Abstract Maranao Okir Art

I have been so stressed for the past weeks’ academic binge. I lacked some shut eye, which resulted to constant headaches. And now that school’s over, I’m slowly getting back what I had deprived myself of – slumber… and of course, blogging. Teehee. I’m still not supposed to do this, but I really feel the need to take some time off. After the scholastic breakdown I had last week, I imposed myself an unwritten rule that I shouldn’t blog until such time that my thesis is far from over. I honestly feel that I’m nearly done, so let me take a breather just this once.

Enough said.

I got to let out my artistic side again because of our Filipino 21 (Philippine Folklore) subject. We were asked to create something that can popularize our country’s ethnic art as our final project. I chose the Maranao Okir Art, because it’s very popular. This art is known for its exuberance and vitality. It also crosses different forms. The Maranao is one of the thirteen tribes of Muslim in the Philippines. It is the subject of researchers’ interest most of the time, thus making them the most studied tribe in the country. As far as I know, it is the most extravagant Muslim tribe.

Since I have been suffering from cognitive overload lately, I couldn’t think of an original okir art. I apologize, because I just copied what I found in the web. I only used pastel crayons and illustration board. No pun intended. I just didn’t have enough resources and time to exert my utmost effort in crafting my own design. If given another chance, I will definitely do my best to show you my own interpretation of the said art. Spoken like a real beauty queen, eh? Anyhow, below is an abstract okir art made by a student from Mindanao State University (MSU).

The Original from (Al-Nezzar Ali’s blog). Not intended for copyright infringement.

The nasty version. Not intended for plagiarism.

Yours truly. The fake artist holding her ugly work of art. I hope you like it somehow.

LOL for the hoping soul here! Piece based on Pinta Okir Group‘s (MSU Gensan) piece for the

Okil in Abstraction Workshop.

Sonic Boom: Brooke Waggoner

Took this photo last week.

So I'm back from my unannounced hiatus. My last post Child's Play: BYG Belle, which I wrote more than a week ago, got more than twenty comments for the first time. It never would have gotten that much of attention if I didn't leave my blog for nine days. LOL! Big thanks to those who managed to visit and follow Mystic Nymph, even when I didn't have time to pay them a visit in return. Anyway, I'll be giving you a short synopsis on how my past week went just in case you're interested to know.

Last week was one of the worst in my scholastic life. I had my practicum & written exam in PE, thesis defense and a report in STS class. I was dog-tired that much! I got a bundle of nerves the whole time because of the pressure, lack of sleep and whatnot. I even messed up in my report and defense because my speech anxiety got the better of me! I felt embarrassed, but dwelling on it won't help me graduate so I let it pass that way. I just did things to "de-stress" me like pigging out and watching PLL.

I'm so hooked on Pretty Little Liars! I've been catching up on it since last week, and now I'm on the 18th episode of their pilot season. I love it because it's not your usual bitchy and girly girl TV series. I don't know why, but I'm really into mystery stories like that. I'm not a good judge of shows, so I may be wrong but personally, PLL has become my favorite foreign drama next to Heroes. If you ask me about the characters, I like Aria and Spencer but I think Emily (Shay Mitchell) is hotter. I wanna dress like them! Their nifty outfits are to die for! Their styles are wicked!

Aside from the story, I also love its soundtrack. One of the best songs in their collection are from Brooke Waggoner. Here are two of my fave songs from her.

Fresh Pair of Eyes

'Cause I want to be seen
With a fresh pair of eyes
The single white tree
In a black hood of disguise

I want, I want to be seen
With a fresh pair of eyes
The single, the single white tree
In a black hood of disguise

I miss God, I miss God
I miss God, I miss God

Heal for the Honey

Points of light
Shootin' through the tree-stained vines
It draws me in
To catch a fistful of wind and chime

But all day long I heal for the honey
Waitin' for the one I love
The noons are hot with heartache aplenty
I'm lovesick and undone

I bet my future Sonic Boom posts would still be from PLL. Their OST has been dominating my play list these days. You might want to check it out as well. They're very nice! Okay, I need to have some grub now. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. Au revoir!

Thesis and All That

Just so you know, I'm cramming my thesis today. I haven't even eaten my lunch yet. I still don't want to feed my stomach because my mind is still jam-packed with legions of confusion and anxiety. I have to resolve my problem first before feasting on something. That's just bad, and I know my stupid alter ego is the one to blame for it.

My defense will be next week, and I'm still not done writing my manuscript. I've been so lax about dealing with it for the past months. I guess I've just lost my drive to focus on anything academic. I need a hero for my scholastic salvation pretty please!

