Sunny f/16

Three more days until I depart from my beautiful, British Columbia to head off to the motherland. I can't seem to decipher how I feel towards this particular trip. I have developed such a deep-rooted love for both of my "homes"- each so different, but both bearers of such special places in my heart. Although a month is incomparable and unable to make up for the five years that I've been away from the Philippines, I will surely miss my family, friends and Vancouver in general, dearly. 

Sigh. Thinking about my trip has made me realize how much packing I've left for the last minute, how many speeches I still need to write for each family reunion/birthday/celebration, and how many songs I need to practice and memorize. There's always tomorrow, right? 

On the brighter side, I am psyched to set foot on an airplane again. I'll finally be able to quench my long-time thirst to travel, and to document the culture there (if it hasn't already been taken over by American culture). 

Less about that, more about today! I know I've already posted photos on instagram and facebook, but if you're cool enough to stumble across this blog, feast your eyes on some exclusive photos! :) 

This past week we've been blessed with flawless summer weather, day after day. Unfortunately, the lazy side of me has been telling me not to haul my camera around and I've been stubborn enough to listen to it. - BUT Lazy Camille, no more! 

In the efforts to preserve some of my Summer here in Vancouver, I've done my best to make time for each of my friends before I leave for the Philippines. Today was definitely a day worth mentioning. Although it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, sometimes simple is best! A spontaneous picnic with Ina was enough to keep a smile on my face for the day. Even after missing my bus and having to wait an hour for the next one, the end was definitely worthwhile.

La soie et la dentelle

Dearest self and whoever else comes across this post. 

I'm currently sitting on a squeaky, nuisance of a chair that won't stay upright and I must say it's pretty downright annoying. 

I've been working my way through a year's worth of Math notes for two hours now and I've barely made it past the first unit. 

Anyways, I've decided to take a break. Hopefully after this post, I'll be able to trigger my usually motivated and productive-under pressure self. 

The sole reason I'm here today, cramming before an 8:30 exam, is because I spent half of yesterday sitting in the back seat of the car. I absolutely adore long drives because they allow me to think - taking me away from the busy, on-the-go atmosphere I usually find myself in. Also contrary to popular opinion, I'm quite fond of the overcast and rain-filled weather here in the northwest. It's calming and makes the whole "thinking time" more movie-like (and so is looking out the window and seeing mountain after mountain pass by!)

The other half of yesterday was spent buying gifts for family in the motherland for when we visit in the Summer. Just thought of it makes me feel giddy, haha! That's okay. Two more exams until Summer Camille, go go go! 

Before the hectic Christmas-like gift buying began, my family decided to eat out at the Eagle's restaurant buffet in Tulalip Casino and Resort. This is a huge stepping stone from our usual McDonald's runs by the way! As you can see, I'm a huge fan of Chocolate and Oreos. 

Annnddd along with the gift-buying, I scored a few things for myself. Unfortunately, the photo misses a lot of the details :(



And in case you missed it in the photo above, a trip to the States isn't complete without a new journal/notebook. If you know me, you'd know how many empty notebooks I have lying around... but I couldn't resist. I'm sorry. On the bright side, what better time to start a diary than during a trip home!? I'm anticipating the whole "Princess Diaries feel" of writing on a plane Ha! Also hoping this quote, as the very first thing in my diary, motivates me to do many things this Summer!



Once again, I'm sorry dear blog, that I've been reluctant to take my camera places for the past few months. After exams, I promise!

Du Sucre

Yesterday (Monday), my Marketing 11 class went on a little field trip to White Rock Beach.

Why the beach is called White Rock? Self-explanatory.

What marketing has to do with the beach? Let's just say "lots".

Quite a fun day if you ask me. I was reluctant to go at first too!

The day was spent venturing the beach, climbing the White Rock, watching the crab-fishers do their stuff, conversing with strangers and feasting on ice cream and wings.

This was the first time I put my new camera to use. Hope you like the pictures! :)

The Sun Made Them Squint

Technically, it's Monday morning as I write this.
Trying to fit in another small blog post before I start yet another busy week!

On Saturday we celebrated Bella Elyise's 17th birthday. The day started bright and early with a long transit ride to Shabusen Japanese and Korean Restaurant downtown. Hooray for being unable to finish all you can eat food, and secretly packing it because there was way too much to waste!
After lunch, we walked around for a bit, window-shopped and bumped into an interesting protest. The remainder of the day consisted of a good rest back at Rosabella's house.

Happy Bithday Belle!

Got Sunshine on Cloudy Days

I'm so thankful for the days I have homework. It seems as if those times are the only times I'm able to make a blog post.

Everything else > blog > homework, happens to be my normal routine.

 These are photos from a picnic I had with Vanessa by a local creek! We spent the day baking English Tea biscuits, then later biked down to the creek.

When we have no money to spend shopping, we make the best out of our days and spend them outdoors? I guess? Haha!

