Past, Present, Future

I spent this afternoon back in DLSU for some pre employment requirements and boy, do I miss Taft life. I've read this quote on Tumblr a few years back, "Everything is magic until it becomes a routine." And so far, in every aspect of my life, it has been proven true. Being a college student a few months ago seemed like the most ordinary thing for three years. It was a routine, going to school Mondays to Thursdays, meeting my professors, the usual where-to-eat-lunch dilemma, the hassle enlistment process at the end of  every term, doing research in the library, being so happy that Friday means no classes... and the list goes on. Now that I'm out of that lifestyle, no matter how excited I am to be a working girl (in 5 days no less!!!), I realized I  kinda miss my university days too. 

I remember a particular conversation with friend once when we were in our sophomore year in high school. Between our freshmen and sophomore year, our high school implemented an improved grading system (which means higher passing rate). She tells me how much she misses our freshmen year, how it seemed so easy and how we used to be carefree. Then another conversation comes to mind, this one was overheard from two senior girls I saw during our Frosh orientation in La Salle. The other girl looks at us, a long line of Froshies, then goes, "I'd give anything to be a Frosh again." It seems like a part of us will always be stuck in the past.

I am a creature of habit. As boring as it sounds, I find comfort in routine. But I have always been future oriented. I'm always looking forward. When I was in grade school, I looked forward to entering high school, then I looked forward to having the freedom of a college student then I looked forward to being part of the corporate world. However, there's also this part of me who keeps on looking back, who keeps on imaging how easy and simple and different things used to be. It's kind of a paradox, really. Nostalgia hits me once in a while, I like remembering how things were and how much things have changed. But then I know that the best days are yet to come so I always look ahead. Being wistful yet expectant balances things out for me. One lesson I'd love to learn soon is how to completely stay in the present - to not look back and not look ahead but completely immerse myself in the moment. 

Stradivarius Top | Cache Cache Skirt | Clothes for the Goddess Denim Polo | Call It Spring flats | Panda hat from Baguio |

Love, Paola

Won't You Save Me, San Francisco?

Hello from San Francisco! Let's just pretend that while reading this post, you have Train's song playing in the background *I've been high I've been low, I've been yes and I've been oh hell no, I've been rockin rollin disco, won't you save me San Francisco* This outfit shots were taken in less than five minutes because I had no plans of shooting it anymore since it was raining hard that day! But when we got by The Crooked Street, I can't help but snap a few shots. However, I realized that I have the habit of being overdressed for occasions and being underdressed for the weather. It was so much colder in San Francisco compared to LA, and all I have were skirts and tights. I had to borrow a coat from my aunt and deal with my fashionable but very unpractical choices of clothing! 

Clothes for a Goddess denim polo | Zara skirt | Stradivarius belt | Steve Madden tights | Mango loafers

We took a five hour bus ride from LA to SanFo, which was surprisingly convenient and delightful! I was pretty excited to visit San Francisco that's why even if our time was very limited, we sqeeuzed in the trip and stayed there for three days. We met up with my Ninong Dan and his family and stayed with them! One more thing I love about our entire trip was that we got to meet a lot of people, both old friends and new ones, who were all so gracious to welcome us in their homes and take us around more! Usually our travels abroad involve staying in hotels and touring the places by ourselves or with tour guides but it was much more fun and meaningful to do it with family and friends!

 Unfortunately, it was a rainy day when we toured the city! The weather did not cooperate!

Our first stop was a viewing spot of the Golden Gate Bridge but since it was raining, it was hard to take pictures and it was a little foggy. So we decided to just come back for it later as we wished for a better weather.

 The trams that go around the city.

 There it is, Union Square!!! 

We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory which was at Macy's at Union Square.

During our trip, I had a list of restaurants I wanted to try and Cheesecake Factory was at the top most of that list!!!

THOSE GLORIOUS CAKES!!! My love for cheesecake is intense and passionate lol 

I love the feel of the place!

 The food did not disappoint! Everything was really yummy but I read on the internet the this restaurant has an insane amount of calories in their dishes. One serving of their pasta has almost 1200 calories! That's the daily calorie requirement for an adult for one whole day already! But this was one of those times to go YOLO since it was worth it anyway! Haha

 My Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake!!!! Look at that big chunk of cookie dough in the middle!

 Surprisingly, San Francisco looks exactly like how I pictured New York in my head!

 This building looks straight out of a Harry Potter film in Diagon Alley!

 A scary looking dog with very cute and equally distributed colors!

 After lunch, we tried our luck again and went back to Golden Gate Bridge but the weather still wasn't cooperating.

 But Ninong Dan went to this view point which has the perfect view of the bridge that's why even if it was raining, we went crazy taking pictures!

 Since we are loving the bridge too much, we went to another view point which has an even better view but it takes climbing up. My ears and my jaw started hurting and my eyes were tearing up from the cold and the uphill walk but not complains! I was in beautiful city and about to city a beautiful landmark!

 Alcatraz from a distance! It would've been nice to see this iconic and controversial prison! According to my ninang, she tried to get tickets but apparently you have to book it months in advance! 

 Golden Gate Bridge!!!! 

The roads of the city is full of slopes and slides that even if we didn't get to explore a lot of places because of the bad weather, driving around was entertaining enough!

 The Crooked Street at Lombart! It took as a while to find this but we made sure not leave without seeing it! It really was amazing that we drove by it twice!

 The top most part also shows the perfect view of the city!

After The Crooked Street, we went back to Salinas and faced heavy traffic and ended the day with dinner with my Ninong's family! Thank you again Ninong Dan and Ninang Gloria! Till next time! 

Love, Paola

Happy Girl in the Happiest Place on Earth

Who's a happy girl in the middle of Disneyland's Mainstreet?! Me, of course! Never mind that there were so many people watching me as I jump, raise my hands and feet, twirl and do other weird stuff while taking these photos. That's how happy I was, I couldn't care less! This is my third time in Disneyland but first time in the one in California and I was excited as ever!!! Disneyland will always have a special place in my heart, and whenever I'm there, it never fails to prove itself as really the happiest place on earth! Plus this visit was extra special since I was with my seven cousins (I jokingly told them that they can be my seven dwarfs and I can be Snow White haha) who have endless energy and are all game to all the rides I suggest, even the scary ones! Since I am the eldest, I was holding the map the entire time and deciding which rides should we try and which sections should we visit next while keeping up a headcount of the little kids every now then! I really felt like an Ate that time, it's heartwarming!

Fiftystreet jacket | Forever 21 sleeveless top | Stradivarius skirt | Anne Klein tights | Mango loafers

Love, Paola