My research is about motivation but it's so ironic that I, for one, am not motivated to work on it. Damn. I'm having a hard time formulating some technical words to begin my Results and Discussion. Two difficult chapters to write in a day. Bloody hell!

I'm dead.Tomorrow, I'll be a walking zombie. Watch out, I might wear you out for no apparent reason. I kid. To someone who cares, I beg you to save me from the zombie I'll become.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of me at the library pretending to be noble by jotting down some notes for my thesis.

Wearing Old Navy top, Lee Jeans, Parisian peep toes, thrifted bangle and the ear rings Mom gave me.

And here's my GI friend, Janice. She's a very nice friend, because she's always reminding me to aim my attention at school first. She is definitely a good influence to someone as oblivious as me.

This is Janice sound tripping on her iPAD.

I've also found that dear HP Lappy can also do a 180 Degrees turn. Cool, isn't it? Well, I know it's not something new and shocking, but I'm still pretty much amazed about my discovery.

Help me find a name for her, folks. Puh-lease.

I don't want to sound as if I'm a whining brat who's not doing something to accomplish her task, so allow me to bid my farewell for now. I'm leaving you with this Contemporary Christian song that inspires despite the troubles I'm going through. It makes me feel like I'm closer to Him. I know God is just here to guide me. Here's On My Knees by Jaci Velasquez.

There are days
when I feel
The best of me
is ready to begin (the end)
Then there's (the) days
when I feel
I'm letting go
and soaring on the wind
'Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain
How to survive!

I get on my knees! (x2)
There I am before the Love
That changes me
See I don't know how
But there's power
When I'm on my knees

Je veux obtenir un diplôme! Je suis fatigué d'étudier et de faire ma thèse. I pray to God that I'll have peace of mind, so I can write with clarity and comprehension. Time to eat now. I'm being attacked by the pangs of hunger. Please pray for the success of my thesis, folks.

Something Very Short (SVS): Photoscape

I'm in a troubled state of mind for weeks already, and I can't seem to focus. I have a lot of things to accomplish at school - my thesis defense which will be on August 25, my STS "book review" report by first week of September, and the most dreaded papers and exams. What a burden! I sure can't wait for this semester to end. I hope it's already October. And because I want to steer clear from all those unnecessary problems like "what should I say for this particular blog post?", I've thought of coming up with articles that are just short every now and then up until I'm ready to write long and substantial blog posts again. I actually plan of joining Davao Blogger's Blog Caravan, but then I decided not to because of some academic and time constraints. Hopefully, I can write for them next time.

Today's topic on Something Very Short (SVS) is about one of my favorite photo editing software -- the Photoscape. I like it a lot because it's very user friendly. You don't have to read all those manuals and tutorials thoroughly because it's made for convenience. It's best for novice shutterbugs who want to fix and enhance their photos in an easy but pretty way. It won't definitely take much of your time learning the how-to's of this fun application. My favorite Photoscape features are the Page, Combine, Animated GIF, Text + Item, and most especially the Film Effects. So, here's a finished product of a shot I edited using Photoscape. I am sorry I forgot the effects I used to come up with this look. Well, I'm pretty sure you're good at exploring stuffs, you may want to see for yourself how I did it.

Mikee, my youngest sister, owns this doll. Her name is Roxanne.

Postscript: Please bear with my dull and boring blog template in the mean time. It won't be like that for long, I promise. I will be fixing it as soon as possible. And oh by the way, I just found this very helpful write-up by the Etsy Blog Team while I was searching about Photoscape. It's called "How to Create a free Blog Header with PhotoScape." Perfect! Now I have a solution to my itsy-bitsy blog issue. Cheers to Photoscape!

Do you patronize Photoscape as well?

How My Week Went

My head always aches these past few days. I hope this won't lead to something serious. God forbid. I'm pretty sure this is only caused by the extreme heat of the sun -- the result is, I'm having blogger's block again. The last time I blogged was four days ago, and I hate it. The scorching summer heat is totally taking its toll on me now! I can't think of interesting things. This is the time when I badly want the rain! Please pour hard this instant. Anyway, here's a list of what I did this week:

Tuesday: I went to Unlimited Network of Opportunities Business Center to interview the subjects of my thesis.

Wednesday: I went to UNO, and I had my hair cut at Joan de Castro Salon. I received a bunch of criticisms about my hair. The parlorista told me I have dry hair, and that I should get a treatment to make it shiny and thick. Thanks for that piece of advice, dear. Words of the Day (from the parlorista): Her Street (hair straight) and Her Cat (hair cut). That really made me laugh. I'm sorry!

