2013 Tomorrow

I promise I'm not dead. I promise I'll blog properly once #THESISIT is settled (fingers crossed that I get endorsed!) I promise to make an ~*~emotional~*~ summary of 2012 because a LOT happened this year: met several people over the summer (one of which... hahaha no), got to go to my first concert, interning, several opportunities popped up towards the end of the year, etc. I promise to go into full detail about those accounts SOMEDAYONEDAY AFTER #THESISIT but for now I would just like to thank God and the universe and all the mighty powers above for the past year and all events that followed.

So many blessings came one by one this year, but not without its fair share of challenges. Regardless, I am eternally grateful for all that has happened this past year. A lot happened, and I will share that for some other post.

Anyway, since my previous post, I've been able to shoot a few more people for #THESISIT, said people being Ana, Janelle, and a new friend (one whom I've always wanted to shoot since I first saw her, and that was back in frosh year or smthn) named Mica who was a joy to photograph and I hope I get to work with her again soon enough.

Above are 'sneak peeks' of said shoots that I posted on my Instagram. Yes, blog, I have an IG account now. Mostly prompted by my new phone, handed down to me by my mom. I always said that I'd prolly end up making an IG account if I had an iPhone, and alas, it happened.

If anything I've been more active on IG and on CS. I have a LOT of life happenings to blog about (not to mention that Hong Kong trip from semestral break), but that will follow later on.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a safe and fun celebration later, and I wish you all the best in the coming year. GOODLUCKBATTE!

Natsu Bad 2012

The Animax Carnival 2012 and everything related to it will be referred to as Natsu Bad 2012, because... that's natsu bad a title, right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA okay I'm done. Natsu Bad is an obvious inside joke, but if you were part of the audience during the carnival and were there during one of the games, then you must've heard the host pull a Natsu Dragneel pun in reference to Fairy Tail. (If you don't get it: 'natsu bad' = 'not so bad') It was awful yet hilarious, and my friends and I (or maybe just myself) kept on repeating it any chance we got. (Okay, looking back, it was definitely just me who got hooked on the Natsu pun.)

It was pretty much a given that I'd be attending the carnival because, as I've mentioned elsewhere, Maronne's a finalist so of course I was going to come and support her! Because I have perpetual transportation dilemmas, I hitched with her so I got there relatively early.

A couple of the finalists backstage. From left: Kat, Rae, Maronne, Rhianna. Let's just get it out of the way that Rhianna won and is officially the next Animax Ani-Mate! CONGRATURATIONZZZ I'm totes glad Maronne went for this though. If anything she gained some experiences and friends and I am most certain she is destined for bigger and brighter things in the future.

I also saw Charlie and promptly freaked out because WATER U DOIN HERE WHEN DID U GET BACK WTFFFFFFFFFF. If you didn't know, Charlie's a part of Team Orz. She was our Death the Kid during the Soul Eater cosplay! (I say that as if I was a part of that cosplay, but when am I ever? HAH)

After I saw her though and she seated herself (along with her sister Cookie, hi!) amongst us, I couldn't stop taking pictures of her face.

Whuddup, Maronne support team. Speaking of support teams, I saw my cousin's cousin (basically the dad side!cousin of my cousin from my mom's side LOL DID THAT MAKE SENSE) with the Rhianna support team, decked in the Rhianna shirt even! I called out to him and... because he was wearing shades, I couldn't tell if the hand gesture he did was a form of acknowledgement or "SHRUG OFF I DON'T KNOW YOU TALK2U LATER" I didn't bother catching his attention after that. Awkwerrd.......................................

Being the original Ani-Mate, of course Alodia was going to be there. Since I was in the front row, I was right behind the judges, with Alodia sitting right in front of me. You know what that meant, right? LOTSA KIDS CROUCHING NEXT TO ME TRYING TO GET A PICTURE/AUTOGRAPH AND A LOT OF BUTT SHOTS C/O THE BODYGUARDS LOLOLOL

Maronne as Maka Albarn from Soul Eater and Rachelle as Vanilla H from Galaxy Angels. CAN YOU SAY PERFECT?!?!?!? It's already established that Maronne is pretty much the human form of Maka, but will you take a look at Rachelle o m g. She is so presh and perf and SHE EVEN HAD A NORMAD OHMYGOD.

Okay, so there was this cosplay competition right? And in the videogames category, there was this. Charlie and I saw these massive headdress thingies from the side of the stage, and we were like, "Is that... Shiva...?" But there was two of them so we were like, "Shiva sisters...?" And then I spot a Snow Villiers cosplayer and I go, "OHHH IT'S THE SHIVA SISTERS FROM FINAL FANTASY XIII!!!" Charlie and I freaked out and we were screaming our heads off. (Also, I will support and cheer for anyone that cosplays or does something I really love, regardless as to whether or not I know them personally.)

