Virgo: Tales of Magic

August 23, 2020

I'm happy to announce that on August 9, 2020, my second short story, "When a Witch Is in Love", was published by 8Letters as part of the Virgo: Tales of Magic anthology! (I know, I'm about two weeks late in posting this, but, what can I say, I'm very forgetful when it comes to updating my blog haha)

Funnily enough, the road to this anthology has been a very long one, starting in 2018. Unlike with my first short story (also published by 8Letters), it was a call for submissions, and not a contest, so I didn't have to worry about getting votes, just simply passing the editors' standards. The theme was a soft-read witch story, and I wrote Witch in about a month, cramming the last third of it in the few days before the deadline, as usual. However, a few weeks later, 8Letters got back to us and, unfortunately, only three stories had passed their editors' standards. Since they needed more than three stories, the anthology was cancelled.

Fast forward to 2019, about a year later, when 8Letters announced another call for submissions with a similar theme. As soon as I read their post, I jumped at the chance to finally get Witch published! I submitted it again, and was lucky enough to have my story accepted. After two rounds of editing with 8Letters, we had the final product. This time around, we had enough stories for the anthology, so publishing went without a hitch.

UNTIL *lightning strikes in the distance* COVID-19 decided to pay a visit. Talk about bad timing right?? So, yet again, the anthology was pushed back. Thankfully, this time it was only for a few months: August 2020, instead of April 2020. In the end, 8Letters decided to take their literary festival online, and they launched Virgo: Tales of Magic on the second to last day!

The launch was incredibly fun, and each author posted a little something for their Author Corner. I posted a little aura test that I made with the help of my wonderful friend Kat, as well as my interview with 8Letters. You can find both below, along with an excerpt of my story and the anthology's cover!

1. What was your inspiration for your story? How did you come up with its concept?
As soon as I heard that the prompt was magic, I knew that I wanted to bring romance into it. Most people think of witches in a forest, brewing up something potentially evil, but I prefer the more modern idea of witches - a young witch just starting to learn the responsibilities that come with magic perhaps? And that was it. My mind immediately painted a picture of Naomi obsessing over her crush on Lucas and trying to get him to fall in love with her.

2. If you were to have any magic or superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it?
I think my power would be the ability to heal nature or encourage growth. I'm very passionate about the environment, so I'd love to be able to use that ability to revitalize damaged ecosystems.

3. If you were a witch, what would be your 'specialty'? Would you be a moon witch? An elemental witch? Etc.
As I mentioned earlier, I love nature, and I've always felt a connection to the earth. I really feel like I'd be an earth witch, working away to better the world, probably holed up in a cottage far away from other people so that I can have some peace and quiet.

And that concludes my blog on Virgo's launch! If you're interested in buying Virgo, you can do so here: bit.ly/VirgoBook
Until next time!

Bellyache cover with Julia Quijano!

May 25, 2019

Another cover I did with Julia! We decided to do Bellyache by Billie Eilish because
1. Billie is amazing (shout out to my fellow homeschoolers!),
2. this song is amazing, and
3. we are amazing HAHAHA

But in all seriousness, it can be hard to find a song that complements both of our voices and whose notes fit both of our vocal ranges, so this was a great choice for us! It also didn't take long to record and edit everything since Julia recorded the guitar beforehand.

We had a lot of fun making our two covers, and this has been the most productive recording session we've ever had. It's truly shocking how much we got done in one day (which says a lot about our previous sessions I think? XD).

If you like our covers, be sure to leave a like and check out Julia's other tracks! She's a fellow singer-songwriter and has some of her original songs on her SoundCloud :)

Until next time!

Fake Love/Caroline/Broccoli/Black Beatles/3005 Mashup

May 19, 2019

Hi guys! It's been a while since I released new tracks, but don't worry, there's a lot coming up--as soon as I figure out my goddamn cover art haha. But for now, here's a mashup I did with my friend, the aforementioned milk tea lover, Julia Quijano!

