I am the Master of My Destiny

La Luz Beach Resort Experience

2012-01-11T19:20:00.009+07:00

One of my new year's resolution for 2012 is to write more meaningful blog posts, here goes my first post for the year.

Dad to Mei: find an affordable but nice beach resort where the Galang clan can enjoy an overnight stay.

Mei: La Luz!

La Luz iz a great place for people who wants to relax - like a boss - but within a budget!

Its located in San Juan, Batangas, its a 3 hour drive from Makati. But words travel fast for sulit travel deals! Back in Jan 2010, a friend recommended it so my friends and I planned to go to this resort, we tried to book 2 months in advance but to no avail. We ended up going to Nagsasa, Zambales for a survivor-like experience. So fast forward nov 2010, my relatives from Orange County finalized their vacation to the Philippines and my dad gladly offered a beach trip for Galang family!

La Luz is the only option because we can find other affordable resorts but dont want to worry about the enormous food bill for 24pax!

Each guest is required to pay PHP1100 for the lunch, meryenda, dinner and breakfast buffet. Each buffet has an unlimited rice chicken, fish, beef/pork and vegetable meals plus fruits and juice. I really liked their pancit that was served during meryenda plus the food choices during dinner! Another cool thing is my aunts who are always tasked to prepare our food, was on real vacation mode!

They even managed to give us a make shift cake for my cousin who celebrated her birthday!

We booked 3 premier lofts that turned out to be enormous! We could actually fit in 2 lofts but the limit is 10 person for this room type. What i like about the room is the separte toilet and wash room. They already thought about 6-10 people waiting for their turn on the comfort rooms.

They don't have a pool but the water is pristine. The sand is not that fine but you'll disregard it because there's a lot of affordable and fun water activities like boating, kayak and snorkeling. And oh, my little and big cousins enjoyed the bonfire where we made smores while the others played the guitar. Meanwhile, my aunts and uncles stayed on the cabana to play card games and get a massage.

The proof that I enjoyed my La Luz experience is I'm going back there next month with my friends!

My December 2011

2012-01-02T18:14:00.000+07:00

December is the month to be jolly and chubby that's why its my favorite month =)

HongKong! I spent the first days of the month in HongKong with my family. It was great to share the Disneyland & Ocean Park experience plus the happiness of being on a foreign country for the first time with them! We are very lucky to have parents like them, I hope someday my siblings will appreciate this.

The joy of giving! Christmas is the perfect excuse to shop hahaha I spent the entire month shopping and wrapping gifts for family and friends!

Something New. I still squeezed some time to for my K and JDrama fix. I finally finished Lee Min Ho's "City Hunter", Kenichi Matsuyama's "Gantz 1 & 2" and "Paradise Kiss".

Game on! I'm very happy to be a part of a nonprofit organization to help foster the game industry \m/

Christmas with competitive spirit! Its inspiring to be around with creative and competitive group of people. Go team Brazil, cant wait to spend our cash prize!

Something blue. I'm renewing my love for reading books! I finally finished Emily Griffin's "Something Blue" and another Rachel Gibson chicklit <3 I hope to find "Hunger Games" soon!

Friends and Weddings. In 1 month a geek friend successfully executed his wedding proposal and I also attended a magical, lavish but fun wedding ceremony of a friend that made me want my own "match made in heaven" ;)

Love, love, love! Christmas is a great time to catch up with friends and family whether by having a quick meal together, watching movie or a long overdue sms catch up!

Reunited! After 3 long years, the Zuniga family - my aunt, uncle and cousins who live in LA - comes home for the holidays :) My baby cousin, Kenny, spent the night at our house and I became Santa Ate Mei for a day :)

December and 2011 has been awesome - except on the lovelife part - and I hope that 2012 will be the same or better! =)

Geek but Sweet Wedding Proposal: Abi Please Say Yes

2011-12-11T18:44:00.004+07:00

As a hopeless romantic, I got so kilig but confused when my friend Titony asked me to be a part of his wedding proposal to his long term girlfriend Abi. Hmm, I dont know how to sing or play piano so what could be my possible contribution?

Then he opened his macbook and showed me a website, the domain name says it all http://www.abigulowillyoumarryme.com/

My contribution? He asked me to check the page, proofread and help spread the word on the night of his proposal. I was laughing real hard even if Titony was busy adding me on the wordpress account. What a geek thing to do, but very sweet indeed.

I've known them for a year and a half so I'm really happy to be part of this surprise. One of the most memorable time with them was early this year, we were walking on Meralco Avenue in Ortigas to look for Banchetto. It was my fault, I wasn't informed that it was transferred to another venue, fortunately they gamely walked on the empty street with me. Such a nice couple, I wish you both the best! For now, Abi, please say yes!!!

Credits to:

Lou for the graphics

Pau for deleting the screenshot ;)

HongKong Experience: Winter, Trains and Walkathon

2011-12-05T19:39:00.001+07:00

It was our first time to travel abroad together and this trip was 1 year in the making - my brother and I bought a piso sale from CebuPacific =)

I arranged the itinerary with SL travel agency, we paid at least 12k each for our 4days/3nights accommodation, airport and hotel transfer, City tour, Disneyland and Ocean park pass. The trip served as my sister's 18th birthday celebration, good thing she chose to push through with this instead of a debut party

We arrived at the airport by 10:30 PM but due to long lines on the immigration, we went to the tourist pick up place by 11:30. Fortunately, my contact was not a scam LOL. We waited for other passengers and arrived on Rambler Garden Hotel by 12:30am. We were so hungry so we decided to take a cab to look for a resto, unfortunately people dont really speak English on that area. We headed back to the hotel, still hungry.

Day 2. We were expecting a buffet but our package only included a sandwich and coffee breakfast. Anyway, we are in HongKong so there's no room for bad vibes.

Our tourist shuttle arrived by 8am, we had a tour guide who gave trivias about the city. We had a quick stop on Avenue of the Stars, midlevel of Victoria Peak and we even rode a boat for additional PHP600/100HKD. It was also the time that I bought pasalubongs like pens, mirrors and bottle openers. I spent at least $500HKD or PHP3,000 on these pasalubongs, the bottle openers are such a hit to my male buddies.

My mom's favorite stop was the tour at the Jewelry Factory. She only bought 1 item but the price is equivalent to everything that I spent! I had a "bibo" moment when I joined a trivia contest during the orientation, I even won an emerald stone. It turned out to be a trap because I need to pay PHP500 so that it can be made into a pendant. Anyway, that was a fun experience!

By 1:30, we were famished and finally dropped to Disneyland. As expected it was magical, I felt like a kid again. Everyone should experience the magic of Disney. Unfortunately, my dad was so tired and it was not his thing so he decided to sleep LOL

We immediately looked for a resto! We first saw the Corner Cafe and my dad said forget the price, lets go inside! So we ordered a 3 course meal - salad, steak, ice cream - and when we got the bill, surprise PHP12k! I told my mom, the money we saved last night is added to our lunch bill LOL. I actually promised to treat them for lunch but I passed on this one.

After an expensive meal, we now had the energy to shop and explore Disneyland! We caught the parade and I honestly teared up. But it was happy tears, it took me 26 years to experience it :) We rode the carousel, took photos with the Disney gang, road the train and capped the tiring day with the fireworks show.

We went back to the hotel by 10pm and we were too exhausted to go to the night market. We only had 1 meal for that day, looking for restos is not an option based on last night's experience. Fortunately, we discovered the 7/11 store on the hotel!

Day 3. We explored the Ocean Park. It was winter and I was wearing the wrong clothes LOL. The Ocean park was set in 2 islands which added on the coldness *brrrr.

