Mornings with Mochi

This morning, as I shuffled for my glasses, my dog Mochi greeted me. Already a routine for him, he makes it a point to say good morning by laying his head on the side of my bed the moment I wake up. We bought Mochi through a breeder last March 2010. He's a cream chow chow, with purple tongue and everything! I never understood "dog people" before. We've always had cats and I've had apprehensions about getting a dog because they're so high maintenance and they smell. :p But after a few months of taking care of Mochi, I can't imagine not ever wanting a dog. There were of course a lot of ugly moments. From the shoe-chewing fiasco phase to wanting-to-kill-the-cats phase (the cats launched an attack and showed him who's boss!). But generally, Mochi has been a good dog and a wonderful addition to our family. We could spend hours just watching him and talking about him and shopping for him. Popsy has found a new "bunsoy" and Mama now has a protector. Me? He's my baby. :-) I think the reason why he fits in so perfectly is because like us, he is genuinely happy and excited about the everyday, and especially about spending time with each other. Perhaps the reason why dogs are the perfect companions is because we should be like them - contented with the little things and values family above everything else. Although it's hard work (3-hour baths, meticulous food preparation, early morning "pee-pee" breaks), there's really nothing like the feeling of seeing your dog so happy just with the sight of you. Now, I'm one of those "dog people" and watching Hachiko makes me cry even more. :-)

Hot Air Balloon 2011

(This is the result of my feeble attempt at video-editing. I have the old version of iMovie so it was kind of hard to manipulate. I find editing very calming. I forget the woes of law school because I get so OC with the details of the video. :p)

This was the third time we went to the HAB Festival. As their tagline goes, it was a day of everything that flies. There were kite-flying, aerial shows, Japanese lanterns (Tangled!), bubbles, and of course the HABs. But you have to be ready to rough it out and walk walk walk! The schedule for the HAB shows was first thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon. In the morning, they let the balloons fly. The evening was a grounded light show. Between that, we had nothing to do but eat (kwek kwek and goto!) and take pictures. Tickets were still at P150 and a balloon ride was at P7000. Because we weren't able to get photographer's passes, we were lucky enough that a friend had access to the field. Otherwise, we would have had a hard time, because there were a loooooot of people behind the fence so an unobstructed view would have been impossible.

For me HABF is always a great opportunity to feel like a kid again. To be excited about the little things, like being able to launch a kite, wave to airplanes, pretend the balloons are Christmas lights, and role play Star Wars scenes beside the Darth Vader balloon. It is also fun to spend time with family and friends over all kinds of food, from sour worms to pastel, because there's nothing else to do in the afternoon!

Photo Entry No. 2

Photo Entry No. 1: Aglow

Hot Air Balloon Festival 2011, Clark Pampanga

Escape to Ilocos Norte

A vacation quick fix is perhaps the best way to describe the province of Ilocos Norte. Just an hour plane-ride away and you’re transported to a place of immense culture and relaxation. A paradox of new and old, history and development, virgin and inhabited, Ilocos Norte was seemingly meant to be a confusing paradise of sorts – for the adventurer, the historian, the escapist.

Ilocos Norte Sunset

Thirty minutes from the airport and we ended up in the town of Currimao, where we were greeted by a friendly face, my high school best friend Toni, owner of PLAYA TROPICAL. Playa is one of the more high-end beach resorts in Ilocos Norte. Sunlit Bali-inspired villas surround the infinity pool that looks over the ocean. It is detachment from the real world, at its best and one of the most popular wedding reception and pre-nuptial photo shoot venues in the area. Our favorite spot is the hammock hanging from huge coconut trees with the view of the beach and the sunset.

Sunset at Playa

The Famous Hammock

Playa's Room

We had to fight the urge to just lounge around the resort. We drove off to PAGUDPUD, which is about two hours away. On the way, we passed by STA. MONICA CHURCH, where Imee Marcos got married. Unfortunately, they were closed for the day, but we still enjoyed taking photos by the brick walls and the beautiful bell tower. The church was also facing a bay, which makes the atmosphere all the more peaceful. After this, we saw the huuuugggeee BANGUI WINDMILLS. I was so tempted to run around flapping white cloth and sing Regine’s Biyahe Tayo, to Allen’s horror. Also on the way to Pagudpud is CAPE BOREADOR, a deserted lighthouse. The keepers let tourists go up all the way to the bulb itself. Dangerous and not outfit-friendly (wear shorts!), but worth it nonetheless. We arrived at Pagudpud at sunset. After a pretty rough ride, we chose to just enjoy the view of the big waves in front of KAPULUAN RESORT while drinking beer. Kapuluan is a surfer’s resort, with very minimalist accommodations and a very hyper poodle.

Sta. Monica Church

Bangui Windmills

View from Cape Boreador

Kapuluan Beach Resort, Pagudpud

The next day we headed to the most photographed place in all of Ilocos Norte. In CRISOLOGO ST., with its well-preserved old Filipino architecture, one would feel the urge to sing Armida Siguion Reyna songs while pretending to be Maria Clara and Crisostomo Ibarra. One strut through the avenue, and the history we just read in high school came alive before our eyes. Photographers would surely go crazy in this place! After which, we visited Chavit Singson’s BALUARTE, where miniature horses run around without care. We braved the scorching temperature to see the butterfly garden and feed the camels. For the kids in us, this was perhaps the best part.

Calle Crisologo

Baluarte

Of course, the biggest highlight of every trip (especially in the Philippines) is the food! Having Ilocano roots, it’s as if my taste buds were genetically made to enjoy everything we ate there. It truly felt like biting into history and connecting with our Filipino heritage. There is nothing more Filipino after all than a feast of longganisa, bagnet, poquepoque (don’t to pronounce the E!”) and kamatis and bagoong which can be found in many restaurants throughout the province. Of course there is the Ilocos empanada, which is an institution in itself. While many have attempted to bring this wonder into Manila, nothing has compared to buying those freshly fried Batac orange empanadas (double meat and eggs please!) with sweet vinegar and watching the oil soak into the brown paperbags. A new gastronomic experience for us was meeting the dinuguan and longganisa pizza. Not being a big fan of dinuguan, I was apprehensive to try this east-meets-west oddity, but after the first bite, I was hooked. Allen still craves for it to this day! We can't wait to visit again!

Batac's Empanada

Show and Tell

30 Days. 30 Blogs. 30 Photographs.

Hi. I’m Giselle. I talk a lot so you would think it's but logical for me to write a lot too. But unfortunately, something traumatic happened that drained away all my creative juices. Law school. Four years and my brain is left with nothing but booohhhhring cases and provisions. So this is an effort to resuscitate the more creative side of me.

Allen? Well, he's a photographer. Only he doesn't know it yet. But I hope this will show him otherwise.

The challenge? To document our story for 30 days through journals and photographs. To make the 30 days interesting. And if they aren't, to make the mundane everyday things to at least sound and look extraordinary.

Oh and why the blog title? Well first, it's one of only three things I remember, for the life of me, from photography class (along with hot foot and shutter speed). For the non-photographers, it's that thing on the camera where you insert attachments like the flash. For the photographers, forgive my stupid explanation. Beyond the technical definition, I kind of like the sound of it. The hot shoe. Like your feet can't help but move. And that's what I'd like to think of myself. An endless wanderer... in stylish shoes of course! I hope I could share some of these adventures with you!

So here we go...