Got this inspiring collage from a great interior designer and one of my bestest friends, Claudine. She called it a moodboard, which I\’m assuming is design lingo for something that sets the design aesthetics (mood!) of a house.
Great way to brainstorm and refresh one\’s design palette, don\’t you think?
I\’ve started organizing individual moodboards for each of the rooms/areas for my house (listed below). Will share them when ready. 🙂
Visited my friend Crisi’s house in Ponderosa recently, and really decided that by hook or by crook I will have those vibrant Mexican colors infused into my supposedly modern contemporary home!
Look at these tiled staircases, so warm and homey:
Crisi suggested I just have concrete stairs made with wooden planks on top, then stencil and paint the vertical side with latex paint. Sounds like a plan 🙂
Random shots taken while driving around Nuvali last week:
Nuvali Boulevard looks like it\’s being widened with the addition of two new lanes. Once completed, the main thoroughfare in Nuvali will have four lanes, halfway through its eight-lane promise.
The widening already stretches to as far as the gate of Santierra. 🙂
Already visible from the main Nuvali Boulevard is \”The Fields\”, a temporary site for outdoor sports, with three football fields, two baseball fields, three volleyball courts, a bike park, and an area for remote-controlled games and kite-flying.
The whole area sits on the designated future commercial district of Nuvali, and has played host to a number of sports events since it was launched last November 2010.
I just learned that the Philippine Ultimate (Frisbee) Association is looking to hold its upcoming New Year League at Nuvali\’s The Fields. I remember making the weekly Sunday drive from Quezon City to Alabang back when I used to play disc, and I always thought it was worth it for the wide open spaces of Alabang Country Club. Nuvali is another 15-20 minutes from Alabang, but wowoweee, the spaces here are much much wider and much more open!
No more left turns to Nuvali from the Sta.Rosa-Tagaytay Road– everyone going to Nuvali now turns right on the Mamplasan road…
…then makes a U-turn back towards the Nuvali main entrance.
This was implemented to address the growing volume of cars entering Nuvali, but has actually caused more traffic on the two-lane \”highway\”, to the great chagrin of motorists, especially those just passing through and with no agenda in Nuvali and its commercial and retail areas. The Skyscrapercity Nuvali thread, for example, has Sta. Rosa stakeholders (current residents, Nuvali would-be residents and investors) holding the Ayalas accountable as developers with poor planning and foresight.
With the construction of more retail areas and attractions within Nuvali itself (Robinson\’s supermarket, True Value and a slew of restaurants in Solenad 2, the Fields, the Republic Wake Park), traffic is only bound to increase, and something else must be done asap to alleviate this bottleneck. Top off head, there\’s road expansion with a dedicated left-turning lane to Nuvali or maybe a rotonda. Great too if Mamplasan could just be made open to the public. Alternative entrances to Nuvali can also be explored via adjacent Greenfield roads or Silangan exit. Shuttle services from Paseo to Nuvali and back.
Wikipedia lists the typical bottleneck solutions, most of which go by the seemingly simple guideline: \”Congestion can be reduced by either increasing road capacity (supply), or by reducing traffic (demand).\” The US Department of Transportation also collated successful efforts to combat traffic bottlenecks throughout the US, but cautions that \”there are very few \’cookie cutter\’ solutions to everyday traffic problems. Differences in volumes, right of way, design, funding, and many other variables help decide what measures are best for which locations.\”
Any solutions for the Nuvali intersection you can think of?
I hope I get to go– this is a great way to meet and show support for the boys of the Philippine National Football Team, who made Philippine football history during the AFF Suzuki Cup late last year:
Despite being the oldest national team in Asia, The Philippines has never had any significant success on the international stage and has never qualified for the AFC Asian Cup or the FIFA World Cup. The historical comeback of PHI National Team in the recent AFF Suzuki CUP 2010 Semi-Finals being the most defensive team in the tournament sparked an old flame to the hearts of numerous Filipinos and captured the eyes of the Football World.
The whole day event on January 23, Sunday, is from 10am to 5pm at the Treveia Clubhouse, but the boys will be there only from 11am to 3pm. That\’s a pretty long window to be lounging about and chitchatting, so I\’m hoping we\’ll see a few exhibition games. 🙂
This is also an open house for Venare, so if you\’d like to check out what Nuvali has to offer, next Sunday would be a good time to do it.