The Ocean Park is so big!! We rode the Tower and we saw how vast the are is. I think we only explored 1/4 of the place, you will need at least 2 days to enjoy everything. The highlights for me are riding the cable car and seeing a Panda!!!

We ate at the Panda Cafe which is more affordable compared to Disneyland's restos. A rice meal with 2 viands and Haagen Daz ice cream costs PHP500 or $90HKD.

By 5:00PM, we went back to Olympic City to shop. By 11PM we officially dropped, I begged off to look for that Mongkok Night Market. My foot already hurt so bad from a walkathon on 2 malls. 3 train stations earlier, were back to the hotel to pack our things. We tried to sleep and catch our 8am flight.

A funny anecdote is that we were stuffed with caffeine on the entire trip although we were famished most of the times.

Remember November 2011

2011-12-04T20:01:00.003+07:00

November is always a memorable month and this year is not an exception!

All Souls Day. Nothing beats eating breakfast with the entire family at Cabiao then the traditional visit at the cemetery - where time is so slow. It was a great bonding time minus the stress from the "puppy" and the expected NLEX holiday traffic.

Ironic. Im usually a morning person but when I'm required to be early, its an automatic snoozefest.

Single Girl. Taken Prospect. I want a "real" lovelife!

Vouchers. Its time to claim the vouchers! Batangas getaway for my parents, a new watch for me and my sister plus paper guitars for inaanaks!

One Thing. It was a fun way to get to know each other through the "tell us something that people don't know about you" game.

Movies! This month, I watched 3 blockbuster films, "No other woman", "Praybeyt Benjamin" and finally, "Breaking Dawn"! Still on the vampire theme, I watched "Interview With the Vampire" and the live action movie for Beck!

Fail Whales. The day I decided to wash my clothes, it rained real hard. Then the horror experience to get a Cignal Cable.:(

Lee Min Ho!! I'm hooked to "City Hunter", the 3rd Lee Min Ho series that I've watched.

Docu. I've watched Shark docus to snipers and Steve Jobs life.

Yey! Christmas commitee = free lunch.

Cuebs. It was great to catch up with Cuebs, even if it meant going home at 11pm after his dinner treat with so much wedding preparation/condo stories.

Its the hair. Hello again nice hair! Kevin's cut is the best hahaha

Birthdays. This month we celebrated my mom and sibbling's birthday. We finally tried dining at Yakimix, it was a sulit food trip. We paid 750 per pax for a wide selection of Japanese food and desserts. We also had a "cake" fest day for Lou bear!

Bucket List. I can now check watching a musical!

Nomnom. Sinangag express is the best place for cheap but yummy tapsilog meal but be sure to beat the lunch time! A great find is the Omurice from Kim'n'Chi at G4. For 10pesos per pax we had a fun pancit canton party.

Sweet. Got a pasalubong from Joni's Korea trip and random sweet gift from Jobelle.

Hoarding. Bought 4 Korean starbucks planner for myself and my cousins! <3

Art attack for the room design contest!

I Want A Filipino Beck!!

2011-11-27T21:12:00.006+07:00

I wasnt a big anime fan but back in the days, I watched "Beck" from AXN because my college days crush Yael Yuzon of SpongeCola, along with Rico Blanco dubbed the rock themed anime.

When I learned about Beck Live Action, I made sure to watch it ASAP and it was a blast! It was funny, entertaining and inspiring all at the same time, and I should mention that the actors spoke English very well. I really hope to have a Filipino "Beck" in terms of talent and passion.

Spoiler Alert: My favorite Beck Moments

As Ray said, great bands dont just need skilled members. Chemistry is also important. It was by chance that their band was formed and together they explored where music can take them.

Of course, every band needs a name. They got their name from Ray's "pet"..Beck!

Koyuki was an ordinary teenager but his life changed when he met Ryusuke

and his sister Maho

to be continued

"Suessical the Musical" Experience

2011-11-20T19:21:00.004+07:00

Another voucher claimed for a new experience - Repertory Children Theater's Suessical the Musical.

Its on my bucket list to watch a musical and/or a play. I was happy to stumble upon - hmm actually, I check my voucher sites everyday - a P180 instead of P300 balcony seats deal for the 2:30pm show at OnStage Greenbelt.

Why Suessical? The musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty is based from Dr. Suess' books. According to the booklet, which I bought separately for P60, he wrote 46 books for children but Suessical is an adaptation of "Horton Hatches the Egg" and "Horton Hears a Who".

Sypnosis.

"Seussical begins with a little kid (Jojo) discovering a strange hat which has been left on the empty stage. He wonders about the hat, picks it up, an up pops a cat wearing the hat (the Cat) who convinces him that it is wonderful to think. The two of them proceed to think up characters and create a story. The characters and the story cone alive onstage."

Certainly its a play for the kids and the kids at heart, like me. The characters the stood out are
Jojo the imaginative kid, The cat in the hat, who encourages Jojo to create and to dream, Horton the elephant, Gertrude the bird with one feather tail, Mayzie la bird, Mr & Mrs Mayor and the people of Whoville.

Although the characters are supposed to be animals, the costumes are not literal. Instead , they used representations on their costumes and the corresponding animal gesture. It was very lively and colorful, such a wonderful experience. My other favorite part is the surprise representations for "Solla Sollew".

Experience it yourself, Suessical the Musical will run until December 2011. =)

Lego's Christmas City - Landmarks

2011-11-19T19:52:00.000+07:00

My sister and I was way too early for the Breaking Dawn screening, fortunately we saw Lego's Christmas City exhibit at SM North EDSA's The Block. My favorite set are the famous landmarks made from, guess what, Lego blocks!

The Eiffel Tower! I hope I can see the real tower within this lifetime =)

The real Petronas Twin Tower doesn't have the "Please do not touch" sign =P

Thailand's Bank of Asia

Our very own Luneta Park

China's Tienanmen's Square

Taipei 101

Japan's Tokyo Tower

The Great Wall of China!

Singapore's Merlion

If you're in my past, please stay there!

2011-11-19T18:59:00.002+07:00

I don't know what's with this month but for some reason I received a drunk call and unwanted SMS from people from my past. I don't want to sound so bitter but there's a reason why they are in my past and they should just stay there.

#NowListening to Eraserheads' With a Smile to bring back the good vibes=)

Love-Hate Relationship with Vouchers

2011-11-12T20:06:00.003+07:00

LOVE.

I love discounts!!!

So I am the perfect "target market" of these online coupon/voucher sites. Its so easy to do, I can browse the deal sites on my phone and in a minute I can be on the checkout page, entering my credit card details.

I've pampered myself in a considerable budget as I used discounted coupons for "diamond peel", "body scrub", and "hair treatments!" I've experienced budget "Gold's gym membership",
"paintball" and "musical play".

I've started my online Christmas shopping last September, I've completed my gifts for my godsons and goddaughters. I just need to wait for the claim date.

I've bought birthday gifts for my mom and siblings. After a very satisfactory Davao experience from Metrodeal, I've bought several travel deals for the family, a HongKong trip and Boracay vacation for March 2012. If you are the type of person who can "wait" for the claim date, then these promos are also for you=)

HATE.

I don't like having debts and I plan to be debt free by January 2012!

I really need to swipe wisely!

Octoberfest 2011

2011-11-03T19:58:00.006+07:00

I've spent the first two days of this month in lovely Davao and it was a big sign that a great month is coming up!

Pampered myself! "There are no ugly girls just lazy" and "I want to dress up how I imagined myself to look like at 26!" These are my two motto for October.