So Charlie and I were just really happy there was a Shiva sisters cosplay that was epic right? And I go tell Charlie, "I wonder if they're gonna do the motorcycle version. That's kinda suggestive though lol, but that would be really epic."

AND THEN THEY DID. OHMYFREAKINGGOD THEY STEPPED OUT OF THEIR STILTS OR WTVR AND FORMED THE MOTORCYLCE VERSION AND I WAS SHRIEKING IN DELIGHT I WANTED TO CRY. It was so perfect, and I was so kilig. I kept on telling Charlie that they HAD to win. THEY HAD TO.

LOOK AT THEM HOW CAN THEY NOT WIN THEY'RE SO PERFECT LOOK AT THOSE DETAILS. The costumes alone were incredible, but forming the motorbike version was the icing on top of every kind of confectionary. EPIC.

One of the cosplay categories was 'original creation' or something. I think there were only two or three contestants under this category, and this chick's one of them. I will call her Skeleton Lady. I think she looks really cool, and she sent of these eerie vibes true to her character. Her costume design reminded me of Bleach's Arrancars.

(I promise I took photos of other cosplayers, but a lot of them had shots with heads innem, or some other kind of blockage. It was annoying.)

Naturally, the Shiva sisters bagged the win in their category. BIG CONGRATULATIONS Y'ALL BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DESERVING. I kept on screaming, "I LOVE YOU SHIVA di ko alam pangalan niyo..." HAHAHA

Later on when the program was over, I accompanied Maronne backstage to bid her farewells and spotted one half of the Shiva sisters (the one on the left, if you're wondering). I approached her, shook her hand, and gushed, "Hiiii I really liked (psh wtvr Ina, more like WORSHIPPED) your Shiva cosplay! Congrats!" I really hope I get to see this cosplay again. They made my heart race in the best way ever. (I wish I could have a shoot with them hahahahahahashtagphotographerproblems)

Rae onstage as Vanilla! SO PERF OKAY SHE WAS IN CHARACTER THE ENTIRE TIME SHE WAS ONSTAGE. Oh my heartstrings.

LOOK AT HER. kashfkjsfhasfkj

Kat went as a version of Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier. Sorry I'm not very familiar with the series hoho. Kat's like this ball of energy that never runs out. She's so bubbly and hyper and just SO energetic!

And Maronne went as Black Blood!Maka. Her scythe was EPIC and was notably heavier than the original one. That's saying something, considering how the first one was relatively heavy already. This cosplay was something Maronne had often aspired to achieve, especially when her Maka cosplay with Terry had just kicked off. AND IT HAS FINALLY COME TO BE! Now if only we could get Terry to start on her costume...

Also, the edges of her scythe light up. So. Cool.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU MARONNE!!! I've already told you just how much and everything in between, and I'm sure this isn't the last that Animax will see of her. So she didn't win. It's...

NATSU BAD.

AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I am done ferrealz now.

Bluebell

LOOK GUYS I'VE GOT SOME BLUE IN MY HAIR! I went to the salon with my mom today; originally I was going for some dip dye, originally I was going for green. In the end what I got was a turquoise shade on the inside layers of my hair and I couldn't be happier.

(I promise my hair isn't actually that red in real life.) My hair's also back to red again because my roots were showing from my last dye job, and the color turned out pretty well. Better than the first time, actually. I think it's because my hair had lightened from the last dye job so the red was able to latch on better this time 'round.

I also got my bangs trimmed today and they're reeeaaally short. Even shorter than in the picture above since I was pushing my bangs down in that photo. Extremely short but that's what I totes wanted. I remember back in high school I always thought short bangs were so awkward and weird; back then my fringe was always long and oftentimes reached my eyelids. Come college I usually have my fringe above my brows, something my younger self would never have done. Wow am I growing up lol no.

ANYWAY LOOK AT THE BLUE ISN'T IT SO PRETTY (not my lips they look pretty... PRETTY DOUCHEY) As I mentioned before I was going for a greener color, but I was really happy with this end result regardless. The salon bleached an inch away from my roots so it didn't hurt at all and it was SO interesting seeing myself as a half-blonde for a few minutes.

