!

I had my fair share of questionable decisions (not just at 2 am lol) but looking back made me realize that being up in the middle of the night SUCKS! This can take any form like a drunk text,

 an impulsive buy from an online store, 

begging someone to take you back (oo ikaw nga!),

 making huge and unrealistic life decisions,

(me drawing up plans in my head)

being marupok, (oo o hinde??)

 and the list goes on.

The thing is, with after a few hours of decent sleep, the desperation goes away. More rational and far less frantic. No, you don't need that person back, or you don't need that bag. You are not just in the right headspace a couple of hours ago. The confused, anxious, and desperate "you" at night is a different person in the morning. Trust me, I've been there. A COUPLE OF TIMES. AGAIN. AND. AGAIN.   

So kids, if you ever find yourself in the middle of the night, particularly at 2am. Don't do anything stupid. Just go to bed.

xoxo 

Grace

Having a staycation is literally one of my friends and I's traditions. Perhaps, it's the relaxed, comfortable, and quick getaway we need in our busy lives without leaving the Metro. And a single night wouldn't be enough, so we booked for 2 nights at The Gramercy Residences. 

The lobby was so boujee and you'd see foreigners from left to right! A pretty awesome place to go#Afamhunting! lol parang ikaw pa foreigner sa sarili mong bansa sa dami nila but oh well what do you expect, it's Poblacion. We even walked in into a couple making out in the elevator! Culture shock vebs, holding hands pa nga lang kinakabahan na ako baka pagalitan ako ni mama. Halaa?? di ka magpapa sweet ghorl!! I was like yan yan, pagbutihan nyo hehe OKAY NA BAA??

I was dead starving when we got there. Traffic sucks!

Thankfully, I ordered some pastries from Jobs so we got something to munch on when we arrived. 

We spent our first day just relaxing and playing Avalon. Talo talo na naman kame sa game na to!

Later in the afternoon, the squad dropped by the mall to buy more necessities and ingredients while making afam hunting then headed back to our unit. Eguls lahat may jowa 😤

For dinner, we opted for a Korean dish with Samgyup and Ramen. Enoki mushrooms are delicious!

Continued playing more board games since Jobs brought a lot of them. I learned how to play Dixit which connects to me on many levels. That game got me thinking of so much stuff. It plays with your emotions and creativity.

After being so personal with each story we told during Dixit, we returned to our main game, Avalon. Putting the alcoholic in the mix was just chaos! Everyone was loud and cursing. That board game will literally be ending friendships out there istg! It's worse than Uno Cards!

Also got to try this Hoegaarden Rosée did not enjoy it haha not really into drinking beer. I'd rather have lemon kase meron akong Tequila lol

The following day, we were back doing random covers while playing Ukulele! We started out as a duo, I on the ukulele and Jobs on the vocals. In the end, everyone sang and even had soothing harmonies. I just love how music brings us all together and I live for moments like this. 💕 This is what I love about this group. You could sing a single line from a song and the next thing you know, you're singing in harmony with one. Everyone can just literally jump in and join you. Ang gagaling nyo hayerp!

For our late lunch, we ordered 24 Chicken. It was soo good. So long diet! 😭😭

And finally, at night, we got to try their swimming pool. Yayy! They only allowed 4 pax per unit so the boys stayed while us girls enjoyed the infinity pool overlooking the city lights. 

Yan oh may panot na afam hala charot #oldmoney but seriously, sobrang dami nila lalo sa pool area!!

Being in the pool felt like we were in a giant aquarium, tapos kami goldfish joke lang piranha ako. 

Me and my girls!!!

Once we got back to our unit and washed up, we jammed a bit more. Kala mo may pinag praktisang gig jusko!

Before we drifted to sleep, my best friend, Bill, and I watched the last episode of "How I Met Your Mother". Then proceeded to discuss the ending. We bonded over theories and random shit we'd read online about the show. It was a perfect way to cap off our night. Also a core memory!!!!!

The next morning, we took some more photos and left because photos or it didn't happen! duhhh

and who would've thought that these photos were taken by Bill?!?! galing dibaaa!

Thank you so much, friends. Til our next staycation!

For those who want to book the unit here's their Airbnb link!

AFAM HUNTING

xoxo

Grasya

May was a month of resting coz this Tita was fucking tired. Except for the sponty trips and a wedding I was mostly at home fueling up my energy and my back?? hurts like a motherfucker!!! I literally spent 30 minutes on a massage chair just to feel better and I'm not even 30 so what the hell?