Simple Joys. Sometimes we can get so caught up with life but we need to catch up with family and friends. I'm happy to be there for them thru text and skype, small meaningful chitchat about their storm experience, or shared stories over dinner or booze night!

Surprise! Its always great to throw surprise birthday and send off parties for friends!

Love & Hate relationships. Vouchers and Empires & Allies. Enough said!

Sports fan! 2 amazing games from Ginebra and the best is yet to come because it could be the Fast and the Furious' final conference together. I'm so happy to watch Dylan Ababou play great in the PBA. Also, what a final game of the year(?) for the Azkals!

Something new.

I'm hooked to Pitz' Guyabano Tanduay Ice, if only I could remember to drink it moderately.

I tried paintball with friends and I got 2 remarkable pasa! What a remembrance =)

I love the new update, IOS5 is worth it!

We dressed up as the angels of death for Halloween \m/

Something blue.

Hello again, Lee Min Ho! City Hunter <3

1 dark chocolate a day, makes the sleepiness go away =)

I heart tumblr!

Whew, Heart of Mine is a good read! Its been six months since I last finished a book!

Nomnom. Yema cake, Indian snacks, panda candies, pancit canton, countless pizza and Amber's feeding program! Thank you Lord for my fast metabolism.

DIY projects. Worked on my Scrapbook again and the endless DIY HK itinerary!

It was a very productive month indeed.

I Heart Halloween Parties

2011-10-29T17:07:00.002+07:00

I enjoy Halloween parties simply because you can dress and glam up to pretend as someone for a a night! Last year, I dressed up as "meisha", a modern geisha. Witty no? I rented the entire geisha costume with knife and bamboo sandals from my friend, Tyni Bebols. This year, the theme is for group costumes. We were supposed to be the navy themed, dangkal shorts clad KPop group"Girls Generation".

photo credit: MichaelJohnGrist.com

Unfortunately, we had a hard time contacting cosplayers who would allow us to rent their costumes. Anyway, it was a blessing in disguise because we super enjoyed dressing up as angels of death and my pasa from paintball wouldn't fit that costume!

Actually, I already bought a white trench coat out of excitement so when we changed our theme my goal is to have a "Less than PHP500 budget for DIY Angel of Death Costume".

my peg!

PHP150.00 - Black dress from UkayUkay

PHP170.00- White wings

PHP50.00 - black paint and brush

PHP40.00 - Christmas ornament turned hair accessory

Goal completed! =) As for my white trench coat, I'll use it on my HK trip <3

Classic Never Say Die Ginebra Kings

2011-10-22T20:46:00.006+07:00

Watch how Ginebra managed to snatch a win from Powerade Tigers!

With 14 seconds remaining, Jayjay Helterbrand passed the ball to Mark Caguioa who scored a basket and cut the lead to 1 point.

Mark was having a bad shooting night. It can be Jayjay's last conference. So at that moment, win or lose, I was just happy to see a rare The Fast & The Furious connection.

On Powerade's possesion, Gary David was fouled and fortunately he missed both freethrows.

With 12 seconds left, Ginebra was down by 1 point, 71-72.

Jayjay Helterbrand successfully crossed the half court and decided to take the winning shot. He missed the layup but Mark's follow up saved the day!

My dad and I screamed like crazy as we watch the Ginebra kings pile up to Mark and Jayjay who were laying on the floor. It felt like we won a championship!

In reality, the kings improved their record to 2-2 but I still think we badly need a big man! I also believe in coach Siot's strategy of giving a chance to the younger players because the future should start now!

UPDATE

Who would've thought that 4 days after, Ginebra Kings will again erase a 5 point lead. But this time, they needed extra 5 minutes to win the game against Shopinas. The never say die attitude lives on!\m/

Sulit Alert: Chef Laudico's BFast Buffet

2011-10-20T21:31:00.000+07:00

Life can really get so toxic so Im grateful to have friends around. My college barkada and I planned to see each other at least once or twice a month. For a year now we've been trying out different restos while we catch up with each other's lives.

This week we decided to eat at Chef Laudico's BFast in Ayala Triangle, it was actually our third time to eat there. I was set to have my Angus tapa silog fix but I was offered to try the buffet=) It didnt take a lot to convince me because it was a sulit deal - PHP288 for the selection of BFast menu + bottomless iced tea.

My first plate: Fried rice, Pork Sisig, Angus Tapa and Special Beef Stew

2nd plate: Another cheesy bacon pasta and green pasta.

3rd plate: Rice cake and to die for Brownies

If i wasnt so full i would like to try the burger but there's a p100 fee for not finishing your plate.

I heard they offer it on lunch or dinner. Its definitely a must try =)

5 Reasons to Update to IOS5

2011-10-20T17:50:00.004+07:00

On the day of the release of IOS5, my geek friends were giddy to complete the OS update. I, on the otherhand, scheduled it on a lazy sunday, after my DIY yoga and church time. The thing with Apple update is its almost always a long process!

After 5 hours, I finally finished updating to IOS5. Good thing Apple still included 3gs phones on this update. Thank you Apple!

It is evident that the latest update is more on improving the efficiency rather than the flashy side. Here are the top five reasons why its worth updating into ios5

1. iMessage

Hmm everyone loves freebies! iMessage allows you to send an SMS or MMS for Free a long as your iphone is connected to a wifi network or 3G.

2.Yey to discrete notifications!
No more disruptive alert messages. Those were the days when I was playing Tilt To Live and in the middle of an intense run, a text message interrupts the game and when you go back to the game. Boom! Game over.

3. Additional Camera button
Ok so no need to blindly guess where is that capture icon =)

4. Instant edit
3GS' camera specs are not the best out there so its really handy!

5. To do/ reminder's list
I'm the type who loves making lists. I think its a good way to keep track of what i need to do and the priorities. So this app is one cool addition

Must check:

*Videos - The videos are now segregated. Hmm I haven't tried it because I've been loyal to Azul, a paid app for videos

Good job Apple!

Global Gutz Paintball Experience

2011-10-16T17:57:00.007+07:00

I always wanted to try something new, so when I saw a paintball deal I happily bought it! It was a good deal, we paid PHP199 instead of PHP500 for an all day pass to any Global Gutz. That included the full gear, equipment and 20 bullets.

My friends and cousins agreed to try the Global Gutz branch at Lamesa Eco park because we wanted to try rapelling and zipline as well. We reserved the 3-6 pm slot on a Saturday afternoon but we turned up at around quarter to 4 =)

We were late but the people from Global Gutz are still accommodating, thank you guys! We had to pay additional PHP50/pax for the Eco park entrance fee and PhP2.50 each for extra paint balls. The paintball area have a good setup and it automatically triggered our adrenalin.

Tips and tricks. One good tip is, wear the proper attire to complement your gear. It should be color black or dark brown or anything that can blend on nature - no orange or yellow please. You should also wear the right shoes so that you'll concentrate on the game rather than on slipping or losing your slippers. And don't wear shorts especially if you have fair complexion - or you'll end up like me, an easy target! I have salonpas and bruises to support that statement! To be fair, I thought the gear included pants as seen on the promotional photo =) That's my excuse!

Girls 2- Boys 1. Anyway, each round lasted for 15 minutes and it was the longest 15 minutes everrrr! The 3rd and last round was held around quarter to 6pm so it was very dark and we cant see anything! Also, it turned out that 20 bullets wasnt enough for trigger happy first timers so we gladly paid for 75 bullets more per person.

