At The Heart Of Motherland (3/3)

We end our trilogy on a positive note.

An entry filled with weddings, gallery hoppings, provincial trips, and a definitive closure with my 90's self.

Dec. 8
Aurora Himiko of Klover Studios got hitched.

I would've snapped/posted more pics but most of which were either way too blurry or shot at a bad angle hence poor lighting. Leaving me with even lesser pics than what I started out with.

Amount of pictures taken : 11.
Final Verdict: I should just stick to drawing and leave the photographing shtick to the ACTUAL professionals!

Dec. 13
Anong Klaseng Rizal Ka?
(The Art Of Chain Mason)

Happening at: The Warrior Poet Art Cafe.

The artworks (in exact order of appearance):
Tsinelas by Mik Kamote.

Obserhinasyon by Sherwin Sablaon.

Liberal by David Sysing.

Alonzo by Olracs Jebs Tae.

Womanizer? by Patrick "Rawwrr" Enrique.

I Dont Label My Relationship With God by Aeron Tepace.

Redundant by Carlo Enaje.

 Random pics from the event:

The final hours of the night were then dedicated to fun and laughter.
With shots being fired towards Chain Mason B & C (inside joke).

And kudos to both Sherwin & Aeron for serenading everyone at the cafe with their improv humor and LSS inducing medleys!

It was a more than successful first group exhibition and here's to even more group projects in the months to come!

Mabuhay ang Chain Mason!

This is the imparting valuable knowledge to impressionable young minds section of this entry.
And by impressionable young minds, I meant the Gamers! Retro gamers to be exact.
Here we'd learn how to catch a MEW on Pokemon Blue Version.
Yes, the elusive critter of the 90's, Mr. 151 himself!
So put on your khaki shorts and let's catch that MOFO!

First things first, let's forget about the "TRUCK" trick

Mew ain't there!
There's no use pushing that truck because that sprite was originally programmed to be nothing more than an ornate floor tile.
So good job with the false rumor, Internet!

Fast forward to the present, this is the correct and right way to catch a Mew.
And as for this guide, we're going old school and confirming the trick via an actual Gameboy.

So none of that photoshopped,emulator-gamesharked  bullshit either!

This trick is also referred to as the Mew Glitch.
And you catch one as early as the second location of the game which is of course, Cerulean City.

Evidently my PokeDex does not reflect the coveted 151 due to the fact that we had to
reset our previous game since the glitch is location specific and would probably not work if some of the
trainers had been beaten.

1.Since FLY wouldn't be available yet. You'd need to catch an ABRA

No, not the rapper but close enough!
On Route 25, pass the Nugget Bridge and north of Cerulean City.
Along this patch of grass right here:

Also worth mentioning is to be quite careful as to which trainer you initiate battle
with for this would be crucial for the code to work. But it's quite alright to
battle everyone on Nugget Bridge and the first three trainers on Route 25.

2. This is the part where we activate the glitch. It is important to save often at this point in time as to prevent wasted steps or unsuccessful attempts.
You'd need to be on THIS gambler's line of sight.

Immediately press start BEFORE he does his Exclamation thing.

Take note, BEFORE if done AFTER...

On your start menu, choose Pokemon> Abra then teleport your ass out of there.
As you leave the gambler's exclamation is still there and the music is still that of when you were challenged.
The game still think that you're still in battle mode against the gambler hence triggering the glitch. 

3. Battle this fourth kid on Route 25.

It is important to have him walk up to you or else your game would freeze.
He'd have one Lvl. 17 Slowpoke on his team and you'd have to beat the snot out of that Youngster.
After which you'd have once again teleport out of the said location.

There is also that trick to catch a Mew at Lvl. 1 (instant level 100 Exp points) via using Growl at Slowpoke 6 times.
Thus having it's attributes down to the desired value.
We haven't exactly tried this out hence we could not confirm/deny this.

4. This is where the fun begins. Walk up to the Route 24 this one last time.

Your start menu would mysteriously appear by itself.
This is not a bad thing...

This only meant that the trick worked press start or select Exit.
And as you exit.
Yep you've guessed it, MEW!

Battle with it, catch it and don't forget to breathe.
Master balls are unnecessary as I caught mine with an ordinary Poke Ball. 
And that's that, 151 at the palm of your hands.
Closure for you, for me and everyone else that lived thru that era.
POKEY-MONNNNN!

Random toys from the toy chest:

And oh,will you look at that...it's MY OLD DECK!

memories.....
Our Dec. 27-28 were a bit of a doozy!
Attending two weddings, waiting  for our designated bus and then sleeping on the said bus.
Yes, this is indeed....the good life!

