RYANN REYES

I’d like to believe that I tell better stories through my photos than with words. These 10 photos is a little glimpse of what’s been happening in my life so far. There’s a running theme to this. But I’ll leave it up to you to guess what it is.

1. Twilight 2. Cebu at Night 3. Street Lamps  4. Starry Night 5. Caught in the Headlights 6. Reflection 7. Ceramic Flowers 8. Harris 9. Lanterns 10. A Self Portrait.

This year for Sinulog, I was only able to attend the novena masses and the solemn procession. Obviously there’s no photos of the grand parade because I just watched it on TV. I was cozily nestled at home while everyone partied their heart out on the streets. Hopefully I’ll be able to go out and party next year. I feel like this year, I want to take the religious side of the festival more seriously. The Sinulog Festival always makes me so proud to be Cebuano. Can’t wait for next year. Pit Senyor!

Yes, I am still alive. It’s funny when I have to explain why I have been away. I was very busy from work that I mostly spend my mornings and afternoon asleep. For lack of a good writing skill, here is a photo essay of what I have been up to since the I’ve been away.

1. A Beautiful Rainy Morning 2. A few of my favorite Books. 3. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein 4. Richel Reyes 5. Palm Trees 6. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 7. Scene of the Crime 8. Pretty Pastry 9. A self portrait of me wherein I am not wearing a shirt whilst I am enjoying the cold rainy day.

P.S. This might become a weekly thing now.
P.P.S. December is my birthday month. I will be accepting Birthday gifts in cash or in kind. You have at least 13 days to do that.

Can you believe I own these amazing books? I almost forgot I had these if it wasn’t for a friend of mine borrowed these a long time ago and retured it to me just now. Better late than never! Anyway, the one on the left is How To Be A Fashion Designer by Marcarena San Martin and the one on the right is Form Fit Fashion by Jay Calderin.  These were given to me by my cousin from New York. These are actually books that FIT students use, and I’m lucky enough to have a copy of my own. 

I’ve only read half of these, and now I’m glad I can finally finish them. I’ve always been in love with fashion ever since. I just didn’t give it enough time and effort to really persuit it, especially that I took Nursing in college. 

Also, this came in with these books as well. I mean, if I want to be a self-taught designer who wants to learn all the technicalities behind fashion design, I think these books will definitely teach me a lot. Now that I have them all back, does this mean I’m actually going to persuit my life long passion for fashion? We’ll see.

The second stop for our field work was at Malabukyok, Cebu. It is located at around 126 kms. southwest of Cebu City. With a population of only 18,117, it’s one of the very laid back places I’ve been to, here in Cebu. It’s a mixture of mountain and sea side rural living. People grow their own food, and catch their dinners fresh. It’s the simple life at its best. But despite the lack of tourist spots, this place made a really huge impact in my life, and I’ve learned so much about the people and the different places here in Malabuyok. Because of this experience, I have a new found respect for farmers and fishermen, and how their work affects each and everyone of us.

Probably the most memorable experience I had in here, and for the entire trip, was our visit to Barangay Labrador. Going through 2 houses would literally take 30 minutes of walking because it’s so far apart. It’s so far apart that we had to literally cross rivers and hills. Not to mention the added rain and mud. But it’s all good, because like our team leader said, quality data requires commitment. I am extremely grateful at all the things I went through in this place. I never would have had this experience if it wasn’t for Ateneo de Manila Graduate School. This is the first time I really immersed myself with research, and I have to say, I’m really liking every bit of it. I will always treasure this wonderful experience. I hope there will be a next time.

The first stop for our field work was at the beautiful Moalboal, Cebu. It is located at around 89 kilometers away from Cebu City, which is about 2.5 hours by bus. It is a world famous diving site which attracts a lot of foreign and local tourist all year round. But in our case, we stayed there for 5 days mixing business with pleasure. After braving cornfields, climbing on top of hills, enduring the mud, the rain, and the heat, I think it’s only fair to give ourselves an afternoon of rest and relaxation. And what better way to do that than by spending it at Moalboal’s finest, the beach.

The photos above are my favorite picks taken from our in between breaks from doing data collection from the various barangays in the area, and during our final day of data collection after we went back from Malabuyok. One thing I love about traveling here in Cebu is that there’s always something beautiful to see anywhere we go, and Moalboal did not disappoint. I was lucky to be able to see all the sides of Moalboal, and not only its beautiful beaches, but I also got to know a lot of people and I made new friends there. I’m definitely going back. And maybe bring a skim board with me perhaps? Anyway, after our stay here, we headed on to our next research destination, Malabuyok, Cebu.

For most of the readers, well probably all of the readers, they won’t think of today’s newspaper as something special or significant. But in my case it’s very different. If you happen to read Sun Star Cebu’s July 18, 2011 newspaper, and flip through to page B9, you’ll see that I was in a small segment called Boomerang which features reader’s opinion on various things. I sent an email to them 2 weeks ago, and I sort of forgotten about this not until I finally saw it. Well it’s barely a feature, because it’s so small, not that I’m complaining. A featurette maybe? (Erm, What’s Smaller Than a Featurette?) Anyway, they asked me my opinion on a total ban on smoking in public places. I know it’s very controversial, so here’s what I said: 

Just for the record, I don’t smoke, anymore. And I lost a relative because of the effects of cigarette smoking, hence my answer. I hope I didn’t offend anyone. No one is going to stop you if you’re really going to smoke in public really, at least here in Cebu. To each his own. Anyway, I don’t know about the rest of the guys that were featured but I’m very ecstatic that I’m on Cebu’s local newspaper. It’s kind of weird though, seeing my tiny black & white face and name on a newspaper that most of the people read. But hey, at least I can say to my future kids that their dad was on a local newspaper once. Yes, I’m that ecstatic about this. That’s one item off my bucket list.