Stuff I've been doing the past month

July's almost over and I feel as if the 4-month summer isn't enough. I think it'll never be enough. But then again, I take pleasure in studying, so might as well enjoy the coming semester. Back in April, I made a bucketlist for the things I'd finally have time to do and I'm sure I've crossed out a few things:

Work out and lose some weight (I love food and I love my fat)

Learn how to screenprint  (I haven't truly mastered the technique)

Draw and paint more

Go on a vacation (Puerto Galera backpacking)

Read more books  (Holla, A Song of Ice and Fire)

Get more video games (Final Fantasy X, X-2, XIII and  XIII-2, as well as WatchDogs and Beyond)

Paint on canvas bags (Urgh, biggest frustration!)

Shop in Divisoria 

But more than that, a lot of other things have happened, and I've been truly happier these past few weeks. July's opened a lot of new possibilities for me, including meeting new people and being part of a community. I've been able to spend more time with my high school friends and simmer down a little from the hulabaloo of the usual chaos that regularly ensues in my life. Anyway, this will be a longer-than-usual post summarizing this past month (or at least, the latter half of the summer):

I've been painting a whole lot more, but I feel like it's not enough. 

I've also taken to painting minis. 

We're pretty close to finishing this wall at The Warrior Poet. Currently, it's a little more than this. 

So apparently, there's something better than Dungeons and Dragons, and it's Legend of the Five Rings (L5R).

This was the only picture I was able to take in Puerto Galera. 

Puerto Galera was fun, even if we were only there for a couple of days. What happened was, Nico and I spent Friday night at Cubao Ex until 2am (Playing L5R). Then, took a bus to Batangas Port by 3am, got to the port by 6. Waited an hour to ride our ferry, and so we got to Puerto Galera at about 9AM. After dropping off our things  at the hotel, we decided to get food for lunch, and funny thing was, when we were out buying food, the wind picked up and it rained hard, blowing everything about. It was scary, but over in 30 minutes. Since it was a little gloomy, we decided to hang out around the resort for the rest of the day. Come Sunday, the weather was really amazing. A few clouds, but sunny and warm nonetheless. Walked around the beach for a couple of hours and it was time to go after that. we arrived back in Manila by 6, and visited Cubao Ex again before going home. It was a good trip, for only 2000 pesos. I'd do it again in a year, definitely.

Also, over the summer I've gotten into the Meeple Power community hosted in the Appraisery. It feels like family in there, you know? One day you discover the shop, play a few games with people you barely know-- then, bam-- suddenly you feel like you've known these people for years and it feels great. They're not just people you play with-- no. They're friends and it's good to have people who have the same humour and culture as you do-- something you can never get in college/university (relative to me, perhaps). It's not only people from The Appraisery, but the network of those who are regular in Cubao Ex as well. In the past few months I've been able to meet so much people and it's all because of being in the "boho" community that is Cubao Ex. I know all I've posted is the shirt but I shall post a photo of the Meeps another day.

By the length of this post it seems that I've done relatively a lot, but again, it will never be enough. Even though school's starting within a couple of weeks, I'll always try to do and explore new things and meet news people like summer never ended. 

Stay awesome, 

Eliza

TABOO Magazine

During summer classes, we had to make a mock magazine containing all our literary works from Humanities I. It was pretty fun if I say so myself. I hope I engage more in stuff like these. I feel like I was made for it. I know it's not much, and I haven't had any prior training with fine arts or advertising, or media and all that jazz, but I just want to salvage all I've self-learned ad actuate it from theory.

I have my existential crises, and part of them's-- I feel like I made a mess of the career path I was made to be in. Don't get me wrong, I can't see myself as anything else besides being in medicine, but part of me just wishes that I could live another life after this one and be the artist I could never be in that one. I have too many existential crises. Like in the wee hours of the morning I lie awake and think, "Holy crap, I'm going to die someday." or "Holy crap, I'm at a third of the average life expectancy." But enough about that-- I was talking about this magazine right 'ere.

But actually, no-- I have nothing else to say about it.

Getting back into art

So I sold two sets of watercolors, a set of acrylic and a set of oil paint for a set of gouache. Still testing it out. I really want to improve this year and it's hard to do that when you're not a kid anymore. Because when you're a kid you don't give a crap about what other people think of your art and you just do it for yourself. But when you're an adult you begin to have second thoughts about your technique and skill that you get ashamed of your abilities because you can compare yourself to other people and that limits my creativity. I should stop thinking like that. 

A year and 5 months later

 ...And I am still so whipped. It's actually been two-and-a-half years since I've been in love with this man (and one year of that was, I thought, one-sided). From the Crocs-wearing boy who was struggling with his thesis, you're now an amazing young professional with a more amazing way of handling yourself. You've certainly gone a long way and it's all up, up, and away. Even though we fight when we don't get what we want, I always want to be with you and knowing you'll be there for me every year of my life is enough. I'm too much in love with you that it hurts sometimes (rak na itu), but it's okay. I can't contain the feels. You are amazingly handsome in every way-- in the way you look, in the way you talk, in the way you always protect me, in the way that you're always a gentleman and in the way you work your hardest. 

I still get so kilig when we're just sitting somewhere (on a bench, in a jeep, at home, in church) and we just hold hands. And it started there. Gosh. I'm rambling. 

Look, all I know is, I love you, and I decided to love you no matter what. It'll never change. We are end game. ;-)

Drawings

Sometimes I ask myself how high (metaphor) I was when I drew these. And sometimes I wish I could get back to that so I can be more spontaneous with my art.