This mashup has been brewing for THREE YEARS ever since I saw Alex Aiono and William Singe's mashup of Fake Love, Caroline, and Broccoli. I added two more songs, Black Beatles and 3005, and turned it into a 5-song mashup. This was also done in one take, cuz we were lazy HAHA, and luckily it turned out great!

I hope you like it, and if you do, be sure to leave a like and check out Julia's Soundcloud!

The Stojo Biggie and its little cup holder

April 10, 2019

Story time!
It all began last year, when I was trying to think of gift ideas for my friend, the amazing Julia Quijano. I knew I wanted it to be something that could help her be more environmentally friendly, and she LOVES bubble tea, so of course I thought of a reusable, collapsible bubble tea cup!

I did some research and found the Stojo Biggie. It had a 16 oz capacity, had a straw that seemed big enough for milk tea pearls, and was collapsible (and therefore super easy to carry around). Unfortunately, the company couldn't tell me where I could buy their product in Cebu. After that, I was pretty much lost since there weren't any other gifts that were as environmentally friendly and useful for Julia.

UNTIL I saw the Stojo Biggie in the Robinsons Galleria branch of True Value!!!

I was walking down the aisle where they have the jugs and cups and bottles and I saw this collapsible cup. At first I thought it was yet another brand that only had a regular sized straw, but then I saw it had a big bubble tea straw. So I looked at the rest of the cups that were still in their cardboard holders and saw that it was the Stojo Biggie! It also happened to be on sale that day, so you BET I bought one. Well, actually, I bought two: one for myself and one for Julia.

To add a personal touch to the Stojo, I sewed a bag/cup holder for it! I made my own pattern for it and it was a torture to finish, but I did it! I used a spring cord lock to make it easy to open and close, and braided an embroidery thread string to add some color to the bag.



Stojo Biggie Review:

I tested it for leakage using some water, and it is leak-proof, except for when you tilt it so that the liquid is right up against the cover flap. Even then, it's a very small leak near the mouth, so just...don't tilt the cup that way haha.

I also tested the straw and found that small pearls CAN fit through it, but I haven't been able to test it out with the big bubbles yet. Sadly, the mouth of the cup isn't big enough for a metal bubble tea straw, so that's not an option. If big bubbles can't fit through the silicone straw, I will definitely email Stojo so that hopefully they can improve their design in the future.

The cup comes with instructions that explain how to clean, disassemble, and reassemble it. I personally like to REALLY thoroughly dry it with a towel so that mold won't grow, which can take a while, but it's easy to disassemble and put back together. The parts kind of snap back together once you push them into the right positions.

As other reviews have mentioned, smells can stick in the cup, so be sure to rinse it out asap after each use.

Tips: When buying, make sure to look inside the cup and make sure no one took the instruction manual.

Also don't forget to check that the hard cup sleeve is on the Stojo! This is a really important part of the Stojo as it gives you something hard to grip onto and protects your hand if the liquid is hot.

HaikUlan Design Contest Goodies!

January 30, 2019

So last year, I entered two design contests hosted by HaikUlan (my favorite haiku-dedicated Facebook page haha). One was for postcards and bookmarks, and the other was for haiga, which is like a haiku with an illustration that goes with it.

I was able to win second place in both contests, and these are my prizes! I got prints of my haiga design (the cards and notebooks with the mushrooms on them), postcards with my "Two Leaves" design, HaikUlan merch, a National Book Store gift card, and adorable wooden clips with twine for hanging up pictures!

The prizes were wrapped up beautifully in this origami-like way where the paper unfolded very easily without tearing. I wasn't able to figure out how it was folded, which was a bit sad, but I do have a picture of how it was before I opened the package! *cue 2nd pic*

That's all for now, see you when I have something worthy enough to post about!

My Bubble Tea and Tofu Trip

September 14, 2018

Guess what guys? I went on my first international trip in June!!! Can you guess which country I went to, based on this blog's title? You guessed it (or not HAHA), it was Taiwan!

I went on a three-week trip organized and sponsored by the Taiwanese government. I and fellow Cebuanos left for Manila on June 11 to join the other people going on the tour. We had to do an orientation there about the rules that the Taiwanese guides, aka Fu Tao Yuan, had set. We also got separated into groups there. The first three groups were all people from Manila, and the fourth group was made up of people from other provinces. That was my group, so I got to meet people from Pampanga, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Tacloban!