I've been coloring my hair for years but this is the first time I've gotten anything this drastic, and the only reason I've withheld from doing so is school restrictions. 'Wild' hair just wasn't allowed in my old school, and my university just won't have it either. It's very frustrating having to restrict my ~*~creativity~*~ like that all the time, but whenever I do take the plunge I always make sure it's something that can still be hidden on campus. (Like that one time I had an undercut, I could still easily hide it so long as I kept my hair down.) Hiding this is still pretty do-able... or at least I hope so HAHA /shot

On Getting Published and the Longest Day/Week Ever

But before I get to talking about The Longest Day Ever, let me talk about last week. SO many things happened last week, but the most important of them all was the 4 shoots that took place. Now, that isn't that big of a deal (I mean I remember squeezing in maybe 3 shoots in a week around 3 years ago) BUT the big deal about this is that half of those shoots were for work.

Work. YES WORK. ~*~WORK~*~ I KNOW RIGHT? I mean I never really get booked for those kind of things (yet it happened twice in a week, wtf right), mostly because... I don't even know why. Usually I point that to the fact that maybe my work truly does suck so nobody wants to hire me. A minuscule part of me at the back of my mind thinks it's because I don't market myself to the world. (Okay world, here you go: MY NAME IS REGINA INONOG. I TAKE PICTURES. YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS A PHOTOGRAPHER. PLEASE HIRE ME. Bow.) WELL ANYWAY, last Monday I did a shoot for an article in a local newspaper. For Young Star. Which is under Philippine Star.

I KNOW RIGHT? I MEAN NO BIG DEAL FOR OTHERS BUT THIS IS LIKE A HIGHLIGHT OF 2012 AND MY ENTIRE LIFETIME!!!!!!! The article was out last Friday (only getting around blogging about this because I was so busy last week); when I woke up that morning I actually completely forgot that I had photos of mine published in the paper. When my dad woke me up that morning I didn't even get up at first; in fact I just rolled over to my other side, picked up my PSP, and played a round of Bust a Groove 2 in bed. And then my dad comes back up and says, "The newspapers there na ha." and I was like OH RIGHT so I run downstairs with a stupid grin on my face and TA-DAAAA!!! I see the shots I took from the Monday of that week.

It felt so surreal. I mean this was the first time I had ever gotten published. Ever. (By that I don't mean getting featured in print; I mean my actual WORK getting published.) Okay maybe there was that one time during Preview's anniversary ish of this year where I snapped photos of the It Girls in their outfits pre-shoot, but those were just regular snapshots and there was no recognition due for that since I was just an intern for StyleBible. This time it was legitimate, with my name in the paper. Ohmygozaimasu.

Here are some shots from the article. If you weren't able to grab a copy of last Friday's Young Star, there's an online counterpart for your viewing pleasure. Anyway, clockwise from top left (this isn't everyone I shot by the way, I'm just sharing a couple of them): Ana Zamora (WHOM THIS BLOG IS PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH I MEAN HOW LONG HAS ANINA BEEN TOGETHER AGAIN?), Bruce Venida (who has the best style mantra ever I mean c'mon), Miah Legaspi (a schoolmate of mine and omg why are you prettier than me I'm the one with the estrogen here plz share some beauty), Kristine Dabbay (associate editor at Status and has the most amazing pair of pants ever), Mara Coson (whom I first met at the Preview Best Dressed shoot back in the summer when I was still an intern SHE IS SO ADORABLE AND PRESHUS AND HER AWKWARDNESS IS SO ENDEARING and man I wish I could write like her), and Mav Bernardo (the last one we shot that day and possibly one of the quickest but his shot was one of my favorites and also HIS SHIRT).

That Monday was a bit of a woozy too since we started shooting in the morning and ended midday, but I was late for an engagement I had with a blockmate (which was technically a shoot too, except I was the one in front of the lens this time OMG SO AWK RIGHT?) but it was all good. I had SO much fun shooting, you have no idea. I didn't even realize I had skipped lunch (this is worth mentioning because I hate skipping meals HAHAHA stfu) until we were done but I didn't even mind at all because I was just SO HAPPY. If I could do this everyday, I would. MY PASSION IS SHOWING WHOOPS

Anyway, the day after that I had a shoot again, this time for #THESISIT. I went to Alex's place to shoot; we started at around 11.30ish and ended at maybe 5pm? Not bad since we had three sets which meant three outfit and makeup and hair changes with just the two of us. Times like those are when I wish I had a team (all of my shoots are always just me and the model) to make things easier (i.e. MAKEUP AND HAIR RETOUCHES UGH I JUST CAN'T BE BOTHERED ONCE I'VE STARTED SHOOTING) but like I said before, it's nice having creative control over everything. It's just... there's a lot of struggling involved sometimes LOL.

