It's amazing to just look back at life and see that you're no longer stuck in the same place (metaphorically speaking).
I was recently lamenting the loss of my Summer 2023 files during transfer to an external hard drive. I simply thought that was the universe's way of telling me to let go.
Screw the nice photos, you can always capture new ones.
I always thought that I was sentimental. I used to keep candy wrappers and scratch papers that were present during a monumental moment of my life. I keep them in a 20-year-old box under my bed.
Maybe I still am but no longer with the same intensity from when I was younger. I hardly felt bad when I lost a lot of photos from 2017 and even way back. These are photos of friends, pets, and even food that I had. Those were stories from certain chapters of my life that are, unfortunately, never coming back and I'll no longer have the opportunity to look back to.
I guess that's what cemented it. I rarely take photos these days anyway.
Then I found a flash drive.
Long story short, this flash drive was used to be a temporary home for files while I clean out my laptop. I totally forgot about it and here we are...
Darker days
This series of photos are usually captured in the Metropolitan Manila area. It documents chaos and the false sense of development and safety among the urban jungle.
The old house by the cliff
Such a mysterious house
This is my favorite view whenever my commute takes me to the boundary of Taguig and Makati. I don't know if this is originally a cliff but the residential area is uphill. These houses are what remains of a bustling community displaced by the development of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
I don't know the exact story but there is always something eerie about this house. Standing tall, overlooking Laguna de Bay and the rest of the communities around the area, it commands your attention -- at least in my case. It looks like a vacation home but it is always empty when viewed from the bottom.
The sunrise from Guadalupe
Pasig river as seen from the Guadalupe bridge in Mandaluyong
As a commuter, whenever I pass along the Guadalupe bridge, it signifies to me that this is the place where Makati ends and Mandaluyong begins (of course, that's not officially the case). It is smoky and chaotic, the place will have you thinking layers of violent thoughts at barely 6 AM.
The silver lining, however, is the view of the sunrise at 5:30 AM on months like February. The pink skies illuminating the river is such a sight to see.
Dangerous EDSA-Shaw
City of filth, I guess.
Metro Manila is never commuter-friendly and it is only getting worse. This area, which the locals call Crossing due to its intersection, doesn't respect pedestrian rules. I had to make sure I was with a huge crowd when crossing these streets -- or else, cars will simply ignore you despite what the stoplight says.
Nostalgia trip
While these aren't the only photos I managed to save, these are the ones that somehow gave me whiplash. I thought I was strong for being able to brave through working in Manila as a car-less individual.
I thought I was strong to stand through the storms of Manila.
I guess, in a way, I was brave enough to leave the nest for a little while.
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