And in yet another installment of “You can really just do whatever on the Internet,” I present to you CreepyLink, a funny take on URL shorteners, except this one actually makes them longer in some cases and MORE SUSPICIOUS in all cases. This is what I love about websites like this one. They don’t HAVE to serve any other purpose other than to make you say, “Haha that’s so cool I love it.”
Almost 10 years ago, I started a Quezon City-oriented blog called QCitizen. I had big plans for it—so big that I got overwhelmed and ended up not doing anything for it at all, save for the occasional post here and there.
Last year, I decided that, because I keep harping on about how much I miss the blogs and websites of old, I should start working on QCitizen again. The posts are still sporadic, I admit, but there’s a lot more there than there ever was, and it looks the way I want it to look—still a blog, but more of a magazine, with big, clear images. It’s one of the projects I’m proud of working on in 2025, and I really want to keep it going for a long time.
Even Better Motherfucking Website
That’s it, that’s the blog post.
No, seriously, I know I talk so much about how I miss the old Internet, but you really CAN just build a website like these and fill it whatever you want, and you don’t have to make it look and work like every other site nowadays. As long as it works and presents clearly what it needs to present. These three are battling for website of the year in my book.
On December 5, 2025, my sister, my boyfriend, and I went on a private tour to see the Pinatubo crater lake. “There would be a hike before we make it up to the lake.” Okay, sure, we’ve all hiked before. “It would be a 3.5 to a 7 km hike, depending on the day’s and the path’s condition.” Yeah, sure no problem. “The trail is mild with little elevation and some stairs.” Sounds great.
Reader, that was one of the most hilarious mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.
We’ve made some hiking-related missteps before, like when a hike in Sagada ended up involving some scrambling over boulders, or when we visited Masungi Georeserve and were stunned when we saw that we had to climb down ropes a few times. This Pinatubo hike was an extraordinary experience, because while 7 km didn’t sound daunting, the trail was rough, and there were so many river crossings.
But the crater lake itself was beautiful, and it was a very cool, sunny day. We spent an hour up there admiring the view, winding down from the hike up, and psyching ourselves for the hike down.
We were the slowest among all the groups that visited that day; we were expecting to catch up to a group or two resting at some point, but it appears that they were all superhumanly fast. We still can’t figure out how everyone else appears to have completed the hike so swiftly; my only guess is that the volcano hated us and did its best to inconvenience us, although if it did hate us, then wouldn’t it have wanted us gone as soon as possible?
The return trip to where our 4 × 4 vehicle was waiting was pretty hellish; we could see the vehicle from afar but even after a half-hour of walking, it didn’t seem like we were getting any closer. There was also the panic-inducing fact that the rivers were rising and flowing more powerfully than they did in the morning and that the sky went dark a few times that I was honestly worried about getting caught in a possible downpour and dying by flash flood.
My takeaways from the trip:
I’ll be posting a video of the trip. I’ll even make it look like the most amazing time I’ve ever had. But holy shit, that hike was TOUGH and, if I can be honest, seeing the place once is enough.
I’m using a photo Bom posted on her Substack because I don’t want to share her photo here without her permission, plus I’m writing this post without her knowledge.
Before the 2020s, I was on Tumblr a lot, and that’s where I made friends with Bom. we only met once, at the BGC Art Mart where I was selling stickers and notebooks featuring my illustrations, and we chat from time to time. I’m a big fan of how she lives her life, how she makes time to explore the city, and how she’s very into improving herself. She has a Substack, Pangarap Kong Maging Hot and Other Stories, and I always make sure to read whenever she posts something. Her writing feels raw, honest, and refreshing. One of my dreams is to see this become a book someday—the title is so catchy—and be its editor. I feel like she has a lot to say that people generally don’t say out loud or don’t realize that they’re also thinking and experiencing, plus her writing is deeper than the usual “single lady in the city” fare.