Here's a shot from one of the sets we had. THANK YOU AGAIN ALEX!!! Especially with what I had you do to get the shots I wanted HAHAHA love you. And don't get me started on your face. Your beauty is insulting, I love it.

And then Wednesday night happened a.k.a. #THESISIT MELTDOWN NUMBER 94857349857305783087259353958. I met up with Terry the next day just to let off some steam and work on more #THESISHIT. Thank you so much for always taking care of me and making time despite your busy life, Terry. I love you.

And then Friday morning came around (and then I freaked out at seeing my photos in Young Star) and I got up early since I had to pick up a CF card from Ana's place for a photography gig the next day. Except something happened and I never actually got to see Ana at all that day, but I was able to get the CF card and give her my birthday gifts as well. That incident and everything related to it shall be known as "Kirara" for reasons known only to the Anina tandem.

And then Saturday came along a.k.a. The Longest Day Ever. I borrowed Ana's CF card for a shooting gig right? Well it was for a wedding. A wedding. A FREAKING WEDDING. OHMYGOD it was kinda scary having to document an important day for a couple you don't even know and I'VE NEVER PHOTOGRAPHED A WEDDING BEFORE! I mean I shot my sister's pre-nup a few months ago but that's my sister and it was an actual shoot, not documentation. I MEAN THE PRESSURE RIGHT? But I was really thankful for the opportunity and it was such a learning experience.

I sucked really bad though UGH. I remember going to sleep at around midnight the night/a few hours before call time, then got up at 3am because of the 5am call time. Then went to the hotel where the groom was (because that was where I was assigned, along with Kimpoi whom, might I add, was the one who got me for the gig so THANK YOU VERY MUCH KIMPS!!! And a special thanks to Ana, too.) We were done by around 1ish.

The lack of sleep knocked me out though and I had to take a nap by the time I got home. That same day I had a movie date with my favorite people (Rise of the Guardians a.k.a. JACK FROST BE THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN MY BODY IS READY), but Billie and I were planning to meet earlier as I was going to help her with something school-related. The only reason I got up from my nap was because I had to meet Billie, except that fell through so I was like NOOOOOOh well.

The day didn't end there though. After the movie I met up with Terry and Kevin to hang at Gitara Grill (forever so much patronage to them especially after this incident) in Ewud for some drinks and to meet a couple of friends. Alex and Jam were with us and omg it was so much fun!!! I love just chilling with drinks with my friends. And we just talk and have fun and Jam even sang with the acoustic jammer that night! Seriously whenever Kevin's in town there's usually a spontaneous text from Terry asking if I'm available for a night out, and we usually end up at Ewud.

So after that whole drinking and chilling thing we got home at around 4am. SO BASICALLY THAT SATURDAY STARTED AT 3AM AND ENDED AT 4AM THE NEXT DAY. Longest day ever riiiiight.

AND THEN THE NEXT DAY OMG the reason why I even met up with Terry and Kevin, besides their magical company of course, was because I was going to shoot the latter for #THESISIT. This was also why I slept over at the Domondon residence. Originally the plan was to shoot in the morning, but we ended up shooting from 3.30pm to 5pm. Kiiiiindov quick but I was a little pressed for time, but woah despite the brief session I nearly used up the entire memory of my CF card. Good job. Here's one shot from that shoot:

Yo blog, this is Kevin Wilkerson a.k.a. my fiance (we got engaged in March but we've known each other since 2007) a.k.a. YOU BETTER GET ACQUAINTED WITH HIM SINCE THIS WON'T BE THE LAST TIME YOU'LL SEE HIS FACE ON THIS BLOG. Speaking of his face, it's just as insulting as Alex's. This might've been the first time I've ever shot a male, come to think of it. As in on my own accord/not related to 'work'/my own initiative/etc. This was also Kevin's first shoot, I think! AND THERE WAS SO MUCH SHIAWASE IN MY KOKORO WHEN HE TOLD ME HE ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH. Namida in my eyes. I suki you, my ai. You are in my kokoro zutto.

And there you go. That's my post on my first ever published work ever, and the longest day slash week as well. It was such a busy week, not to mention a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but I am so happy and content.

Also excuse the mixing of Japanese words. It's a new thing my favorite people and I are doing and I cannot get enough. It's so subarashii.

Some Food, Some Alcohol, and Some Jam

Last weekend Jam celebrated her birthday by treating us out to dinner at Borough and a gig at Route 196. I was really excited because I had never eaten at Borough, and I LOVE going to gigs, and of course because I was going to see some of my favorite people!