Thursday: I went to UNO again for an interview. Got a lot of ideas about how to become successful from a Phoen1x core leader. I went straight home after that because it was raining, and my Mom's already looking for me. I was so wet when I reached home. Geez.

Friday: I was supposed to go to UNO again, but I got tired. One more thing, I don't have clothes to wear anymore because I still haven't done my laundry yet. I also haven't ironed the rest of my clothes for almost a month. I am such a lazy bone! I wish we have a maid.

I'm bored and broke. What a deadly combination, right? We will be having the most dreaded enrollment two weeks from now. We only have three weeks left to enjoy the summer. Gosh, 18 more units to go before I can finally bid farewell to my beloved school. That's it for now folks, I still have to cuddle my sweet little Caramel. I'll be posting again later.

Hectic Friday

"It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on a Friday. Everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend. " Darn that song from Rebecca Black that has been on Twitter's trending topic for more than a week already. It keeps on playing in my head, and I totally hate it. I have to blame my high school pals for that loathsome Last Song Syndrome. If you want to hear this song, just click this link. The video now has 27, 124, 854 views. Who would have thought people nowadays seem to get hooked with nonsense things, right? Anyway, let's just give them the extravagance of what they think is fun.

Well, I actually love Friday -- not the song okay, but the day itself. It may be one of the busiest days, but it gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day. Thoughts about Friday are one of the sweetest. Some of my greatest moments actually happened on a Friday. My boyfriend and I got hitched on September 7, 2007 (Friday). One of my most memorable trips -- Camiguin trip -- was scheduled on February 25, 2010 (Friday). My first food trip bonding with my high school bestfriends Lerr and Regine was finally set last on March 4, 2011 (Friday). We were so busy that we didn't have time to meet since we entered college. I hope all the remaining extraordinary moments of my life will occur on my most-loved Friday.

I got so busy last Friday because of my Thesis proposal plenary and Asia and the World exam. Good thing that day turned out just fine. For the exam, it was not so difficult as I expected; For the plenary, my proposal was approved although the panelists suggested some changes. All was indeed well if you put your faith in Him. My friends (classmates) and I also did our ultimate favorite past-time hobby, pictorial session! We had so much fun because of the new antics we have thought. For a change, we decided to take our pictures in the messy storage room of our course's Audio Visual (and sometimes Theater) Room. So I don't have to say more, just check out our absurd photos courtesy of Maxine Villas. Enjoy!

Boobsies: Poor balloons.

Maxine is a mow-del.

Sleeping with a messy mind.. and place.

What a messy room!

Shimea and Katrina.

Solo picture.

Things.

Plenary.

My outfit:

(For the messy pictorial)

Dress used as long top - ASOS

Leggings - Secret Possessions

Bag - Victoria's Secret

Belt & Studs - No label (from England)

Shoes - Parisian

Bangle - SM Dep't Store

(For the Plenary)

Top - Dorothy Perkins

The pressure has not yet ended. This week and the next will be worse. It has been hell week in UP Mindanao every week. I surely can't wait for summer, although I still have to face my thesis during the break but I don't mind as long as school's out. I guess I'll be idle in blogging this week. I have to face my duties as a student first. That makes me sad, cause blogging is my stress reliever. Friday, I am longing for your arrival. I badly need you. Please come to me this instant!

Do you love Fridays too?

Hitting the Sack

"Ang pagtulog ay kapareho ng bagong lutong pudding sa aming kaharian." - Prince Mackaroo

For the past days, I've been wide awake until past 12 in the midnight. I was still up when everybody's already dozing off. I'm actually not used to sleeping that late, but my thesis manuscript got me busy and stressed. I had to work on it as fast as I could, cause tomorrow is the schedule of my Plenary. I had to do my best to prevent my eyes from drooping shut, because in times like this, sleeping seems to be a waste of time. Darn! I felt guilty saying that. It's a wrong notion. We all know the importance of sleep, right? I realized with a sinking heart that it's my fault that I din't have enough rest for days. I just took my two weeks wroth of preparation for granted, and now I'm cramming.

I badly miss hugging my pillows tight for, like eight hours and more. I want to end this semester this instant! I desire to go to bed without thinking of scholastic matters even for a month or two. Next semester is going to be tougher, for sure! So, I have to gain more sleep this summer as much as possible. I have to get myself revved up to jumpstart my academic mood for the last 18 units of my student life. That statement just elevated the thrill I'm feeling. I can't wait to finally bid farewell to UP Mindanao.