After three days in Manila, we left for Taiwan. The flight only took an hour. When we arrived, we were greeted by the Fu Tao Yuan. They led us to our respective group buses and took us to the Chientan Youth Activity Center, where we'd be based for six days.

After the first six days, we started traveling all over Taiwan. Starting from Taipei, we went down the east coast, then made our way up the west coast. Everyone was pretty tired the first half of the tour so we slept during the long drives. Since most of us had to share one bathroom with three roommates and had to be down by 7 am every morning, we all lacked a bit of sleep. However, I was lucky! I only had two roommates who were both super nice, so I was able to get more sleep.

After the first week, people started to get used to the schedule. They also started mingling more between groups. Although I met most of my friends during the first week, there were a lot of people I got close to only during the second and third weeks, which was a nice surprise. I called my friend group the "United Nations" because we were all from different groups haha.

Now, for the list of the most memorable places we went to! While I liked all of the places we visited (and we visited A LOT), I felt that these five places really had to be mentioned.

1. Shilin Night Market This was the first night market we went to, since it's just a short walk away from the Chientan Youth Activity Center.
Notable food: onion pancakes, flame-torched beef, and xiao long bao (but let's be honest, all Taiwanese street food is delicious. If you ever visit Taiwan, try everything you can!).
Notable souvenirs: A friend and I found a stall that sold adorable, quirky earrings. We spent about 30 minutes trying to decide which ones to buy haha.

2. Ximending I had a lot of fun walking around here! It's a big place with a ton of shopping and food options. The picture above is of my friend (left) and I (right) waiting in line for our Hot Star food!
Notable food: Hot Star's fried chicken cutlet and tofu, both of which were delicious.
Notable souvenirs: Comics from Eslite Bookstore's Ximending branch. Most of their books were in either Chinese or Japanese, so I ended up buying the (English) complete collection of Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One. If you're into the DC Universe, I HIGHLY recommend reading it.

3. Jiufen Old Street This place was amazing! It's a long walk up, but once you get there, there's a maze of shops to explore.
Notable souvenirs: My Neighbor Totoro socks, wooden bookmarks from Wooderful Life, and Chinese calligraphy brushes, ink sticks, and inkwells! The calligraphy store we went to could engrave names on the brushes you buy, which is a great personal touch.

4. Sheding Natural Park This natural park was a very long hike, but it was the most beautiful out of all the parks we went to. During the hike we passed through two gorges, and we even saw a monkey!
Interesting tidbit: I was the only person from my group to finish the Sheding hike. Since the first three groups were taking such a long time to move forward, my group decided to turn back halfway through. Meanwhile, I was with group 2, which was right in front of us, talking with my group 2 friends. I got sucked into their group and I swear, the whole time I just thought my group was lagging behind! Turns out they had all turned back HAHAHA. However, I really am glad I didn't turn back with them. That was the most worth-it hike I've ever gone on!

5. Maple Garden Park I loved this place because we got to bike for three hours!!! Some of us didn't know how to bike, so we paired up and took tandem bikes. I got a bike of my own, but I also got to try tandem biking with a friend. The park has a lot of nature and long routes where you can just glide and enjoy the breeze. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was a lot of fun.

And to cap it all off:

Prize for Most Delicious Drink: Bubble milk tea!!! No matter where you buy it from, it's always delicious. However, the taste of the pearls does change from store to store. I prefer pearls made with brown sugar, but not all stores use those.

Prize for Most Amazing Souvenir: Music boxes!!! I got a beautiful one from Wooderful Life that plays "Moon River". Very pricey but very worth it.

Thanks for reading guys! If you want to see pictures of my tour, they're on my Instagram!

Summer Dreams at MIBF!

September 8, 2018

Hi guys! This is just a short post to tell you that 8letters will be at the Manila International Book Fair from September 12-16. Along with their other books, they'll be selling the Summer Dreams anthology for P250. If anyone is planning to go to MIBF, they'll be at booth IP3!