Everyone should try it! We sweat a lot for 45 minutes of paintball action, its a great exercise and builds a different bond with family and friends! Its definitively something that I'll try again!

Super Ababou sa PBA

2011-10-15T22:44:00.005+07:00

The only time that Im not disappointed with a Ginebra Kings loss is when it was because of a breakout game of a former UST King Tiger (Cyrus Baguio, Jojo Duncil, Jervy Cruz, Dylan Ababou and Allein Maliksi.

I think Im biased to say that he is the most underrated rookie. I sighed as teams passed on him, he was picked #10 in the first round of this year's PBA draft. He had a good stint at Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team but was overshadowed by other players in the same position, Lutz-Lassiter-Hontiveros (I think).

His breakout game last Wednesday against Ginebra is a great reminder that Dylan Ababou was part of the 2006 UST Tigers champion team, he was cited as the 6th man awardee. Three years later, he dominated the UAAP and became the 2009 Senior MBT MVP.

I don't know if its a blessing or a curse that he is in a so-so PBA team but I really hope that he can show everyone how talented he is. He deserves it, I think even non-Thomasians will agree with me on that;)

The Budget Davao Experience

2011-10-09T14:06:00.007+07:00

Fortunately, our too-good-to-be-true travel promo from MetroDeal.com was not a scam! We love you MetroDeal!!!! It was a budget Davao trip, we bought a voucher for P3750 for accomodations, breakfast and van transfers and discounted CebuPac tickets for P2800!

I just completed one of my goals in my bucket list, visit at least one place in Visayas (Cebu, Bohol) and Mindanao(Davao)!

Day 1: Touchdown Davao, Nature Trip!

We landed on Davao International Airport by 2pm, we rented a van that took us to Davao Crown Regency. We were surprised to see that the daily rate for our room is P3k!!! After checking in and freshening up, the hotel van brought us to Davao Crocodile Farm, we learned that the Zipline is is only until 4pm so we rented a cab to go to Zip City.

Although it was my 3rd time to try a ZipLine ride, I got scared because we had to do it solo! We had an early dinner at Dencio's Kabayan, we learned that it was their last day as a resto because it will be converted into a hotel. Anyway after that we headed back to Crocodile Farm, it was weird experience to have a nature tour at night! We saw the different life stages of crocodiles! We missed the butterfly house and Tribu K' Minadnawan Cultural Village because of time constraint.

Day 2: Buwis buhay - White Water Rafting!!!

The scheduled activity for our 2nd day is only Wild Water Adventure and I now understand why. Our hotel van drove us back to Crocodile Farm for briefing then we had a more than an hour jeepney ride to Davao River. Thanks to our amazing guide, kuya Johnny. It was an unforgettable experience!

Day 3: Amazing race!

Our last day on Davao is also the busiest! We checked out of the hotel and went to the port. We went island hopping and snorkeling at Samal Island and Maxima Waterpark. We even tried Crocodile BBQ for lunch. By 5pm, we went back to Crown Regency to get our things, rushed to airport for our 7:10pm flight. We even managed to buy pasalubongs along the way.

All in all, I spent less than 10k for this awesome action packed Davao trip!Thank you MetroDeal and CebuPac!!!

It Poured in September 2011

2011-10-08T22:26:00.004+07:00

"When it rains, it pours"

Some people dont like routines, but I do. I like having a fixed gym and sleeping time or weekly dinner for friends. But of course change is inevitable so I, like anybody else should deal with it.

Relapse. After I went through my diary, I finally realized how much time I spent on playing Facebook's Empires and Allies game. I thought I was over this game..but no!!

Mat Pilates. One good lesson I learned is that, its not a good idea to have a 30 minutes brisk walking before a pilates class. You(I) will end up having shaky legs and you wont be able to finish the second half of the class.

Wee Nam Kee. Unfortunately, the Thursdays with Tupi group only managed one meetup for this month.

Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi. For our family bonding, we watched Toni Gonzaga and Eugene Domingo's funny flick about wedding and marriage. It was a blast!

'Ber'. A month that ends with 'ber' signifies that Christmas season is here. That reason was enough for me to start my Christmas shopping! I have this idea that if I start early, I can really think about my gift. =)

Confessions of a Shopaholic. Aside from early Christmas gifts, I bought A LOT of Gold's Gym vouchers for me and my friends. I also bought paintball vouchers, my friends and I will try this activity in October. P199 instead of P500 for an all day pass, sweet deal!

Conversion. I really really love discounts! So when my sister told me about this unlimited coffee and cake deal, we tried it ASAP!

Hooked. It took a while before "Modern Family" and "Mr Brain" grow on me but now, I'm a big big fan!

Yeeey! My friend have developed a crush to our common friend, and when I told her that he'll be joining our LaMesa Dam trip, she squeeled a big "YEEEEY!" I was dumbfounded and wished to feel that awesome feeling again!

Ninang Mei. So after how many years, I finally claimed that Eman is my inaanak. I went to his baptism and then to his 7th birthday. What a gap, because he was one jeep away from where I live. The funny story behind that was, Eman and his family dont go to our ancestral house during holidays so I forgot that I was his godmother =)

Amanda. It was my inaanak Amanda's 1st birthday at KFC Libis. Wow, it was a total effort to go there! As expected it turned out to be a reunion among my mid friends, it was fun seeing them
with their kids, until the inevitable question came up.. "When are you getting married?" *nervous smile.

Bruno's birthday. My dear cousin Bruno is obssesed with birthdays hahaha. When there's a candle or someone's preparing a meal, he'll assume that its for his birthday. =) He was kinda cranky during his party because he wants to open the gifts. So, he had two cakes and blew the candle twice to make him happy.

Change is inevitable. I miss Romzkee, the other giggling girl.

Spin! A test of commitment and I passed.

Pedring and Quiel. I often rant that our house is too far from anywhere but now I appreciate that wer'e not flood prone. My hear goes to all who suffered :(Thank you Lord for keeping us safe, if its not too much to ask I also pray that our neighbors will be more civilized =)

Japanese Drama: Mr Brain

2011-09-18T19:30:00.003+07:00

Kimura Takuya plays Tsukumo Ryusuke, the brain of IPS. He has a weird background, he was a gigolo who had a freak accident that suppressed his sexual urges. That triggered him to study Brain Science because he wants to know the complexity of the human brain and understand what happened to him. Meanwhile, on IPS he was viewed as weird "Mr Brain" with the maniac laugh and banana obsession, who uses different experiments to help solve a crime.
This series had some gruesome and scary scenes that made me sleep with lights on. =) Beneath all the bloody scenes, Mr Brain is entertaining and educational. I rarely watch police or mystery based tv series but I enjoyed this one. This is also educational because they touched on complicated matters of the brains but used cartoons to simplify the explanation. Did you know that Kimura gave my limbic system a happy time ;)

Mr Brain focused on the crime solving process thus leaving no in depth development on the character's. It was an eye candy because of the eleborate IPS lab, cool gadgets, CGI effects, etc but it left me hanging for some reason. Mr Brain's assistant and love interest (?), Yuri was played by Ayase Haruka is confusing. How did she even pass as assistant if she's totally clueless most of the time?
Overall, Mr Brain is not an iconic drama for Kimura Takuya but it would be fun to watch him play a weird science nerd guy solving crimes with all the flashy effects!