Since I've already been talking about the suspension of consciousness (sleep in other words), I want to show these pictures of creatures close to me while they're getting their precious shut-eye moments. I haven't noticed that I actually have a lot of them, until I checked my photo archives just now. I wasn't aware that my hands have this automatic activity to click the camera, whenever I see people enjoying their deepest slumber. So, here are some of them:

My sister, Janine, didn't have any idea that I took a picture of her while she was sleeping.

Taken using my photo buddy, Maxine's camera. She dozed off after recording her voice-over for our project.

My daughter, Jewel, has had enough of paper works. She couldn't take keeping her eyes open anymore.

My close friend Charina was the first one to sleep after a long trip from Philippine Eagle to Dayang Beach Resort.

My sister Miko was catching some zZz's while we were on our way to Sto. Niño Cold Spring during our Camiguin trip.

The pretty ladies of NSTP 2 took a rest after our team-building activity at Loleng's Mountain Spring Resort.

My cute kitten Caramel feeling so at home sleeping soundly in my bedroom. She's so cute. What a sight!

Let me share you this well-said piece about sleep. I got this from the Internet. This helped me realize that sleep should never be undermined.

"Sleep can be compared to quicksand, ignore it and you’ll find yourself trapped. It will take over you’re body and if you try to fight it, the more it wins. The effects of not receiving enough sleep are not uncommon. Sleep depravation has been used throughout history and is common as a form of torture in many POW camps (Victims of Sleep Depravation). Countries, including the United States have used this method to extract information from prisoners. It leaves no physical markings but its psychological effects can be very harmful. Victims will literally go crazy. Those who have gone through it say that no sleep is even worse than starvation." (Retrieved from: www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=86159)

"If there's anything better than sleeping at evening, it's waking up in the morning."

- Bill Barnacle (The Magic Pudding)

Don't let the bed bugs bite sleepy heads!

Bummed at Shimea's Pad

We have two New Media deadly projects to be submitted this week and the next. Sir Doyle assigned us to create a draft for our Davao Food Trip website, and a digital story based on the theme of our site. Thus the saying, so many things to do, so little time left. We couldn't think of any other time for a group meet-up, so we decided to finish the task ahead last Saturday. We still have a lot more things to face aside from New Media. We have our thesis which boggle our mind the most! Can somebody help us? We're so bummed!

We did our group project at Shimea's. From UP (which is located in Mintal), we headed straight to Lanang. A journey from southwest to north, how about that? It was like travelling from Digos to Davao City! I actually couldn't take setting forth that far cause my head aches easily, but I managed to do it. Thank God I didn't puke on our way. Oh wait, that long travel made me happy too because I finally found where exactly is Jose Rafael Fine Coffee. I've been wanting to go there, and now I can at last! My apologies for the digression. LOL!

What relieved my stress that day was Shimea's house. It was really stylish and inviting. I wish we have a house like her's. Shimea's a fashionista, and so is her beehive! The place was so tidy when we arrived, but our things made it look so messy. We are very sorry for that, my friend. I asked her permission if I could blog about it, and she said yes. Thanks a lot Sist! So to make you melt, here are some of the photos I took.

I love the comfy and voguish look and feel of her place. The interiors are like a combination of native and urban designs, because of the stems, shells, figurines and other breakables. What really caught my attention were the wine bottles. I really love anything that is fragile. They never fail to accentuate something. I've been thinking of doing the same in our house too. I hope it gets materialized soon.

I actually thought of beginning a blog series where I get to raid my friends' houses, I deemed it's a brilliant concept for my niche. But then, I realized I couldn't make it now cause I'm still to bugged by academic pressures. Maybe someday, I can begin with this idea. Wish me luck!

How about you, are you interested on a house-raid blog series too? C'mon let's do it! :-)

Mystique Shutterbug: Thesis Proposal Defense Get-Up (Week 2)

Enough of those long blog entries about my feelings for a short while. I'm gonna take a rest in writing first, cause now I'll be sharing you some photos again. The next episode of this blog series is on fashion -- specifically my style when I had my first ever defense for my thesis proposal last Tuesday (March 1, 2011). I was supposed to do my defense last Monday, but my panelists and adviser were not around so they decided to have it the next day. So to cut the long story short, this is how I dressed up.

