Jade Lopez

Me and my cousin left for our 8day vacation with a heavy heart that we named it the “eat, pray, love” trip (julia robert’s movie). Guimaras island which is a 15minute boat ride away from Ilo-ilo definitely fall under the category pray.

After spending the night in Bacolod we went straight to Guimaras Island. Our first destination? Nagarao Island beach resort.

How to get there?

The terminals for ferries going to Ilo-ilo is located at Bacolod Reclamation area. We took a cab from our hotel that cost us around 80pesos. If you want cheaper fare there are tricycles that you can hire beside Bay Center near the plaza. There are various ferry lines to choose from like Sea Angels, Weesam, supercat etc. We bought round trip tickets at weesam express (economy-480.00, 1st class-520.00)

holding the sweetest mangoes that I've tasted

From the port in Iloilo we took a cab going to Ortiz st. where the terminal is located. You need not wait longer because there are many pumpboats that travel constantly which cost 18.00 /person. We reached the Jordan wharf after 15 minutes but the travelling did not end there (NO IT DID NOT!!!)

motorized banca (pumpboat)

We rode a jam-packed jeepney going to San Miguel that cost 30.00/person. From there it’s a 3 hour travel through narrow rough roads to the wharf. So, if you are going to Nagarao for the first time just rent your own van to save you from so much hassle.

passengers can also ride the deck but we did not dare to.

this 12 seater van accomodates up to 20 passengers

The resort provided us a pumpboat going to Nagarao Island.

our boat going to Nagarao

me and my cousin enjoying the scenery!

It was a grueling 7hour travel from Ilo-iolo to Nagarao Island beach resort. We arrived around 3pm and it was lowtide already! We were not able to swim at the beach because of the rocks along the shorelines.  There were no one else in the island aside from the owner’s son (who was on vacation), us and the staffs.There is no electricity and the generator is open only from 6pm-10pm. Before it got dark the rain poured hard with some lightning in the background (it was a beautiful sight though too bad I did not take a picture).

chilling

On a brighter note I was able to find time to reflect and think about my purpose in life. The peace and quiet were just what we needed.

chillout spot at Nagarao

soulsearching sya oh!

My cousin, Ate Adona booked a flight going to Bacolod for 8 days. We decided to explore some parts of Western Visayas, Bacolod-Guimaras-Iloilo (I’ll write about it soon on another entry). One of the highlights of my travel was meeting two of my twitter followers from ilo-ilo. It all started when Ate Adona asked me to inquire for tourist spots on DOT and the person who came up to entertain me was Marie. As a first time in the place I had many questions like what are the best places to see, where to eat, how to get from one place to another and so on but she just stared at me as if she did not hear anything. The supervisor came in the picture to assist me, answered all my inquiries and gave me brochures. At the back of my mind I was thinking “What is wrong with the girl who is still staring at me?” then finally she blurted “ikaw ba si Jade? Jade Lopez?” ; I replied, yes. She said that she is following me on twitter! I was in a hurry as my cab was waiting outside so I just told her to tweet me.

at Global Pinoy SM Ilo-ilo

I had no internet connection for two nights in Guimaras Island. When I got back to Ilo-ilo I immediately checked my twitter page and saw mentions from the girl on DOT, named Marie (im_so_MARIE) asking me if she and her friend can meet me up. I met up with them at SM. We had dinner at Ted’s (the famous batchoy restaurant), had a little chitchat and took pictures. They accompanied us to the cab and waved goodbye.

It was an amazing night! It feels good to know that there are still people out their who recognize me even if they don’t see me on TV anymore. I love to inspire and get inspired.

my good friend Stef Prescott is an actress by day and a make up artist at night. LOL. kidding aside stef is not just a good actress but also a make up enthusiast and she’s REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD at it. the fact is she wanted to become a make up artist and put up her own salon and I bet she will become successful.

here are some samples….

anyway, yesterday we were supposed to do a pictorial but my boyfriend aka the photographer was not available. stef went to my place (she’s always at my place ) and accompanied us to UST Hospital to check on my cousin who gave birth. the whole  time we were there she insisted that she do my make up even without a photographer. we got back at my place around 11pm and voila she was already carrying her BIG make up kit. to all you guys who dont know stef personally that girl can be very persistent. we took some pictures using my x10 and he blackberry. kaya winner ang make up fail ang camera

in a few hours i will be 23 and i think i am having a quarter-life crisis!! let me explain first what quarter-life crisis is. according to www.ask.com “The quarterlife crisis, or QLC, is essentially a period of anxiety, uncertainty and inner turmoil that often accompanies the transition to adulthood.” in short, this is the time where we have to figure out who we are and where were going.we feel unsure about the future. the big question is what does the future holds for us? are we going to be successful?

there are manyattributes  of a quarter-life crisis and here are some of the lists i feel right now:

• insecurity regarding the fact that their actions are meaningless
• insecurity regarding present accomplishments

• disappointment with one’s job
• loss of closeness to high school and college friends
• loneliness

and the strongest sentiment i have is

• a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than oneself.

i don’t mean to give out a negative vibes but this is exactly how feel. maybe i am having birthday jitters?

i do think that all of my friends are doing better than me. my showbiz friends obviously are getting more projects while my college friends  are either taking up law, medicine or masteral. sometimes i wonder am i going to be successful. what has the universe in store for me? the people who loves me  kept on reminding me that i can do so much more and that i can do other things if acting career will not work out. i agree with them because soon i will have my diploma. i am just not confident enough. i am afraid to step outside the box,  to leave my comfort zone.

crossroad? yes i am in a point in my life whether i should pursue acting or take another road. both are uncertain.. i wanted to both an i wanted to do a lot of things -I WANTED TO DO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

you are a beautiful, smart, strong & independent woman so don’t ever let them get you down!

women bring balance to the relationship but it doesn’t mean that men can step on their dignity.

my dear friend, mica rodriguez wanted me to blog again so she gave me this domain on the day of our shoot for the “12th of june” (short film that’s written & directed by mica herself. We shoot the film about 5-6 months ago so basically this domain has been dormant for that long already!

Thanks mica! Loves!

Anyway, I’ve been addicted to eyeshield21 (anime) lately and I finished 145 episodes in 1 week!  One  of the main characters said that if you want to succeed and defeat your opponent you must first admit to yourseolf that you are not the best in the  field.  This is not the exact words but that’s the thought. So dearies, we must all accept that we are not the best because there is that someone who is always better than us. What should we do? Accept and IMPROVE!!!