Jay E. Tria's Blog, page 5

Daily Grind #1: Tropical Depression

Give me rain only when I get to stay in. When I have blankets I can burrow myself under, safe under a roof that doesn’t leak and within walls that don’t yield to raging winds that knock, knock, knock, wanting to break in. (What is the point though, wind? There is nothing for you here.) Give me rain and I’d want to be inside a cafe, alone maybe, with a book and the smell of coffee. With silence that feels warmer than a sunny day, because I look through the glass doors and see the wet and cold out there while I’m here, inside, dry and protected. I’d flip through pages, listen to things brew and boil and lift and clatter. I’d enjoy this rare solitude, the slow tilt of time. The sound of rain against glass and pavement, loud but with a rhythm that is deliberate–a peaceful harmony filling my ears, my head for a change. I’d pull my head back and close my eyes and try to think of nothing. Soon it will be sunny outside but it will still be raining inside me.         *** Dianne @jollibeb for the prompt.

Tropical Depression

Give me rain only when I get to stay in. When I have blankets I can burrow myself under, safe under a roof that doesn’t leak and within walls that don’t yield to raging winds that knock, knock, knock, wanting to break in. (What is the point though, wind? There is nothing for you here.) Give me rain and I’d want to be inside a cafe, alone maybe, with a book and the smell of coffee. With silence that feels warmer than a sunny day, because I look through the glass doors and see the wet and cold out there while I’m here, inside, dry and protected. I’d flip through pages, listen to things brew and boil and lift and clatter. I’d enjoy this rare solitude, the slow tilt of time. The sound of rain against glass and pavement, loud but with a rhythm that is deliberate–a peaceful harmony filling my ears, my head for a change. I’d pull my head back and close my eyes and try to think of nothing. Soon it will be sunny outside but it will still be raining inside me. *** Thanks to Dianne @jollibeb for the prompt

Review: My Sister’s Favorite Things from Human Nature

This is a guest post. Guest is my sister, Ace. Sometimes we’re cute like that ^^ *** As the market shifts to the direction of sustainable, clean and cruelty-free beauty, I thought I’d share with you the products I swear by with one of the local pioneer brands (at least in my books) in terms of Green and Compassionate Beauty – Human♥Nature. Enjoy♥!   Cooling Leg & Body Cream, 100ml On days when I cannot fall asleep no matter how exhausted I feel, this, a good book and a lavender room spray combo works like a tranquilizer for me. Massage a generous amount onto sore parts of your body (I focus on my shoulders, calves and thighs) and feel a cool and tingling sensation within seconds. A scent of fresh, minty goodness gives the experience bonus spa feels and at PhP375 a pop, this little gem is a steal.   Sunflower Lip Miracle Oil, 10g Plump, luscious, natural-looking lips are a trend I get on with (to be clear, this is different with the glossy, sticky icky look that I am not a fan of). And when Lancome came out with their Lip Juicy Shakers to achieve that look, I […]

Genius ways to keep the costs low when travelling

As incredible a hobby travelling is, it can be undeniably expensive. However, it doesn’t have to be – there are plenty of useful tips for you to consider in order to cut the costs on your holidays, and here are just a few of them. Have a daily budget It admittedly doesn’t sound like a breakthrough idea, but you’ll be surprised at just how helpful it is to establish a daily budget for you to follow. By planning your expenses in advance you’re ensuring you won’t be left out of pocket in the future – it’ll help to plan for unexpected fees alongside the necessities, too. Goats On The Road’s guide to daily budgets in different countries is a helpful insight into how to do it. Master the art of haggling Being a tourist, you’re likely to stand out to opportunists in the crowd. With that being said, you might find that street vendors, taxi drivers and market stall owners try and get a bit more money out of you than usual – for instance, some vendors in Beijing’s markets will inflate their prices by up to 300%. Don’t fall victim to it, and pluck up the confidence to haggle […]

Review: Cheese in the Trap [SPOILERS]

