Kiss, kiss, kiss.

M
We were drinking cheap rum at a friend’s house, it was all we could afford from our meager college allowance. Everyone else was too plastered to function so you volunteered to take me home. I was mumbling my thanks when you suddenly grabbed my face and kissed me right smack in the mouth. The only thing I could think about was how rough your tongue was. It was like sandpaper rubbing against mine. You asked if I would go out with you, I said no.

B
You were the club’s bartender. I met you at a time when I wanted alcohol more than I could afford. The bar you worked at had ridiculously priced drinks, I got them all for free. While I was waiting for you to get done with work, you leaned across the counter and planted a kiss on my cheeks. I thought that was sweet so I tugged you back for another one, on the lips this time. When we went out to a movie, you bought me popcorn. Somehow, I could not get over the fact that you just cannot pronounce CHEESE right.

A
I met you at a concert, you offered to show me a magic trick. I was quite taken by your looks, and you spoke English in a way that I like. I spent the rest of the concert with you, away from the stage, at the very back of the crowd. I kept asking for more magic tricks, but then you said you’d need to charge. I tentatively kissed you, then you pulled me in closer. Breathless, you whispered to me, “Apparently, you could also do magic with your mouth.”

X
We were all drunk and honestly getting bored, ready to call it a night. Then your stoner roommate climbed up to the rooftop and started passing around a lit joint. I didn’t take a hit but I still managed to get high from all that secondhand smoke (who knew that was even possible?). You started stroking my hair, repeatedly saying how long and soft it felt. You kissed me. When you lifted your face away to take a breath I started laughing, then you joined in. We laughed until there were tears in our eyes. To this day, I still can’t figure out what was so funny.

D
You tasted sweet, but not sickeningly sweet. The kind of sweet that had me asking for more. You always gave me more. For some reason, you always liked kissing the insides of my wrists. Sometimes when my wrists hurt from being on the computer for too long, I remember you. And my wrists hurt a little less…

The Lady in Waiting

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She struggles to keep herself still. Her left hand playing with her earrings, her right one fidgeting through her hair. She knots her hair up in a bun, pulls down wisps of hair here and there. She checks herself out in the compact mirror she just pulled out from her bag, scrunched her face in dislike and took the elastic off her head. Her hair falls beautifully around her face. Better. She actually likes this better than the bun. She smiles at herself in the mirror, then stops as if in shock. She has lipstick stains on her teeth. She tugs at her table napkin and hastily wipes the blood-red paint off her pearly whites. She smiles again, and smiles wider now that she has fixed the mistake.

She takes a sip of her water and leaves a perfect lip stain on the glass. She seems to like it as she did not try to wipe this one off. She looks at her watch and sighs loudly, disappointment and slight annoyance clear in her expression. Her dinner companion is running pretty late. She reaches for her phone at the table, taps at the screen and sends a message. She puts it back on the table, and the phone immediately blinks back to life. She breathes a sigh of relief as she finished reading the message. Her companion must be arriving soon enough. She pats her hair in place and settles back down into her chair.

Her face lights up as a man enters the restaurant. She sits a little taller giving a vigorous wave and beckons the man over. She picks off her bag from the seat beside her, clearly wanting the man to sit close to her. But the man takes the seat across the table, gives her a brief smile that does not quite reach his eyes. She reaches out her hands to touch him, he moves a quarter of an inch away. She did not miss the gesture and retracts her hands as if she’d been burnt. A thousand thoughts runs through her mind, all of them leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She squirms in her seat. She struggles to keep herself still.

Agua Grande: where the river meets the ocean…

I wanted to share with you a few pictures from a very short stopover at Agua Grande on our way to another tourist spot (this is after going to Blue Lagoon and Bantay Abot Cave).

I have been to Agua Grande a couple of times as a little kid. The oldies would take me with my cousins on a picnic and we could easily spend a day just frolicking around the river. Agua Grande is actually an estuary – a point where the river and sea meets. Cool, right?

Agua Grande translates to dakkel a danum in Ilocano. It is actually a mini hydro-electric power plant built during the Marcos regime to supply electricity to the residents of Pagudpud. I am not sure though if it is still fully functional to this day.

Stay tuned for two more Ilocos Norte tourist spots!

Water me, please!

This is my latest and currently favorite Instagram post, so far. (Shameless plug: if you haven’t followed me yet go find me at IG – my username is @kleypas.)

This photo was taken last Saturday at Pinto Art Museum – more detailed post about the museum soon!

