:)

this year's holy week has been one of the most restful times i've had so far this year. and by far the most memorable and enjoyable. 

stretching out on the couch while enjoying, nay, revelling in the silence of my surroundings never felt oh, so good. way better than going out of the metro with the rest of the populace to any mountain or beach resort this time of year. granted, there are still a lot who have the same thinking as my family has, but the population still decreased significantly like it always does. however i am in that place right now where i don't want tomorrow's deluge to come. which naturally happens when all good things are at an end. so i'm milking the dregs again of this glorious peaceful atmosphere. 

tinkering on my toy piano (electronic keyboard, actually) like there's no tomorrow was fun. piano pieces learned decades past came back to me bit by bit, as well as a renewed effort to continue playing the piano by learning new pieces. i am so rusty already to begin with, but am glad am still able to play the simple pieces i've learned long ago. 

two straight days of arnis training were a big help this holiday, considering that these two days might be the last time i get to practise for next weekend's gathering. i really hope and pray that i would be able to get that green belt. 

while my family didn't plan on leaving manila, we did go on an outing to antipolo to see the hinulugang taktak (waterfalls) and visit some relatives there. we left at lunch time so we stopped by tapsi ni vivian. it's my first time to eat there and i so loved the tapsilog. the fried egg was done just right, the garlic fried rice had just the right texture: not too dry, not too malata; and the beef tapa was tender and on the sweet side, which i like. 

hinulugang taktak is one of the attractions in antipolo, so much so that a song was written about it. it is beautiful and the area is clean and well-maintained albeit the lack of trash cans, with cabanas that dot the side of the stream. there is also a sort of a view deck with monobloc chairs where people can sit and enjoy the view. but what broke my heart is the fact that the place doesn't smell fresh at all. maybe this could be the next clean-up project of the government. and that's all i'll say about that because the rest of the trip is as pleasant as can be, with me lounging on the hammock the rest of that afternoon in my tita's garden, revelling in the silence (duh), daydreaming, gazing at the shattering blue of the sky while eating cold kaimito and toasted siopao. 

i never left the hammock except to visit another relative who lives in the same subdivision, and then when it became too dark and the mosquitoes were starting to feast on my legs. 

good friday might just be the best time of the lot. spent most of the day doing whatever came to mind, which mostly involved stretching out on the couch. haha. but come evening time, finally met up with a school friend whom i've been chatting with for some months. funny how we say meet up for coffee but end up getting other items instead. my friend had the pomegranate iced tea while i had my usual hot chocolate but what the hey. great conversation even if it's just for about an hour. then, said friend dropped me off at bgc where i met up with my family for dinner. the temperature had dropped slightly as the night went on, which made for a pleasant walk. a good friday indeed.

that day also added three new songs to my playlist: 

di na muli by itchyworms

kahit ayaw mo na by this band

buwan by juan karlos

di na muli is my favourite among the three so i'm putting it here. i love the video. don't know why this song puts a silly grin on my face though. 

so yup. this is definitely one of the times i enjoy living in metro manila.