Parish Of The Holy Sacrifices
U.P. Diliman Campus 

My younger sister's getting married, YAY!

And no wedding would be complete without:
Overly zealous photobomber

Backshots

Groom's friend trying to recreate the Ginyu Force's pose!

Sorta nailed it....

And of course, a lovely portrait of the happy couple.

Alrighty then, on to the next wedding!

To the far north it is! Forthwith!
This is madness, this is not a bus,
THIS 
IS

We've been dying to use that pun ever since we got that advanced ticket.
This is the only convenient way to get to Laoag.
There is another Partas station elsewhere but it tends to be too far from our general location hence...NO!
Located conveniently at Aurora Blvd - Cubao.

It was an eleven hour trip.
Hence we had to make the most out of it by either sleeping or snapping photos at random.
Toll boths, a whole lot of them.

Welcome To Pangasinan sign.

Hours later, we arrived at this piece of heaven on earth called STOPOVER.

It has food,water, urinals and did we mention...even more FOOD.

We stocked up on various chips and sweets

and before you know it....it's time to leave....Awwwww...

We arrived at Laoag around 9am.

Boy, they weren't screwing around with the whole 11 hours travel time.
Another hour would be spent on mini-buses to Burgos.
Hence we shall play a game.
A game called:

Alam mong nasa probinsiya ka kapag (you know you're in a province if):
1. Franks N' Burgers over Burger Machine or Angel's Burger.

2. Roadside Vendors.

3. One mansion type house in the middle of nowhere.

4. Rows and rows of BATMANS.

5. Unfinished/abandoned municipal projects of some sort....

6. Cheaper gas.

7. Clear unobstructed views of either a SUNRISE or a SUNSET.

8. Fields and fields of green grass or some typical "bukid ni tatang" farm scene.

9. Docile or at times overly laid back farm animals.

10. Eskinitas Outta Nowhere

11. THESE THINGS!???

Enough fooling around, this is where I was supposed to be:

Where I eventually ended up at.

After a couple of texts and calls later, we finally made it to the reception area.
Complete with steep inclined slopes,

and a beachfront worthy of a Toei opening scene.

 And the reception venue itself....

visually STUNNING!

A lovely moment with the newlyweds:

An amazing Manang -Hemmingway cake topper courtesy of Omeng.

The groom amongst his komik friends:

Komikeros 4 Lyf!

Yeh!

So are we staying after the wedding?

!HELLZ YEAH!
You can bet your ass we are!

We were then given an hour to rest, freshen up or slip into something more comfortable.
Because sweaty pits ain't no laughing matter.

And to keep us cool and comfy, here are Bangui's very own Windmills.

And look, Mini-mills!

 No, not that kind of MILLS!

 There you go!

Now that's HUT!
Get it???
No?
Oh, poop!

You also get this lovely view of the beachfront,

their dogs,

and of our friends, of course!

I dunno why but I kinda found this mansion at the edge of a cliff peculiarly interesting.

Maybe because it reminds me so much of Wayne Manor.

Or that laboratory on the edge of a cliff where Clayface fell down from.

Moving on to our next destination, Kapurpurawan Rock Formation.

Just a bunch of looking away from the cameraman shots:

A handful of signs for would be abusive or dumb as fuck tourists.

Dem rippling water reminds us of that famous scene from Jurassic Park.

Yep, that's close enough!

And on our way back,
Sino nga ba si Paul Quiano?
Paul Quiano....y'know!
From THE MATRIX!

Ok, we're kidding!
Here's the REAL Paul Quiano's Plaque/ Sign.

Sitting quietly next to this marvelous monument of Bertong Bayawak.

The way back out of the said place is as epic as it's entrance.
Filled with
Curved paths,

forked roads,

and a shortcut to Bilbo Baggins' house.

Bah jeesus h. christ!
Well, atleast that got your attention!

And hah, we made it!

Join us as we wave goodbye to the gigantic windmills,

To the place we called home even for just a couple of minutes, (Palalay Hotel)

and to Ilocos Norte.

(we're pretty sure this church is of significance but we just couldn't get a clear shot of the thing with the bus moving and all..)

And just like that, the sort of vacation was all over.
We touched down on manila around 9-ish and as we arrived home around 10.
With stories to tell and pics to share.
And of course..FOOD to devour!

Hala, nadurog!
Hahaha, sorry!

Thus completes our 3 part and a rather in-depth review of how our 2014 went
Looking forward to the new year and if you were wondering, this was how we spent ours:

The Beatles scene was one of the best scenes from the movie.
Paul Rudd plays an awesome Lennon.
And the animation parts were even trippier than the real Yellow Submarine.

and Curare kicks ass!

That's it and see you on the next entry!