There are some people (loljk, just two) who, when I see, make me very happy no matter how long or short it has been since I last saw them. One of them is Janelle.

I've been spending a lot of time with Terry this past month, come to think of it. So much that I have just been gaining weight and inside jokes.

Leftovers photography 2012. EVERYTHING I ATE AT BOROUGH WAS DELICIOOOOUUUS!!! As in everything. Like all the hype was legit and I wanna go baaaack for the yummy noms.

And then we stepped outside for some pictures and then this happened.

I don't understand but that comes with PGPS territory.

Jam and her younger brother J-- ... I will naively assume his name is Joseph.

Jam was really happy that her brother consented to some pictures because he seems to hate being photographed. Perhaps this was his own personal birthday gift to his ~*~ate~*~? WHO KNOWS LOL

Proof: he was shaking his head "no" when I tried taking a picture with his mom. Oh well.

This was the most decent shot we got of the whole family, except Joseph (I sincerely hope this is his name) got cut out. GOOD GOING TERRY (she took this picture)

Maronne, being the vain betch she always is. You know what else she is? Oh, just an ANIMAX ANI-MATE FINALIST I MEAN CAN I JUST OHMYGOD?!?!?!?!? You can't imagine how proud I am of her. GO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY LIKING HER COSPLAY PAGE AND GOING TO THE ANIMAX PH PAGE AND VOTING FOR HER IN THE POLL OKAAAAY!!!

Really Animax. You'd be doing the anime community good by just picking Maronne already. I mean KAMON I MEAN I MEAN I MEAN

Because Alex's face always needs a solo shot.

Pangetface and Jam's youngest budda, John Paul. (Now this name, I'm sure of.)

The CSB kids were the first to leave, so Jam wanted a picture with them before they went home. Also, that is John Paul pulling a Gangnam Style.

Then we went to Route 196 for a gig and saw our friend Forrest perform! It was refreshing to attend a gig where I wasn't required to document at all (like I have in the past few months, but more on that in a separate post one day) and could just bask in the feeling of being in that kind of crowd again. Not that I enjoyed myself at all during those gig assignments I had (because I did, like, IMMENSELY); it's just that this time I had no pressure of documenting all the bands and meeting a picture quota. It was great.

And here is a picture of slightly buzzed!Ina. Outfit deets are here and a related post is here. It was so rad that I got to attend a gig with friends again without any work obligations. That also meant... I could drink as much as I wanted, BUT LOL SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY HOME HAHAHA. Maybe I had one Red Horse too many, but I leaned back in my car seat (something I know I shouldn't do, but my intoxicated mind probably threw that thought out the window), ended up dizzy, and puked. Inside Jam's car. Basically:

Jam: Ina, are you okay?

Ina: *hunched over* I'm puking.

(About a minute later...)

Terry: Ina, are you okay?

Ina: *spits into puddle of vomit* Yes.

HAHAHAHAHA I KNOW RIGHT. So ~*~classy~*~ HAHAHA I'M STILL SO SORRY JAAAAM! That was the first and only time I have ever puked inside a car. Save for maybe those possible times when I was a baby. But you get it. I promise to keep in mind not to lean back/lie down when I've had a sufficient amount of alcohol in my body that can get me buzzed.

I might vow never to drink Red Horse ever again though. That night marked my third Red Horse night ever, the first resulted in SLUSHNMUSH: The Sequel. The second wasn't bad, but it gave me a really bad headache (which is expected since Red Horse is notorious for its strong hit -- IT'S CALLED RED HORSE FOR A REASON). The morning after Jam's celebration, my hands and legs were trembling/numbing, which is a normal body effect I have after a night of exhaustion (especially when mixed with lots of alcohol), but... I don't wanna risk it.

Psh I say that now but for all I know I might end up with another bottle of Red Horse anyway. Maybe I  should make a Tomador Tales tag since that's what my mom calls me anyway HAHA.

Jam's ex-bandmate, Cash. I really wanted to go to his band's EP launch (especially since I'm friends with his bandmate Pat) but that was the night before my Math finals.

And here is a picture of us mocking Pat's square head (SO HAPPY I GOT TO SEE HIM THOUGH 'CAUSE PRIOR TO THIS NIGHT THE LAST TIME WE SAW EACH OTHER WAS LIKE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO OR SMTHN) with our new friends EJ and... I think his name was Ben? Omg tell me I'm not wrong.

THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN FOR THE MAGICAL NIGHT JAM! Perpetual apologies for the barf I left in your car. I promise to vomit out the window next time.