Let me know if you can make it. Will probably be there before lunch til about 1pm– maybe I can give you a quick tour of Nuvali!
My friend Ericka with her mini-montalut
Pastel on paper, 1999
I gave paintings away to friends on my birthday as a thank you, but also as a social experiment: I wanted to see which works would most appeal to the people closest to me (and which wouldn’t), and who among my friends would actually do as I asked and send me a pic with their take-home goodie.
To date, I only have four pictures of friends with mini-montaluts, including the one above, which I took myself. Most of the paintings left behind I didn’t expect to be left behind. And it’s slightly disconcerting that some of my friends and family–people I’d expect to care about my art–couldn’t even be bothered to claim their freebie.
Do I hear the relevance question all over again now?
Two good friends shared links on green gardening today. My immediate question: how to apply in the local (i.e. tropical) setting?
Apartment Therapy\’s How to Start a Green Roof Garden details the step-by-step concerns of any would-be roof gardener: safety, weight, containers, watering, and plants. Of note is the list of veggies that worked for New Yorker Jeff Hens\’ garden, and those that didn\’t:
Worked
Worked with Some Caveats
Didn\’t Work
Herbs
Lettuces
Bush Beans
Pole Beans
Snow Peas
Bok Choy
Kale
Spinach
Zuchinni
Cherry Tomatoes
Mustard Greens
Given the year-round sun here in the Philippines, I don\’t see any hitches in planting the same plants that worked for the New York roof setting.
The NY Times on the other hand talks about growing strawberries (!!!) in the middle of a city (I heard Baguio reached 2 degrees C recently– doon pwede!), this time using another urban gardening innovation: the edible wall, which is a vertical garden of yes, edible plants, that uses steel frames. From The Rooftop Garden Climbs Down a Wall:
Like their cousins green roofs and green walls, edible walls produce fruit, vegetables and herbs. But they do not employ complex technology and computerized control, so they can produce food at much lower cost.
The vertical planters are comprised of 24 smaller cells and are manufactured to allow roots to migrate between the cells, strengthening the soil and plants.
These are popular gardening alternatives, even sexy because they\’re so \”green\”, but when one has the option to farm on actual land, why go through all the fuss?
AT about $125 a square foot, or $500 per planted panel, plus more for design, delivery and maintenance, edible walls do not make sense for every home, or even cities where there is open land.
The Apartment Therapy article has a good discussion (scroll down to the comments) on weight/load capacity of your roof and all the structural testings and equipment that go with it as the big caveat in roof gardening.
To be honest, I was really just hoping for lightweights on my roof, a simple add-on for insulation, like green grass for cover and possibly nice, comfy lounge chairs for actual sitting and enjoyment of the green view… 🙂
E-SaVe Transport Systems, Inc. is \”a 100% Filipino owned, Partner Company of Manila Autogas\”:
We design, manufacture and market electric vehicles that are eco-friendly, viable, and sustainable. Our Vision is to be a globally competitive manufacturer of electric vehicles.
* Eco-Friendly
o We say \”ZENN\”!
o Zero Emissions. Will not pollute the air.
o No Noise. Will not add irritating noise pollution either. * Viable
o Bigger capacity compared to regular tricycles allows for extra passengers. This translates to added income per trip.
o The \”Advertising Fin\” also has potential for marketing income.
o Recharging costs is 33% that of regular tricycle refueling. * Sustainable
o Allows easy maintenance and quick battery service.
Glad to see Nuvali\’s not too loyal to all things green and also embraces the spirit of the true blue! ;p
Details:
1. Pilot Run: 7 Dec – 18 Dec 2009 and from 6 Jan – 22 Jan 2010, Mondays to Fridays, from 6am – 8pm, maximum of 3 passengers per trip.
2. Fares: 7.50 pesos each with companion and 15.00 pesos for special/single
3. The e-Trikes will only operate within the Ateneo de Manila University campus.
4. Terminals will be the same as the regular tricycles.
5. December 7, Monday, first day, FREE RIDES ALL DAY FOR EVERYBODY!
Pictures of the launch on the Ateneo E-trike facebook page show the same blue taxicle I saw in Nuvali last Wednesday–
Donated perhaps? Weaving through old wall posts, can assume the Ateneo E-trike campaign didn\’t make it past evaluation stage– wonder why… and wonder what we in Nuvali can learn from their experience.