Yay! Unli Coffee & Cake at TCB

2011-09-11T21:13:00.006+07:00

My baby sister was in a sad mood because she just got her class cards, so when she told me about a coffee and cake "buffet" for only P150.00 I gladly offered to treat her. Coincidentally, it was featured at "Kapuso Mo: Jessica Soho" on the same night. So, its a date!
Fortunately, there's a branch near us so the next day we went to TCB at West Ave.
On the TV feature and on the menu there was a wide variety of cakes to choose from but on that TCB branch, they only offer 3 but who am I to complain, we got more than what we paid for ;)
My first order was iced coffee and Double Chocolate cake, while my sister had iced coffee and Ube Sans Rival. Both cakes are to die for!

After 10 minutes, we finished the first set so we pretended to read the magazines for few minutes LOL. On our next order I had my second serving of decaf iced coffee & Devil's cake (chocolate, caramel and icing) while my sister had Cafe Americano and our second serving of Double Chocolate!

Cake and coffee lovers must try this amazing SULIT deal on a TCB near you!

Oh August 2011!

2011-09-04T17:26:00.003+07:00

Celebrations and blessings. Every month or day, there's a reason to celebrate and August is not an exception. This month is a roller coaster ride and started a new milestone in my life!

Ironic but sweet. Our friend Brian, whose on a diet, spoils us with different desserts! Thanks to him, we tasted the best chocolate ever =)

Number 38. Deej is equals to Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels on a Thursday night is equals to Friday Zombie mode.

Thursday is living life to fullest day! Thursdays is scheduled for GDAP meeting, streetdance or pilates class and One More Chance barkada dinner. For this month we tried out chicken and unlimited rice at ChickBoy and another round of Vietnamese delights at Pho24.

Kimura Takuya. I watched another Kimura series' Love Generation and I got my hand on Engine and Mr Brain series too! I have to say there's a reason why he's Japan's drama king.

Cabiao. We went home to Cabiao for 2 Sundays this month for my aunt and uncle's birthdays. I really love family time and Lechon!

Mini Ref Adventure. Not many people can say that they commuted a small ref from Caloocan to Dian. I did!

Technology. Its really amazing how Skype can bring people closer despite the distance. My aunt and nanay can spend hours talking about how they spent their days, what they ate and other random stuff for hours minus the big phone bills.

A different friday. Instead of the usual binge drinking night out, I had a relaxing body scrub and facial at Suay Thai which turned out to be a good stress reliever. The only downside is commuting with drunk people on the way home.

Intervention. I dont know if its because they trust me as a friend or because Im the lone girl in the group that they confide their heart problems with me, the single girl. Kinda ironic but Im glad to help.

Time Marches On. Wow, I cant believe Miguelle, who continuosly grows up in front of my eyes is already 12 years old! Plus, Haley, my inaanak from my bff Jel just turned 4 years old. Im proud to say that I have a complete attendance on my inaanak's birthday parties.

First time. I would like to congratulate myself because at last I was able to watch a 3D movie - Smurfs aka Barney of HIMYM in a film.

Movies. I had my chick flicks fix this month - Monte Carlo, Prada to Nada, Friends with Benifits, Bad Teacher, Water for Elephants, Bridesmaids and Revenge of the Bridesmaids.

MC47MVP. People's MVP!

TV! I finished the 6 seasons of How I Met Your Mother and 4 seasons of Big Bang Theory and now off to watch Modern Family!

Pranks! We're never too old to stage a harmless prank, from changing the wallpaper to stuffing bottles of water to someone's bag!

Hooked. I was challenged to play Empires and Allies and now Im hooked.

2013 <3. Because of an unfortunate incident that happened to my housemate, I had to move back from the apartment back to our house but I thank God because this opened for a new opportunity.

Challenge Accepted: Empires & Allies

2011-08-30T20:34:00.004+07:00

I often say that I'm the target market of Game Cafe's Sally games. I've bought Sally's Spa, Salon and Studio. I can say that I have a background in games and although I know that these games have used the same game engine - same structure just different skins or designs, I still totally enjoy its simplicity.

I also like playing Zynga's Words With Friends and Hanging With Friends, both are interactive and based on Scrabble.

I've joined the bandwagon of Plants Versus Zombies, Angry Birds and Tilt To Live. So anyway, Facebook games are the new bandwagon but I never really put an effort to join since I'm already spending too much time online. Then a friend asked me to play "Empires & Allies" for research purposes. So since my vacation plan for the long weekend was cancelled, I decided to give it a try (I don't really have a choice).

The main purpose of the game is to build your own empire and defend it. You need to maintain the population, create a government, industries and military. You can add your Facebook friends as neighbors who help you out or they can be your enemies who try to invade your empire! I found myself playing every time I can and time really fly when you're having fun! I forgot about the movies that I was supposed to watch. Whew, I got hooked! A good proof for that is I managed to reach level 13 in 3 days.

The Empires and Allies experience is a good inspiration and hopefully this research can help me in my task ;) Now, I just need to delete this app because I want my life back. LOL.

Challenge Accepted: Mat Pilates

2011-08-29T20:02:00.000+07:00

When I purchased another Gold's gym voucher, I opted to claim it on Glorietta branch because of the wide range of classes. This 10 sessions for P1,000 is a very good deal =) I tried 3 different group exercises so far

Streetdance - 1 hour of honest to goodness sweating in hiphop beats
Hi-Lo Definition - Turned out to be a ballet like aerobics dance class. The playlist included a lot of Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue!

I wanted to try Glorietta's yoga sessions but the "Yogilates class" - a mix of Yoga and Pilates that I used to take at Gold's Gym InterCon Hotel- is available on mornings only while "Hatha Yoga" is scheduled on a very late time.

When I looked through the group exercise schedule, I saw Mat and Sculpt Pilates. My friend already tried the latter and she compared it to undergoing CAT training, so I thought I'll just try Mat Pilates instead.

It was a grueling 1 hour workout, I never sweat that hard on a yogilates class. Well, I'll blame it on the usage of dumbells and the fast paced theme compared to Yogilates class' serene inner peace seeking atmosphere.

I think it was an effective workout since my stomach and legs were hurting for almost 3 days ;)

Here's a good sample of a 10 minute Pilates workout. Enjoy!

Pupil's Awesome 20/20

2011-08-20T14:59:00.004+07:00

20/20 was the first song that stood out after listening to Pupil's Limiters of the Infinity Pool album. I love the play of words on the song's title - 20/20 (vision) - and lyrics - I wish that I can see the world thru your eyes-. An awesome song deserves an equally awesome video that immortalizes the dream of an empty EDSA.

Honestly, it usually takes time for Pupil's songs to grow on me but after awhile it will become one of my all time favorites (Dulo ng Dila, Sala, Monobloc). That's Pupil for me - timeless!

Mark Caguioa, People's MVP

2011-08-14T22:26:00.004+07:00

MC47 - you will always be the BGK & people's MVP!

"People" does not include media ;)

Water for Elephants

2011-08-13T21:47:00.001+07:00

The story started with the "old" Jacob Jankowski, who escaped from the elderly home because his 71-year-old son forgets his weekend visit. He decided to visit the circus alone, good thing the workers who found him were good enough to accomodate him. Along their conversation, Jacob mentioned that he was part of the Benzini Circus in 1931..

Jacob (Robert Pattinson) got everything figured out, he just needs to pass the final exam and then he'll be a vet. Although it was set during the time of depression, his parents raised him with the belief that if you work hard, you wont get hungry.

Then it all came crumbling down. Before taking his final exam, Jacob was informed that his parents died in a car accident. Uh, cant they choose a better time to say that, like after the life changing test? And to make the situation worse, nothing was left to him. Their house and business was loaned from the bank.

Jacob, who lived a sheltered life, chose to walk away from everything and start anew.

Jacob literally jumped on board the train that he saw. It turned out to be a train for the Benizi Brothers travelling circus. He started doing odd jobs but when he met the owner August, he banked on what he knew best, animals!

