I took over the mall recently, and notice the growing number of people coming in and out of the mall, while trying to go with the flow and dodging the upcoming crowd. Its awful to see the long line of people paying at the counter, while having you in the last spot paying for just a single item you want to buy.

While taking over the long line and waiting for my cue, I noticed a young boy, dressed in rugged and dirty shirt and short shorts, dying for a toy in the corner. He suddenly grabbed the other toys which got his interest, while I was just staring at him unnoticed. The sudden feeling of mixed emotions struck me, I felt sorry for that boy. I was already at my cue, and the boy was nowhere to be found, maybe he did a little mall-hop, I guess.

Christmas is just around the corner, and while we are waiting for the day to come, we'll experience more splendid things we'd never imagine. Making our Christmas more exciting, we have to color it. Meaning, we have to consider other people, make them happy, while in return, it makes us happy too. Small deeds, which leads to big changes in the life of others. Making people smile with colors.

Another way to contribute in a more meaningful Christmas is to be part of the solution in PAY IT FORWARD GENSAN!, a project of Michelle Carillos, which started out as a small decision to do, and now aimed to provide and share the spirit of Christmas, through feeding at least 200 street children of Gensan.

See, how splendid it would be if we brought smiles into our fellow natives. Even just for a small pay of effort we could already be happy, and at the same time, making the spirit of Christmas as colorful as we could ever imagine.

Christmas is fast approaching and you better see kids giggling again for new toys from Santa himself. What about foods? Have you decided what foods and sweets you'd like to prepare, well, i;m already off for some new grabs for this year's awaited season. Sweets? There are so many delicious picks you could ever imagine. That's why I'd like to share the sweets I'd like to chunk with in the coming eve.

1.) Brownies Unlimited- Ever tried these sweet brownies coming straight from Brownies Unlimited? Mocha Frostees, Fudge Cake Bar, Walnut Swirl Brownies, Double Choc O' Chip Brownie Bar, Tiramisu, Blueberry, Mango & Strawberry Cheesecake? Ever tried them? I'm gonna crack my head enumerating the delights of their products, but one thing's for sure, you'll surely gonna love it. Share it!

2.) Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - Good things Krispy Kreme opened a branch here in Philippines, and I've got the chance to experience the Original Glaze. Obviously, there are many varieties of Doughnuts you'd be crazy for. Not to mention the Caramel Kreme Crunch and the Cinnamon Twist. Go grab some!

3.) Pinoy Kakanin - and lastly, but you'd love for sure, especially Filipinos, are Pinoy Delights, somewhat called, "Kakanin". If you're a tradionally pinoy, you must be familiar with, Kutsinata, Puto, Sapin-sapin, suman, etc? These are just few delicacies p
repared during Noche Buena, and Dama de Noche.

Se jeep, todo ingay ng barkada, nagpapakahulugan lang ng di pagsang-ayon ng mga nakatabing matatanda. Tawa dito, at tawa doon, kahit problema sa eskwela'y kinakalimutan, matungghayan lang ang pagtawa ng buong grupo.

Sa classroom, naghahanap ng bakanteng upuan makatabi lang ang kachismis na classmate. Sa isang napakatahimik na klase, na sinasabayan rin ng nakakaantok na titser, hayun pinatugtog ang "Kung Liligaya Ka" ni Imelda Papin mula sa cellphone na kinagigiliwan tuwing lunch time. Pag dating ng examination day, todo tago at yuko nang ulo para lang makapanggoodtime at maipareho ang mga sagot sa katabing wala ring alam sa mga pinagsasagot niya.

Ganyan ang dating namin nung nilalakbay pa ang mga huling araw ng hayskul, matapang, maingay, at higit sa lahat, walang kinatatakutan, para bang isang tagline ng balita. Kahit ganyan ang naging asal namin, natuto rin kaming maging seryoso at pilit na ipinasok sa isip na matutong tumanda kahit minsan. Naging "Black Sheep" ang aming seksyon ng dahil na rin sa amin. Ngunit masaya naman kami.

Nagtaka ka ba kung bakit ganito na lang ang mga nailagay ko sa lahok na ito? Isang punto lang ang nais kong ibahagi sa inyo, at iyon ay ang linyang, "The best things in life aren't things", kung nakuha mo ang ibig ipahiwatig ng linya, malalaman mong napakahalaga ng mga taong nakapaligid sayo, lalung-lalo na ang mga KAIBIGAN. Masasabi kong isang pack Mahahalagang Regalo ang natanggap at nakita ko nung ako'y hayskul.

Sa tingin mo? May mahalagang regalo ka rin bang natanngap ng tulad ko? Maligayang LP!

Saturday Afternoon- I sat down on the couch with an on-going sleepyhead, one of my friends messaged me to watched a cheerdance competition. It's a sleepy afternoon, so I decided to drop with them. Everytime I hang-out with them we're always get into trouble, and tell ourselves, "We suck, but it was fun". Yeah, it was fun, hanging out with my group, APOCALYPSE.

Ever wonder why Apocalypse? I really don't know. All I know is that i'm proud to say that I had made a great contribution to make the group succeed in the past 3 years. It's been a while since me and my friends get to know each other back in the second year of our high school days.

It started out as a joke in 3rd year high school, while renaming my friendster name in "Apocalypse" and encourage my close friends, Riza and Honey to also change their name. At least it made us happy, aside from the fact that we were recognized by friendster people, with wondering with thoughts of, "Why Apocalypse? Andami nyo ah?".

We're 15, or 16, or 17, I don't know, and you know what's good about the group? Different perceptions of life, and different showcase of talents. We have a visual artist, a fashionista, kikays, photographer, adobe nerds, or even duel master. We have the same world everytime we get together.

I've been recieving emails from different sender, and I got an inspirationl email form one of my friends, and decided to post and include a photo related to it. It was an overwhelming feeling trying to encourage you in doing your everday activities.

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren't the way you had hoped they would be. That's when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down, but those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them. Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are.

So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be, because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep Believing in Yourself!

Getting back on my experience in the last 24 hours, I was still unfamiliar of how my domain works, but I am still thankful for the 1 year free and quick domain I got with the help of Godaddy.com. I decided to name my new domain , but same blog as A Southern Shutter, and don't worry, Monkey Monitor is still the same with the new one, and it will be back after a year, if wouldn't renew my domain, I guess.

Fortunately, the week ended with many vacant and free time. This week is just as splendid as it gets when there are holidays, every student would dream of it. Another intersting part of this post I guess, is my new photo manipulation, another art and crap. I got some time to finish these 2 self-portrait, and fortunately, these ended just fine.

See? I can do the Twilight pose too. You know? Edward Cullen. Please don't react badly.

Sorry guys, I'm not really in myself today, I'm already at the hyper status, so just cope up with me. Bring it on!

P.S. thanks to the Mr. Bean shirt, it was very comfortable wearing you.