Had my first one-man show at the twins’ bar in San Juan as a BIG THANK YOU for the 30 years that were, and for the 30,40,50,or more that will be 🙂
Was a night of many surprises, including many GOHs (guests of honor) who drove/flew in from all over. Had a good starstruck moment when Tito Robert walked in with Hermes Alegre, one of my all-time favorite Filipino painters!
So great to be 30–I say THANK YOU, and everyone says THANK YOU back! Woohoo!!
I LOVE YOU, friends and family
xoxo
I like 30, I feel 30 🙂
December 15, 2010, Wednesday
Bardeli’s, San Juan
**************************************
WORKS SHOWN:
**************************************
Dead star
Acrylic on paper
He who waits for us is just like us.
Acrylic on paper
“Every cry is an unknotting.”
Acrylic on paper
*Quote by Crisi
We are just passing through.
Acrylic on canvas
El Nido
Acrylic on paper
Don’t be amazed by the light of your teacher, there is more.
Gouache on paper
Meditation
Gouache on paper
Oh Thou I!
Gouache on paper
Embrace
Gouache on paper
Mom and Dad
Acrylic on canvas
Kuy
Acrylic on paper
Jon
Acrylic on paper
Sammy
Acrylic on paper
Self-portrait
Acrylic on canvas
Pete bahu, 2003
Phil bahu, 2003
Oil pastel on paper
Other pics at gabisuncultured.blogpspot from my friend Gab, who said: “My friend celebrated her birthday with her first one-woman exhibit. And it wasn’t in an art gallery… it was in a bar. Kewl.”
“He who waits for us is just like us.” Acrylic on Paper, December 2010
Happy to say there are no birthday blues this year, I’ve crossed out about 22 items on my 30 before 30 list, and am really in a good place now. The sadness in the heart, so poignant a year ago, has passed:
Written on December 10, 2009, and sent into the future (now the present) through FutureMe.org.
Dear FutureMe,
bday blues again, this time the blues are more glaring, the cut is deeper.. been texting friends how this kind of sadness is new to me–i feel fear again, or for the first time..a lonely, emptying fear.. is this what love lost does to you?
i have bold plans to be in new york by may.. wonder where that yellow brick road will lead me.. openness, a healthy sense of self-identity, and a decisiveness to say no to things that have less relevance… am i ready for battle? i feel so sensitive, bagong skin, baby skin..tender to the touch and even to light… what am i shying away from? love? pain? they go together right?
happy birthday jo, be well, be happy. you’ll be 30 soon. check your 30 before 30 list… !
hugs, oh some sadness in the heart!
New York went by and well, went by. Palawan also went by, and is still lingering. Maybe for a much longer time. Who’s to say? Possibilities are endless. 🙂
All in all, such a blessing 2010 has been, for all its joys and pains.
Holding a BIG THANK YOU show on my birthday, and the work above is one of the few that have come out since Palawan. Deep breaths and maybe chugs of beer as my works go on their first ever public display in 3 days…!
My parents and I wanted to see how Nuvali looked at night, so we drove around last Saturday to take a sneak peak…
Was pitch black after Solenad, boohoo!
The guards said the lamp posts along Nuvali Boulevard have been installed and are due to be lit up anytime now…
We knew there were residents already living in Avida Settings, so we expected that part to have more \”life\”…
We drove around Phase 2, where there were signs of construction work, but nothing more. Good thing the moon was out though.
Treveia has yet to see its first resident, so understandably, there was no need to light up anything there:
Am confident things will be literally brighter in Nuvali in a few months as more residents come in, but just the same I was very happy to see fireflies! Means the air is very very clean. 🙂 And also so happy to hear my favorite lullaby in abundance: crickets.
Last night I thought of the mementos I held on to, and which I needed to let go of… not because they triggered pain or joy, but because they triggered nothing.
Then I came upon one curious piece– an old t-shirt– and my reaction was so honest it just made me smile: “I’ll hold on to this so I can wear it when I want to be sad.”
Do you ever want to be sad?
Everyone I know wants to be happy… but is there also merit in choosing to be sad?
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