Some of you may remember that Summer Dreams was the short story contest I joined a few months ago. I was super lucky to have my story ("I'm. Okay.") chosen as one of the top ten, so I'm SUPER DUPER EXCITED to see my story in print!!! :D

Democrazy Live (June 7, 2018)

September 2, 2018

Hi guys! This is a long overdue blog about Democrazy Live, 22 Tango Records' open mic in June. For those of you who don't know, 22 Tango Records is a Cebu-based record label. This year they hosted "Democrazy Live" at Handuraw. They invited artists to perform there every Thursday of June, where their songs would be recorded live. As you may have guessed, I was one of the artists who performed.

My friends (the very talented Julia Quijano and Cristeen Salazar) and I decided to go on the first Thursday of June. In the days before we went, I tried to nervously pin down the strumming patterns for my songs. The first song, Ms. Missing You, was mostly done, but the strumming pattern for the second one, (Charlie) Chaplin, had eluded me ever since the song's birth. I managed to finish the strumming patterns on the day before the event because...procrastination! :D

The event started 30 minutes late because we waited for more people to sign up. A few people performed before I did, including my friends. This puzzled us because I had been the second person to sign up for the open mic, but I didn't mind since it let me burn through my nerves.

When it was finally my turn, my limbs went cold and my hands were trembling a bit HAHAHA. I ended up borrowing Cristeen's guitar because it had a plug for the amp (cough more fancy than mine). When I got onstage, the 22 Tango Records people helped me do a small soundcheck, which gave me time to gather my wits.

For those of you who are going to watch the videos of my performance, I'm sorry for the intro to Ms. Missing You. I can't bear to watch it. Also, you may notice that I mostly looked downwards or at the guitar. That's because I have stage fright and it gets worse when I have to look out at the crowd. I know that's bad for stage presence, so I'm working on it. At least I was able to perform well this time! Let's not ever think about my previous open mic.

I also have a few notes on my performances. Ms. Missing You did not go as well as expected. Since I've played it more times than (Charlie) Chaplin, I didn't practice it as much. That was probably why it didn't go so well haha. It was also the first song I performed, so I was still quite nervous. However, I'm glad I messed that up and not Chaplin, because Chaplin could be messed up much worse (I mean, it's totally not my favorite or anything).

For (Charlie) Chaplin, it actually went better than expected, probably because of less nerves and I worked on it more. Admittedly I did go slightly flat at some points because I was holding back, afraid my voice might crack haha. But still, that performance was better than the recording I have on SoundCloud, which I'm planning to redo someday.

In the end, my songs weren't chosen for the Democrazy volume, which showcases 22 Tango Records' favorite performances, but I'm still glad I went. I mean, I'd be more proud of myself if I had gotten in, but I'm really proud that I got the guts to actually go and perform my songs. Maybe next time will be the charm :)

Here are my videos:
Ms. Missing You
(Charlie) Chaplin

And here are my friends' performances:
What You Do by Julia Quijano
Smile by Cristeen Salazar (not the Democrazy Live performance, as there was no video for that, but still the same song)
and last but not least, Give In To Me by Alexandrea Alix, another friend who performed but not on the same day as I did.

HaikUlan Poet of the Quarter!

June 1, 2018

Thank you so much to HaikUlan for this honor! They put a lot of work into my prizes and I absolutely love them.

Along with my certificate, I also got a super adorable author badge and a beautiful laminated print of one of my haiku, Two Leaves.

If any aspiring poets are out there, be sure to check out HaikUlan's page on Facebook! Everyone is welcome to submit haiku :)

8letters Summer Dreams Top 10!!!

June 1, 2018

A HUGE thank you to everyone who took the time and effort to vote for my story!!!

It's really unbelievable how many people got behind my story and carried it all the way to the 3rd place. (When it came to votes, let's be honest, 1st and 2nd were only competing with each other XD)

Congratulations to my fellow writers whose stories also got chosen! I'm honored to be included with all of you.

Thank you, also, to @8lettersbooks for giving me the honor to be in their Top 10! This contest has been quite a journey for me and I have grown from it.