Jacob was then tagged as "Cornell", the Ivy league vet of the Benizi Brothers Circus. The movie is a visual experience, aside from Rob Pattinson =), it was amazing to watch what goes in and out of the circus. It was interesting to see how people live on their tiny bunks on the train. And the circus acts of course..
Malena (Reese Witherspoon) was the star of the show and August's wife. She shares the same love for animals with Jacob..
"Rosie" the 50 year old elephant is the star of the movie. She's so adorable. It was fun to see his chemistry with Jacob and her fun circus acts with Malena. I think Rosie stole the show and August-Malena-Jacob love triangle is just a sub plot.

I havent read the book but I enjoyed watching "Water for Elephants". It was indeed a visual experience.

Japanese TV Series: Love Generation

2011-08-07T20:02:00.005+07:00

Kimura Takuya! I first watched him as Haru in Pride, Kuryu in Hero and now Teppei in Love Generation. On the first 2 series, his roles are the alpha males who might have an attitude problem (Haru the team captain) or too different (Kuryu the prosecutor) but in the end gets the job done! It was refreshing to watch him play a character such as Teppei who was struggling in his career as a copywriter and in his lovelife.
Teppei was just transfered from the creative to business department because of how he treats his colleagues. He is full of awesome ideas but very bad in communicating with others! As if that's not bad enough, his path crossed with his first love only to find out that she was engaged to his over achieving brother. Good thing he met, Uesugi Riko!
They say there's a thin line between hate and love. Teppei and Riko started getting close through constant bickering but they ended up liking each other in a strange way. Riko is a go getter, she likes him so she made all the efforts to be his girlfriend!
There's a thin line between love and hate. Sometimes, even though you love someone, there will come a time that you will need to love yourself more. =)

I enjoyed watching Love Generation because it showed a man's point of view on how to juggle his struggling career, being torn between your ex girlfriend and a new lover and it also touched on his relationship with his family and friends. Because like in real life, we dwell on these different aspects - career, love, family & friends - all at the same time!

Kimura Takuya's works are classics! <3

The Adventures of Ms Independent Wanna Be - Part 1

2011-08-05T19:37:00.000+07:00

I was used to long commutes since i live in a not too far not too near area. Picture this, when I was in elementary and high school, while almost everyone was a tricycle away from their homes, I have to take an almost an hour, 2 jeepney rides to go home. When I was in college, it was still a 2 jeepney ride that can take an hour on a good day.

So you might be wondering, what triggered me to finally move out?
The turning point could be
*when i had a 3 hour commute to go home. I mean, I can take the two hours commute but 3? Such a waste of time!
*maybe because I want to add interesting activities on my "when i was 26" post!
*it could be because i want to stop being "cinderella" who always worry that she should go home ASAP or else, I wont to catch the train and I'll pay a measly sum of cab fare!

I often wish that there will be 1 fx ride from Cleofer to the key destinations, I would pay p50 or how much it takes. My not so near not so far area is actually an hour away from ortigas and an hour and a half commute to Makati on a good day. Its the same travel time with people who live in Bulacan , Rizal or Las Pinas but the big difference is there's no direct transpo. You need to ride a jeepney to get out of PUC then a bus or another jeepney ride to go to LRT or MRT train. The transfers will take a toll on you especially when its raining! Man, Caloocan's PUC area is so behind we dont even have an FX!

to be continued..

All Grown Up - July 2011

2011-07-31T20:09:00.007+07:00

Ms. Independent. This month, I got to do a lot of grown up stuff =). Thanks to Tyni's (a.k.a the housemate) persistence, I finally moved out. On the first day of July, we paid for our rent and signed the contract for our lease. The next days were spent buying -endless- things for our humble abode and eating fastfood take out for dinner LOL.

My new inaanak! I attended Bea's baptism and first birthday. It was also a perfect time to catch up with my mid friends.

Balls. July had one of the best sports weekend ever! UAAP basketball, NBA-PBA game, Azkal's and Ginebra's semis run. Wow MC47 is having an MVP season, but of course media peeps wont let him get the award hmpf!

Friends and their SOs. I've learned in the past that I should be careful on what i say when friends break up because it will haunt you when they get back. Yes, even if its the truth! ;)

This Loud Morning! After 1 1/2 years, David Cook released his second album! I'll post my review soon\m/

Celebrations! We celebrated teammate's beerdays at Isla and Gilidans! The only downside of drinking and videoke sessions til the next morning is having the pimple that reminds me, I stayed up too late!

We had a family get together for Tatay's birthday, he was gone but never forgotten =)

Cakes! After drinking at Isla bar, we decided to pig out at Banchetto. It was almost a bad plan because I didnt know that it was moved to another location. When we finally found the new location I bought 4 cakes for only P200, walking on the streets of Ortigas Center and Meralco at 3AM was worth it!

It was Jessie's post birthday celebration and we ate out at BFast Ayala Triangle. We had so much room for desserts and shared 3 delicious cakes after the meal! Although Bannaple is still the frontrunner in terms of cake's price and taste =)

Azul App FTW! Since we dont have television on our humble abode, I filled up my iPhone with a month worth of How I Met Your Mother, Hero movie and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. It was a dream movie to have Maki Horikita and Kenichi Matsuyama playing versatile roles!

Going Offline. Im so happy and proud of this one ;)

Love and Hate Vouchers. I love vouchers! I just redeemed 1 out of 3 Bioessence coffee body scrub voucher and bought Laser Tag & Massage vouchers as gifts.

I hate vouchers because its so easy to purchase. Choose, add to cart, pay and print :( There should be a message like, "Are you sure you need this? Are you really really sure?" Aside from the 2 glorious coffee body scrubs(P200 instead of P800), I still have the hair rebonding (P999 instead of P3700), Davao trip (P3500 instead of P10,000) and Gold's gym (P1,000 instead of P5,000) coupons.

Wow, I cant believe its halfway through 2011. I hope I can accomplish my goals for this year ;)

Movie Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

2011-07-30T14:10:00.000+07:00

Spoiler Alert!!!

When Naomi Sukuse (Maki Horikita) woke up after her accident, Yuji Miwa (Kenichi Matsuyama) was on her side. Yuji claims that he is Naomi's boyfriend but later on he admitted that they're just schoolmates. He rushed her to the hospital after he saw her fell from the stairs. She almost believed him because it turned out that Naomi lost her memory.

With the help of her supportive father and her own optimism, Naomi realized 2 important things. First, she have to resolve her family issues because her step mom and step sisters are not so bad after all. And second, her boyfriend Ace Zuckerman(Anton Yelchin) is a jerk and pervent plus "tennis" is the only good thing that share!

After fixing those 2 important issues, Naomi was ready to start a new life. She quit the "yearbook" project that she used to do with her bestfriend Mirai Hasegawa (Yuya Tegoshi). She tried acting, photography and enjoyed exploring everything possible for a high school student with her new boyfriend Yuji.
Although "Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" broke the usual scenarios of "amnesia" themed movies, it sucks that Naomi had to end up with the "bestfriend" who was there all along.
Yuji was the dream boyfriend.. if only he's mentally stable. As Yuji said, he wish he met her at a different time because she was good for him but he was bad for her!
I particularly love the camera scene and the memories montage of Yuji and Naomi, hopefully there will be a sequel where they would end up together ;)

The NBA-PBA Experience

2011-07-23T23:20:00.008+07:00

The NBA-PBA game hype started early last week. At that time, it seems impossible for Kobe, Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant to play against a PBA selection or Smart Gilas. Usually, the retired players come here for exhibition games but not the current MVP, not the guy who almost led his team on the recent finals. Then it was confirmed on a press conference last friday, MVP will make it happen! The tickets were instantly the "hot tickets", too bad it took me until Wednesday this week to finally decide to go, and viola! The only available tickets are those in General Admission.