Last night I knowingly made the mistake of watching Episode 14 of webtoon-based Kdrama Cheese in the Trap. I expected it to be a mistake because given how compelling the drama is and how in love with it I already am, starting Episode 14 would mean binge watching all through the Episode 16 finale. My expected aftermath was a sleepless night and a heart full of kilig and sepanx. I had a sleepless night sure, and sepanx in spades, but the swirling vat of kilig and delicious complex emotions I’ve accumulated for this drama were overridden by a high wave of hurt. What’s up, Cheese PD? What did you do??  I fell into the Trap because of sepanx from a different drama, Goblin. I’ve been avoiding watching Kdramas for years (last one was 2014’s You Who Came from the Stars and The Heirs, ikr) because I know this system and I know how it consumes me. But Goblin happened, and I drowned in the feelings and fell hard not just for Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook but for the goblin’s bride, Kim Go Eun, too. Thus, Cheese. And Cheese in the Trap was wonderful, just wonderful from the very beginning. […]

Summer Crush: Soundtrack to Ana’s Day

In Summer Crush, Ana finds herself out of her cubicle, having wrenched herself out of the weight of her tax deadlines, in the middle of La Union surf town paradise for a music festival weekend with her boyfriend Miki. Her day sounds like this. I might have gotten carried away building this playlist. Listen while you read? Might be a good idea

Tokyo or Osaka: Where to Go for Summer Sonic

This is a legit question my friend Hazel and I agonized over once the decision to go to Japan’s annual music festival Summer Sonic was made. That was in 2015, and we picked Tokyo, and the following year headed on over to Osaka. Both were awesome trips, memorable weekends, stellar lineups ikidyounot, but we did come out of it with a solid winner. Read on and I hope our past summers will help you plan your future escapade. History of the hottest summers. Summer Sonic is the younger of two popular music festivals in Japan, its older sibling being Fuji Rock. Unlike the more hardcore Fuji Rock which requires a bullet train, a trek and a camping site for a three-day affair up in the mountains and forests of Niigata, Summer Sonic is more city-human, music-fest-newbie friendly, being a two-day, strictly-weekend urban adventure. It happens simultaneously in Tokyo and Osaka, thus begs the question on where you want your plane to land. What to see. The lineup is essentially the same. Tokyo site’s Saturday lineup will be Osaka’s Sunday lineup and vice versa. I say essentially though because there are some acts that will be performing in one site but not […]

Things to Do on a Weekend in La Union

It was the weekend I fell in love with the beach. I guess it’s just a matter of finding the correct mermaid/scientist guide, the perfect company, or a strong enough motive. Having a non-itinerary itinerary surely helped. It got me back to the basics of the sun, sand, and sea and all that the beach offers. It was my first time in La Union, and the first time I truly loved spending time surrounded by water, and this was how it happened. Ticket to ride. Six and Tara and I met up in Makati then took an Uber to Partas bus station in Cubao. Figured this was the station to be, since we were north-bound. We walked up to the ticket booth and asked for three tickets to San Juan, La Union please, setting us back P459 each. It was a non-holiday, not-summer-just-yet Friday night, so it was regular, awful Friday traffic but with the win that there was no crazy bus station crowd. We had an hour or so of waiting then it was time to board the bus, which left Cubao a little bit past 11 pm. It wasn’t a deluxe bus, which meant no toilet on board […]

What Summer Crush Means to Me by Six de los Reyes

Summer Crush Reflection Paper                                                                                                         11 April 2017 de los Reyes, Six                                                                                                                                     #romanceclass 2014   What Summer Crush Means to Me   As much fun as we had planning, plotting, and processing Summer Crush, it was not an easy wave to catch. First of all, it’s hard enough wrestling with all the ideas in our heads, multiply that by three and you get exponential the headaches. And we’re three very different people with very different stories, you see. So different you have to wonder […]

Summer Crush: A Reflection Paper

Submitted by: Tria, J.E. Section: #romanceclass 2015 Submission date: April 9, 2017 ***************************** We found each other somehow. That’s how I explain this. Six has a more organized and grounded version of this story in her Author’s Note for Summer Crush. The three of us–Six, Tara, and myself–had this whole thread where we tried to figure out and recall how this collaboration began before she wrote it. I remembered some of the things they said, volunteered some of my own memories. But I think it all came down to that. To how we are three girls who wrote about bands and found each other and tried to do something about that. And HAHA we did do all the things. We plotted, we threw ideas around like they were free and free flowing. Brain farts and feels floods were welcome. We had many spreadsheets (we love them). We had thoughts and secrets, shared during the bright hours past midnight. We had a trip to La Union for an ocular, of course because we were planning a music festival. I asked for that trip. They ignored me when I first brought it up. So I brought it up again and again until YAY hostel booked! Date […]