This particular art piece was a part of a house set-up complete with a rocking chair, sofas, plants, cupboard full of kitchen staples, lamp and many more. The clincher? These are all made of paper! The flowers were printed “Smell me” and the leaves “Water me please”.

I can’t wait to share more photos from the museum! Watch out for them!

Bantay Abot Cave (Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte)

Bantay is the Ilocano term for mountain, and abot translates to hole. In direct translation, Bantay Abot could mean ‘mountain with a hole’. However, it’s not really a mountain, LOL. There’s actually no cave there, too. I think this makes my title very misleading haha! (*scratches head*) But to my defense, that’s really how the locals call it. :p

After a very relaxing afternoon at Blue Lagoon, we decided to check out Bantay Abot which we saw earlier on the way to the beach. To reach the mountain (or more like a hill), we had to go from the road down a very steep path with uneven steps. The path leading to the hole can be menacing too – one wrong step and you could slip and crack your head open in one of the sharp, jagged rocks. So mind your footing!

I was taken by the beauty of this wall of rock. The colors are so pretty and you can clearly see the difference of textures of the lower part (where the waves hit it) from the upper part (still jagged and pretty much untouched). For easier walking, stay close to the walls because the flat stones in the middle area are very deceiving. They can be very slippery due to moss.

We climbed up through the hole and were greeted by this. From inside the hole, we had a clear view of the waters of Blue Lagoon. It was also colder in that part I guess mainly because of the trapped air in the concave created by the walls of rocks. You can also hear the echoing sound of waves crashing to the shore. So serene…

The hole is purely natural though I don’t know exactly how it was created. Some say it might have been due to an earthquake way back. Others claim that strong waves that battered the mountain/hill eventually created a hole.

These last two shots were snapped on our way back up to the road. Mountain + clouds + sea = perfect. ♥♥♥

50 Shades of Blue at Blue Lagoon (Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte)

I just came back to the Metro from attending my sister’s high school graduation in Ilocos. Separation anxiety is hitting me big time so I guess I should just blog about the places I got to visit for the very short time that I had to spend with my family.

I touched down at Laoag International Airport late Saturday afternoon, no thanks to Cebu Pacific Air’s perennial delayed flights. Hay naku, what’s new. That day was put to waste because of a delayed flight. Tsk. So anyway… On Sunday, my mom finally brought out the lobsters that were frozen for a long time (coz they were waiting for me to come home, sweet! ♥♥♥), and decided to go out of the house and spend the day at the beach.

We drove for more than an hour to get to Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud. I have been to Pagudpud many times over the years but I’ve never really been to Blue Lagoon before. We always used to go to Saud, mainly because it is relatively nearer from where we live. Driving further up north was worth it, though.

The weather was so nice that day. One thing I love about being in the province is that it was still very breezy despite the sun being all out Mr. Bright. We rented out a small hut where we could feast on our lunch. After filling up on lobster and watermelon (yum yum yum!), the oldies settled down for siesta time. The young ones, including me lol, opted to bake under the sun.

The best part is that we felt like we had the beach all to ourselves. Apart from our group, there were only a few others who were around that area. I guess most tourists were drawn to the more famous and much more crowded nearby resort – Hannah’s. I especially loved watching those three kids play around the water.

The water at Blue Lagoon is so mesmerizing. The varying depth of the sea resulted to a beautiful mix of blue hues. The clean, white sand provides a perfect base for all the blue colors. One needs to be wary when getting in the water, though. It might be scary for non-swimmers because the waves could pull you in farther into the sea really fast and this could be disastrous because the sea bed dips low so suddenly.

The waves are so strong I actually saw this girl lose her bikini top. LOL. And I might have seen a few too many buttcracks that day. O_O

Two other tourist spots to visit will be featured in my next entries. Stay tuned!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lunchtime

Of all the household chores there is, the only thing I like doing is cooking. As often as I can, I try to prepare and bring packed lunch (and sometimes dinner) to work. It’s just more economical and healthier than the common fast-food alternative. As much as I can, I try to cook clean but still try to keep it exciting. (Read: TRY) I could always use new recipes, though. Leave in the comments what easy recipes you love to cook.

(1) The usual suspects: pan-grilled chicken breast with veggies. Sometimes I replace the chicken with skinless porkchops.
(2) Steamed cream dory with bok choy and chayote tossed in oyster sauce.
(3) Simple pasta with spicy tuna.
(4) Corned beef omelette topped with grated cheese: a clear sign that I’m running out of fresh produce and that I need to do my groceries ASAP.
(5) The usual way I prepare my veggies: steamed or pan grilled with some butter and pepper.

 

You can view other Weekly Challenge posts here: Weekly Photo Challenge