My dad, brother, aunt and uncle decided to go early because we anticipated the long line. We arrived by 4:30pm and we came equipped with snacks, Kobe shirts and comfy shoes. They made me wore a Kobe jersey but Im actually rooting for D-Rose and Caguioa hahaha. Anyway, we spotted these 4 cute kids - Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant's mini me's. =)
A TV crew interviewed those cute kids and my aunt! With my dad lurking on the side lol. By 6:30pm, the line finally started moving. I can say that going inside the big dome is already an experience. And the best fans are those from the general admission section! Since the guard wont let us in (I dont understand why, it was almost 7pm then), people were doing the Gi-ne-bra, gi-ne-bra chant, just for fun! When the gate was finally opened, everyone then chanted de-fense! De-fense! (Against pickpockets lol). I love the random chants, it is very Pinoy to make every situation light!
Somewhere in this picture are Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Mark Caguioa, James Yap, JC Intal and the rest of the Smart All Star and PBA Selection! It was fun seeing everyone starstrucked. James Yap even said "Alam namin, idol natin silang lahat pero sana naman suportahan nyo din kame" LOL. Before, on half time break and after the game the local players took the chance to take souvineer photos and signatures of the NBA stars. As expected, the NBA selection won and we're treated to a lot of fun highlights, my favorite is D. Rose' dunk from Kobe's assist. My only reklamo was Caguioa did not play on the second half, hello Caguioa is greater than Castro! Im looking at you Coach Chot!
After the NBA selection did every kind of dunk, we saw a bonus plank from McGee hahaha. Photo credit: http://twitpic.com/5uluoa
I indulged to a Tenderloin steak after a fun but tiring day! =)

It may sound cheesy but as a basketball fan, today was an unreal experience. Falling in line for 2+ hours was worth it.

UAAP Super Rookies and Ginebra Kings

2011-07-17T21:44:00.003+07:00

This weekend, i had my basketball fix!

FTW.After a glorious sleep, I watched the previous FTW episodes. It is a webcast anchored by Mico Halili, Jason Webb, Richard del Rosario, Miakka Lim and other sports analyst where they casually but with hint of expertise share their thoughts about current sports news. The episodes that I watched covered the latest in UAAP, PBA, Kobe's Manila trip but the funniest was this..

This page requires a higher version browser
For more FTW videos, visit GMANews.TV FTW

UAAP Super rookies. On the 2nd week of UAAP Season74, Ateneo's Kieffer Ravena scored 22 points on the first half of Ateneo-DLSU game. On Sunday, Parks had a breakout game for NU, on the main game Kevin Ferrer sparked for the UST Tiger's second win. Its great to see new talents shine on their rookie year =)

Ginebra, 4wins-3losses. Ginebra won 2 consecitive games without an import( Read as: with Mark Caguioa acting as import). It was like a flashback of 2004 Ginebra with Caguioa, Menk and Helterbrand playing great basketball together. Last saturday they had a new import, Sloan, but sadly I think he still suffers from jetlag. Oh well, at least they entered the semis but every win still counts because of the carryover system of Governor's Cup. The next game versus Rain Or Shine is a must win for the team so that they wont end up tied with BMeg for the last semis slot. I think placing last means facing the current #1 TalkNText which sadly have a solid chance on the grandslam. I'm hoping for the best =)

I'm planning to watch the NBA-PBA showdown, but Im keeping my fingers crossed on getting the much coveted tickets! I bet it will be an awesome experience.

Last Friday Night

2011-07-16T16:41:00.007+07:00

It feels great to party hard after working hard! :)

Last night, we celebrated K-9's birthday at Isla, Pasong Tamo's best kept secret;) Gilbey's Premium, we met again..
Then we decided to go to Banchetto at Ortigas Center, I was raving about its chill atmosphere and wide range of food selections. But to our surprise it was moved to another area. We had to ask around and go for a long walk before finding the night food bazaar at MegaTent along Meralco Avenue. The sweetest thing about Banchetto is buying 4 cakes for only P220! I bought carrot and banana cakes for my parents and Coffee Kahlua for me
And Mango merengue (something that melts in your mouth, yum!) for my sister

Actually, I ended up eating half of each =) Sweets can really cure my hangover!

Busy Bee - June 2011

2011-07-01T19:48:00.000+07:00

What a tiring but productive month!

If I have to describe the 2 most significant emotions that I felt during theentire month of June it would be cranky but fulfilled.

Parties! It was a busy month, I had my post birthday celebration with my college friends then I had my hands full with so many social events (Garett, A and Eric's birthday, Team's anniversary, Joni's despedida, Tatay's death anniversarry and father's day!) Life is for the living! =)

Inner Peace. Thank goodness I discovered yoga, its a great way to find peace after a physically and emotionally tiring day.

Thursdays with Tupi. It's nice to consistently continue the Thursday dinner with friends to catch up with each other, rant about life and try out amazing food! We finally had a chance to try Banapple and Pho24!

Marathon. My JDorama fix for this month - Hotaru Hikari and Hero! Kimura Takuya's series are classics! In addition to the Big Bang Theory, I'm now hooked to How I Met Your Mother, awesome series =)

Oh no! Rainy days are here and shit happens what it rains like being stuck in a bus for 3 hours and flood all over. I miss the sun!

Something new. I attempted to have a curly hair - it was a semi-fail.

Ms Independent. So I decided to move out - on weekdays! Traffic and long commute finally took a toll on me and the adventure and misadventures of Ms Independent deserve a separate post!

Do It Yourself, DIY Yoga

2011-06-26T13:41:00.002+07:00

Because of the unpredictable weather, it was hard for me to go to Gold's Gym for my weekly yoga session. Good thing I found these beginner's Yoga tutorials from Yogatic which are almost the same routine on my group exercise class. Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Hanamizuki Movie Review

2011-06-11T14:57:00.003+07:00

Hanamizuki -May your love bloom a hundred years

Sae (Yui Aragaki) is a high school student who is studying hard for her college entrance exams. She lost her father when she was very young and so lives her mother Ryoko (Hiroko Yakushimaru) in Hokkaido, Japan. Her father Kemimichi (Arata) once planted a dogwood tree in their garden after he found out he had a terminal disease and could not watch Sae grow up. She hopes to enter a university in Tokyo.

She then meets Kouhei (Toma Ikuta), who attends a specialized high school teaching fishery. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a fisherman. These two young people meet and have a long distance relationship. Although their love is strong it does not last.

10 years later these two people have a miracle

Plot from http://asianmediawiki.com/Hanamizuki_-May_your_love_bloom_a_hundred_years-

I first watched Toma Ikuta in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and since then I've watched his other projects. I often think that he's underrated because he always play a support role although he's extremely versatile. So I was happy when I found out about Hanamizuki where he stars with Yui Aragaki the lead actress from Yamapi' Code Blue tv series.

Although I'm more of a feel good romantic comedy girl, once in a while I love to indulge on sappy romance flicks.

The story revolves on Sae (Aragaki), a brainy high school students who dreams and works hard to get into Tokyo university. Gohei (Ikuta), a simple high school boy, studying fishery to continue his family business. It was a story of young love tested by circumstances. Nobody died, had an uncurable disease or a third party involved but it was a tearjerker. I love how real life relationship issues were tackled like how to keep a long-distance relationship and what happens when love is not enough because you have different goals in life?