And since I honestly don't want to make a whole new post for one picture... I'll add it onto here! Today (Sunday) The fam went on our monthly states trip. I picked up a blue side bag that my mom calls "taga barrio", a reversible swim suit, metallic heels, a black romper, and a video camera! So excited to use my Hero2 this summer with you, Angelica! Shopping, Mech City Busk, Family... Today was a good day. 

le sommeil

Lately, I've had a knack for sleeping in on weekends. We've received such beautiful, not so rainy, weather here in Vancouver these past few days, but I've deliberately refused to go out to enjoy it. I'd much rather sleep in until 4pm, making up for the immense lack of sleep that I get during the school week. It seems as though the only time I go out during the weekends is Sunday mass. I feel incredibly unprepared for this upcoming week consisting of my first shifts at a new job :), three tests, one field trip, and just oozles of homework. All very exciting and nerve wracking events!

In other news, I invested on some new jewelry pieces this week! Couldn't resist on spending a dollar on each of these beauties! Hopefully, with the new job, I'll be able to save up for a new lens before I head to the motherland this Summer.

(=)<|

I don't know about you, but I think this title of mine looks like a pretty legitimate fish!
This week, each Bio 11 class has the opportunity to experience hands on activities with the animals at the Vancouver Aquarium. Each class is taken to a back room and divided into groups. These groups are rotated between five stations. Unfortunately, due to wet hands, I unable to capture photos of us holding the sea stars and anemones. Nonetheless, here are some photos taken during our free time in the gallery!

Welcoming Mr. Sun

I'm alive! And currently wide awake at 1:30AM. In comparison with my bed times this past break, 1:30 is actually pretty darn early to be heading off to bed. Spring Break has officially come to a close, and I'm back to being the busy, stressed mess that I am in exactly six hours. Surprisingly, I'm content with the outcome of my break despite the fact that I didn't leave the comforts of my room as often as I thought I would. I managed to catch up on sleep - sleeping 12 hours almost every day, and create memories with the best of friends (most of them at least!).

A picture's worth a thousand words, so here are a few to share!









More pictures to come next week because the annual Loon Lake retreat is a mere five days away!
Thanks for reading!

Spontaneity

Early morning blog post before my laptop dies, because it's inevitable that I'll have plenty of photos to upload after the hectic long weekend that I'm currently anticipating!

This photo set was taken two days ago. The best photo taking opportunities always happen to be the ones that come about unplanned. Here's to a spontaneous school day afternoon at Green Timbers Urban Forest!

struggles and such

You are always alert and keenly observant. You are not truly satisfied with your everyday status and you are seeking fresh avenues which can give you the opportunity to prove your worth. You feel that there are still many barriers that stand between you and recognition - but one by one you will overcome them. Your tenacity is your one good point - like an English Bulldog, once you take the bite, you will seldom let go.

You are feeling very disillusioned at this time and you feel that you are being left out of things. You know - or you think you know - what you want, but you seem unable to exert the effort to achieve your objectives. As a consequence, you are feeling left out and neglected. You would like to be afforded greater security and fewer problems.

You feel very lonely and frustrated at this time but your shyness and modesty precludes you from establishing any deep form of relationship. You feel rather isolated and alone. You are egocentric and you believe that you are always right - well maybe you are - but you have a short fuse and are likely to take offence for the slightest reason.

You are feeling trapped by the situation as it stands at this time and what is more, you feel powerless to remedy it. You are stressful, angry and disgruntled. You feel that everything that you try to do to change the situation is thwarted and your hopes and aspirations all seem to be receding into the ever distant future. You have reached the state where you now doubt whether your dreams will ever be achieved and this is not only causing mental stress but heartache. You need to get away from it all - you need to have time to think, to recuperate, to be able to make your own decisions.

You are anxious about all the limitations to which you are subjected to at this time. You feel that you are not valued for what or who you are. You need OUT. So why procrastinate any longer - MOVE!

For some reason, it makes me so happy to find something that is able to depict my struggles. Although for the most part they're pretty negative, it's comforting when you know how you feel. I often have a hard time expressing myself.

For anyone who hasn't taken it yet, colorgenicstest.com is where it's at! Literally takes five seconds.

R: 1

It's time to take a break from a productive work day that began when I woke up at exactly 2:43pm! Inspiration and urges to blog always seem to strike at the most inconvenient times. I'm currently in the middle of one of the most stressful school weeks (other than finals). It feels as if everyone is demanding something from me and I feel the need to give each and every one of them 110%. The desire to please others is without a doubt one of the biggest energy drainers, but when others exert a happy atmosphere = happy Camille, so it all works out in the end!

The picture above is my writer's workshop project for English. I have no idea how this project fell in with all of our other writer's workshop pieces, because this one doesn't necessarily have to include writing. The point of the project was simply to reflect on the lessons we learned in 2011 or the goals we have for 2012 in any format at all. As always, my inner yearning to come up with something totally outside of the box took over and I ended up buying tiles and a bottle of Mod Podge. Since one of my 2012 goals is to finally renovate my room (this is the fourth year i've had this goal), I decided to make wall decorations - each focussing on a lesson/goal. Pretty content with the final outcome! Time to work on the less exciting homework: Math and Chemistry.