My Outfit:

Top: Dorothy Perkins

Trousers: Club Monaco

Booties: Le Donne

Bangle: SM Dep't Store

Studs&Necklace: From England

Leather Bag: From England

I was a bit emotionally disturbed that day cause I didn't have that good results for my proposal. Good thing though that the area where I really want to investigate on is still the same. It's just that, my focus and type of study are changed. From my proposed descriptive study, they wanted to have it as a case study instead. It bothers me a great deal, but I know God will enlighten my troubled thoughts. This has been Mystique Shutterbug. Drop by again next week for another set of photos.

Once a shutterbug, always a shutterbug.

Wacky Shots with Special Friends

Because I'm depressed, I have to find some ways to entertain myself. A lot of things are bugging me, and I don't know how to handle them. I still haven't started revising my thesis proposal, and my defense will be on the 28th. I have to write a book review on a book I don't even have. My boyfriend is in Manila, and he will be back in a month. I'm not used to not having him around. Yeah, I know I sound so clingy and needy. My apologies. That's what I really feel. Darn, I'm getting mushy! So to shrink this crappy feeling in my chest even a little, I'll be posting some of my photos with friends that crack me up every time I look at them.

Taken at Punta del Sol. Notice our expressions. We really tried hard not to look as if we were having a hard time jumping while smiling!

Taken at Philippine Eagle. Too bad our camera didn't capture some of my friends' jumps. Yhani's face is such an epic with mouth open wide! LOL

Taken at Bigby's SM Branch. I truly love this shot with two of my dear Quitters' Club Sists, Charina (center) and Shimea (right). I love you girls!

Still taken at Bigby's. I hope you don't get offended with this shot. Obviously, we were just goofing around. Can I pass for a contra bida role with this? LOL

Taken over a year ago at Datcom near UPMin. That is my boyfriend's killer smile, and I thought of mimicking him even though he didn't want me to.

These photos made me smile again somehow. The memories they carry are rekindled and enlivened. How I wish everyday is a happy and trouble-free day just like what I had in the pictures. I wish I'm a strong woman so I can just get through every trial I encounter sparkingly! Lord, please give me a spanking positive attitude so I can do whatever I need to do with grace and passion. I have to find something that can lighten up my mental luggage. I need something that can help me out of despair. What simple yet helpful things can you suggest?

I am Stressed to Death, MayDay!

Pasensya at ako'y sabog.

The past two weeks have been very hectic and chaotic. It drained me big time, but not totally. I can't imagine what it will be like when everything gets rougher, like the Thesis Defense week. OMG! I'm still not fixed with my topic. It's not yet in order -- from my RRL to Methodology. I need peace and solitude to think about what should I do before I get a 360 degrees change for my thesis proposal. I hope I won't get too paranoid just like what happened to a friend. She had been diagnosed with Severe Anxiety and Depression because of too much academic pressure and some other "un-DIVULGE-able" things. Scary, isn't? Good thing she's fine now.

After the scholastic storm comes a silver lining. I apologize for that corny line -- for lack of a better statement. I just treated myself with M&M's Milk Chocolate Candies. I think I deserve it somehow. I've had a lot of frustrations this week. I have to pamper myself with one of my comfort food to forget about them. I just love chocolates like crazy! For me, they're my stress reliever, aside from surfing the web and buying some new stuffs. If only I haven't spent much this week, I would have bought the new (at least for me) chocolate I saw in store -- Cadbury Moments. Sorry, I haven't been informed about it. How about you, how do you cope with stress?

No room for talking trash

I was cross examined. It didn't do any pressure to me except for the extreme coolness of the room. I wasn't able to speak normally because my jaws are trembling. Of course it's not because I was nervous. That was so embarrassing. Good thing they didn't actually notice it. But I'm not quite sure about that.

One more thing I have to let out is that I can rest without worries tonight! Hollers out! Exams for this week are done. This week is really one heck of a tiring week. I had my head ache because it's too drained to think about academics. At last I'm going to have a break at exactly 5:30 this afternoon! Let me hear you scream!

Poise under pressure. That's what I believe in. Despite everything sickening me these past few days, I still am in the mood to freshen myself up. That will never be omitted in my list.

This day is a seventh heaven for me. I think I ought to say that. And you ought to know that! Get your freak on fellas!

Goodbye July

It's the end of July! next week is definitely a hell week for me. It's my exam week. That's from Tuesday to Friday! I've got to study hard this weekend. I must pass those dreaded exams or else I'll be dead. But despite that hellness,

I'm still on a high because It will be August tomorrow! New things and experiences are coming ahead. I love surprises. Who knows? August could be a blessed month for everyone. It's the eighth month of the year. Four months to go and rain deers will pass by our window pane again! I can't wait for Christmas!