One of last month's highlights was my dearest darling paying us a visit from the US after 7 years! This woman was Bill and I's friend and classmate from high school days. She was also one of our vocalists in our charot charot band back then lol but now she has her own band in the US and actively doing gigs! astig dibaa?

We never really kept in touch ever since they migrated but it's nice feeling like she never really left at all. I swear a day was not enough to cover everything. We just have so much stuff to catch up on. And a reunion wouldn't be complete without music. Of course, we jammed! She's now back in San Fran though. Bummer but we are now in touch and do calls. We even watch them during the band practice. 

Love ya, darling! Uwi ka na ulit. 

Another highlight was my former colleague's wedding! Seems like my actual group of friends are all games and shit coz why aren't there any weddings from you guys? Come on. Keep up! I want to attend your weddings too. I want to buy a dress that I know I will wear only once ughh lol

We attended Christian and Reynalyn's wedding! Reynalyn was my previous colleague and she's the older sister of my friend, Rey. So that's how I ended up on the guest list. 

I love going to weddings especially now that I'm an adult. There are just so many emotions involved. I cried, danced, and played some games. Above all, there's just something special about being present there and witnessing two people declare their love for each other. 

Something that you fuckboys wouldn't feel halaaa? di ka magmamaldita vebs!

For the newlyweds, cheers to love, happiness, and ever after. 

Naniniwala na ako ulit sa true love, meron pa yan. 

and the same day after the wedding at midnight, my friends and I went to Tagaytay for a sponty trip. Gen Z eh nakiki sponty lol shawtyy pwarehh pwareeh fr no cap but it was super fun! Tagaytay at night was much colder. We ate at Bulalo Capital and fortunately found a Cafe at 3am. 

so there's that. 

I stayed at home most of the time, catching up on sleep and working my ass off. Being at home, made me so productive in writing songs with my ukulele. I may have written almost 15 songs in 3 years. I was super in it especially when the lockdown happened. And just 2 or 3 of them were posted on my social media. Some are still unfinished, and some need major polish haha! But the thing I love about songwriting is how creative one gets as one progresses with it. Whenever I thought of a melody I'd like to incorporate into a song, I'd usually start off playing random chords in the ukulele until I find the ones I'd like to use. The lyrics usually just come naturally as I go on. It can be random especially when I'm out with friends and thought of a good melody, I'd just pull out my phone and try to record lololol Some songs are done in an hour while some take days, months, or even years. But the feeling of accomplishing something out of 4 chords and your well-thought lyrics fueled by your emotions are what I'm most proud of.  

The earliest memory I have of songwriting was when I was in high school. Without any instruments, I would try to come up with lyrics, and melodies then I'd sing it in front of our band. Mostly would laugh at how funny and lame I sounded lol but my best friend, Bill, would try to come up with the chords on his guitar and we would try to play it. Long story short, we never finished anything haha! I recently discovered the lyrics I've written from that time and trying to redo it with just my ukulele so we will see. Will I get lazy? Will I still have this burning passion for songwriting? I don't know lmao

Wow, I sure talk a lot.

So moving on to my Netflix/Disney+ Department. 

Aside from my second run of How I Met Your Mother which I'm currently on Season 7 btw,  and the casual scroll on my Tiktok about shark attacks and crime stories, I was able to squeeze in Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Disney+. I've been putting off watching this for a while since I wanted to have all my focus and quiet time for myself. It was uh-mazing! Taylor really showed her raw vocals in that session. She also had these cute little backstories for each song. As Joe once said, "What a mind". I don't doubt him though, Taylor is indeed one giant ball of talent and endless creativity.  

Top Songs for this Month: 

1. The Apartment We Won't Share - Niki
2. Crazy - Aerosmith
3. Let You Break My Heart Again - Laufey
4. On The Drive Home - Niki 
5. La La Lost You - Niki
6. Valentine - Laufey 
7. Lonesome - Sabrina Carpenter
8. Feather - Sabrina Carpenter
9. She Used To Be Mine - Sarah Bareilles
10. Things I Wish You Said - Sabrina Carpenter

June is now up. Nag totono na ng gitara si kumpareng Jose Marie Chan. Just like that, we're in the middle of 2023. Time flies so fast. We were just talking about our New Year's Resolution na hindi naman umeffect tapos gagawa na naman ng bago. Who are we fooling? lol 

Anyway, this bitch has to go and rest. 

Bye Felicia, don't believe his lies

and make smart decisions

xoxo

Grace