the blank sheep

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN: 041012

psycholust:

1. Let go of the assumption that the world is against you, or that you were born with a gray cloud over your head.

It is an assumption that has no basis in reason or science. Sometimes we pick up a flair for pessimism from a parent who made negative assumptions about the world somewhere along the line. Either way, the sooner you can attribute your pessimism to a unique set of circumstances rather than the state of the world itself, the easier it’ll be to change your perspective.

2. Understand that the past does not equal the future. 

Just because you’ve experienced pain or disappointment in the past does not guarantee that what starts badly will end badly. Do not make a bad start turn into a self fulfilling prophecy for a bad ending.

3. See yourself as a cause, not an effect. 

You don’t have to be a product or a victim of your circumstances. Stop thinking about what is happening to you and start thinking about what you can make happen. If you’re not happy with the way your life is now, set goals and move on. Use your past negative experiences to build character and make better decisions. 

4. Use positive affirmations.

Write down short statements that remind you of what you’re trying to change about the way you see the world. Some affirmations to start with are:

• “Anything is possible.”
• “My circumstances do not create me, I create my circumstances.”
• “The only thing I can control is my attitude towards life.”
• “I always have a choice.”
• “I choose to live my positive side of life.”

5. Remember that life is short.

When you feel pessimism clouding your judgment or you start to feel down about the future, remind yourself that every minute counts, and any time spent brooding guarantees nothing but less time to enjoy whatever life might have to offer. At its core, pessimism is impractical because it causes you to spend time dwelling on things that haven’t happened yet and aren’t guaranteed to happen, and it prevents you from getting things done.

6. Be a balanced optimist.

Be a rational optimist who takes the good with the bad, in hopes of the good ultimately outweighing the bad, and with the understanding that being pessimistic about everything accomplishes nothing. 

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX

Miscellaneous posts

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE: 040712 (Part 2)

Random shots outside the church.

Dinner at Sonya’s Garden

It is usually a tradition amongst Catholic families to do a Visitia Iglesia, where you visit 7 different churches and offer a prayer or say a novena. We aren’t really much on that tradition though but we visit at least 2-3 churches in Tagaytay. Our most common church to visit is the Our lady of Lourdes Parish. There weren’t much of a crowd when we got there unlike if you go there on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.

It was a very pleasant weather in Tagaytay, unlike here in Manila. We had a dinner reservation at Sonya’s Garden after we finished our visit and it was the perfect place to cap of the night. It was very serene as usual and the cold air is what we just needed to combat the heat that we have been experiencing for the past few days. 

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE: 040712

April has officially began with a lot of noteworthy happenings going on for this month starting with the 5-day vacation in celebration of the Holy Week. The month of March was literally so fast paced and jam-packed that it was so hard to keep track of and I don’t even know where to begin. I was under pressure that I only felt during those days of cramming all of my design plates back in college and it was happening all over again. De javu is the closest, most appropriate word that could fit and would sum up the March. 

But, but, but.

April is here, so there is another month to make decisions, plans, and other conquests despite the undeniably scorching heat here in the city. I am excited for a few things this month and absolutely feeling all the positive energy that I felt at the start of the year. 

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR: 040412

                (Left): Mango Yakult with Nata (Right): Mango and Melon Fruit shake

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY THREE: Bathrooms

They say that the Bathroom should the cleanest place in the house as it reflects the person who is living in it and to test that if it is indeed clean, one can simply lay on the bathroom floor. Here are some photographs of bathrooms/powder rooms that put me in awe of how it is magnificently built. 

Everything in this picture screams elegant, modern, and sophisticated. From the tiny black tiles of the floor to the dark walls and the furniture pieces that have been selected and to the dim lights that surround the entire room.

The emerald tiled wall elevates this room to a point of modern but with a rustic feel to it. I love the greenery surrounding the whole room which contrasted to the gray, cemented walls.

You can never really go wrong with black paired with a very bright color. This Moroccan inspired bathroom makes you not want to take your eyes off it. 

(Left): I am loving the walls of this one. It looks so intricate and textured and the attention to detail that it would not look one dimension to the back to back use of black. (Right): The frames gave it away for me this time. Concrete can look elegant if paired with the right accessories and furniture, and the mismatched of accessories look like its effortlessly put together. 

Wallpapers to a lot especially if you can’t choose what color to put on your walls. It adds that depth and comfort to your house and it also serves as an accent wall. 

Mirrors simply give the illusion of making a room twice as big as it usually is so using a mirrored furniture paired with white and accent colors to finish the look of the room. 

Though modern design may look boxy or hard on the eyes, we simply cannot resist indulging our eyes to its simplicity. Nature can soften the look of any modern interior so you might want to inject this if you want to recreate modern design to your bathrooms. 

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO

A few random photos of foods and other things from the past couple of days. I have been busy with a lot of things concerning the renovation of our house and is finally done (will be posted soon) from accessory/furniture sourcing to styling and arranging.

The week that was in a collage of photos:

Monday: (March 19)

Filing receipts of the accessories I bought for our house. The whole experience reminded me the time we had our exhibit circa 2010. It was one of the stressful times and my least favorite part in design. 

Thursday (March 22)

(Spaghetti with meatballs, All Meat Pizza and Grandmother’s Pizza)

Hunger Games screening with my boyfriend and dinner at Sbarro Glorietta. I must admit that we weren’t really expecting anything from the movie other than it so hyped up and everyone I knew kept on insisting that this is a good book. We planned on watching a different film (“Mirror Mirror”, which also had good reviews from it) but we decided to join in the bandwagon instead. I wasn’t disappointed with the film even if I knew little of it and I actually want to buy the books myself. 

Friday (March 23)

Stayed at home on a Friday and the weather was beyond it’s usual temperature. It was a boiling point moment in Manila for a few days now, and as recorded as of March 22, Manila experienced it’s hottest weather this year. I continued on my “Gilmore Girls” marathon and currently on my 2nd season moving onto the 3rd. 

Saturday (March 24)

Japanese for dinner ordered Katsudon (left) and Okonomiyaki (right). This is my second time eating here at Fukuya, a Japanese restaurant in Alabang. If you want to have a fine quality Japanese taste on a budget, then you will enjoy eating here at Fukuya. 

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE: 031012

Saturdays are always reserved for a “cheap date” with my boyfriend and we’d always end up eating most of the time. We had dinner at North Park, where Chinese food on a budget always mix well together. We had the North Park Special Toast Noodles since we kind of agreed to have it and added Shark’s Fin Siomai - Steamed because we thought that having one meal would too be a bore to our palette. We barely consumed everything by the time we had ate our first dish. Nothing more can be more perfect that a happy tummy under a budget.