The lead star's chemisty plus the sceneries in Hokkaido, Canada and New York are great! "Welcome Home" is the new "I love you" and Hanamizuki is definitely one of my favorite Japanese films :)

How to Spend Your Birthday

2011-06-09T18:56:00.009+07:00

Friday.
-Its simple, friends + beer= great time. Oh, if you're called out to sing on stage, INDULGE.You'll be forgiven no matter how you suck in singing, its your birthday! And you can draw, scrible, doodle on your passed out friends. :)

Weekend.
While nursing a hangover from a kick ass night out with friends, go out of town with your family. Destination: Tagaytay. Since it was raining, there's nothing else to do that eat and try all the food landmarks. Hello, Leslie's, Mushroom Burger and Bag of beans buffet!

Take the time to enjoy the place with your family and pamper yourself with a good massage.

Tuesday.
Enjoy fave food with friends

Wednesday
Have a good laugh over pizza.

I felt the love on my bday not just because i received random special gifts but because I spent it with different important people in my life :) If you can judge a person based on the gifts she received, Im confused with my personality lol

I love eating (cakes, pastries and pickled mango) and enjoys drinking (Champagne and Vodka). I also need to organize my things (donut organizer and wallet). Im a fitness enthusiast (yoga mat) who likes/needs to smelling/smell good (perfumes and body wash).
What the? ;)

Now, I'm just waiting for my birthday wish to come true..

My Birthday Month - May 2011

2011-06-08T20:12:00.006+07:00

Going Sosyal! Spent most of the time at home because I was sick and because of technical reasons ;) I really appreciated the wonders of social media - facebook, twitter and uh, Skype made keeping in touch really easy.

Something new.
*Little Black book marathon. As always, I have my self imposed book ban so I have to finish my chicklits before the next trip to the bookstore.
*It was a torture to finally graduate into wearing retainers!
*Goodbye, Central! Hello Gilidans and Isla. We found a new hangout with cheap beer, videoke and fire dancer!
*Wow, I went to a movie house twice this month. LOL. "Thor" movie date with daddy and Yoyin then "Something Borrowed" with my girlfriends.
*Thursdays with Tupi at Amici

Celebrations!
*Mother's day slash sports day. NBA Playoffs for breakfast, Pacman's fight for lunch and Ginebra's game during our Pizza Pasta feast for Nanay, Mommy, Tita Anne and Tita Jinky.
*Keenan and Tin's wedding. Wedding weekend at Lipa Batangas, I'm so happy for the couple. After the wedding we had our team building where I showed my "competitiveness" in videoke and billiards lol.
*I felt the love on my birthday month :) Party at Isla, family getaway at Tagaytay
*Positive in defeat. Ginebra kings lost in the finals but the good thing is we saw the future in John Wilson and JC Intal!

Something blue
*I will always find my inner peace through yoga, I'll travel to Intercon anyday.
*Life is short, a reminder when I attended the wake patty's bro
*I love Cafe Briton.
*Hooked. Secret Garden marathon, Hanamizuki and Lovely complex ;)

When I Was 25

2011-05-26T12:20:00.001+07:00

When I was 25, (I think..)I survived a quarter life crisis. The first days was a struggle because I was broken hearted. To add to my drama, I finally faced my fear of starting over. In the end it prompted me to live more and take life one day at a time.

When I was 25, I had overlapping hangovers...BUT I always reach home before passing out ;)

When I was 25, I lived vicariously through books, movies and tv series. I've bought and read a lot of good books, but of course “good” is relative. By good I mean chick lit and some classics. I watched a lot of -Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, British, American,Thai - movies and tv series. –In short, I bummed around.

When I was 25, I traveled and discovered my love for beaches!

When I was 25, I kept my old and gained new friends. Thanks to Facebook, I've kept in touch with my friends from elementary. I now have a semi-annual meetup with my “mid” friends, monthly get together with berks, weekly dinner with my favorite (power) boys and gels.

When I was 25, I saved money. Its about time!

When I was 25, I could have saved more because still dont follow my self imposed retail therapy ban.

When I was 25, I indulged in capturing moments through photos. Hello, Polariod & LomoLomo.

When I was 25, I spent quality time with family. We eat out on weekends and go to our favorite mall of all time, SM North EDSA lol. Usually, my dad will give us an hour to shop, I know! 1 hour!!! So, I had to make a strategy before stepping into the mall, I plan out which shops to go first. Its kinda stressful but its a good way to save.

When I was 25, I liked a few guys and did crazy things. I also had funny date moments hahaha. Hello Mr Right, naligaw ka ba?

When I was 25, I finished my scrapbook.

When I was 25, I had 2 new inaanak from people close to me :)

When I was 25, I finally gained weight and signed up for yoga & street dance class!

When I was 25, I proved that my BFF curse is still alive. They always go abroad! I miss you Jel..pati ikaw Pam! Nikki and Fating, see you soon :)

When I was 25, I learned to cook my favorite dishes – Cordon bleu, BeefSteak & Adobo (pampadami lang haha)

When I was 25, I discovered the wonders of eyeliner LOL thanks Tyni.

When I was 25, I learned, earned and lost money from Bet All!!!

When I was 25, I convinced and helped a friend organize our HS reunion! Yay, I did the AVP and ticket layout.

When I was 25, I went back to Eastwood. I partied like i did in college, met a guy;), got drunk with my best kada and realized that, THAT WAS TOTALLY NOT OUR SCENE.

When I was 25, I think I grew up a little :)

Better Late Than Never, My April 2011

2011-05-21T12:35:00.003+07:00

Its only the 4th month and I'm struggling on my blog lol *sigh

My April 2011

Pampered. I think April is by far my health and wellness month. I diligently went to the gym for yoga or street dance class and finally had time for facial and body scrub. Its not bad to invest in wellness! *that's my excuse ;)

Something New turned Blue. Tyni introduced me to Army Navy, I've been hearing it before but I didnt get a chance to eat there. And then one Friday afternoon Tyni and I decided to have a late lunch there. It is actually famous for burgers but she ordered the burritto and I had the quesadilla. I can say that I enjoyed the just right spicy flavor and big serving because I had to eat it again with my family and another time with my teammates.

Something Blue. Overlapping gimiks, drinks at Grilla then off to Banchetto for Tin's birthday! Hangover-ed the next day0.0

Something New. I enjoyed a sumptous brunch at Mercato and went to Myth of the Human Body Museum a.k.a Taguig City Day Tour! For the Thurdays with Runie, we went to BFast and I loved the overpriced tapa meal lol.

Hooked. I got hooked to watching Todd and the rest of his "Outsourced" crew. I also got addicted to a new iPhone App, "Tilt to Live". It's the best game ever, I even bought it even if its $2.99 Or roughly PP150.-! I made sure to milk all the money's worth, I didnt stop playng until I scored 8M. Yeah!\m/

Speaking of hooked, I finished 2 seasons of Japanese medical drama, Code Blue in 2 weeks!! Yamapi, ikaw na ang laging bida!

Something Spontaneous. After crossing the street, the optiona are should I go home or indulge for a bottle of Tanduay Ice. I picked the latter, it was a long overdue Central visit -.-

"Why are you so attached to it?". When you feel dedicated to something, you can pull an alnighter even if no one is requiring you. :)

Cooking Mama. I successfully cooked Bistek Tagalog and Adobo, but keep in mind that success is relative lol.

Ginebra!!! This month is an exciting time for a Ginebra fan, well they had a good run in the eliminations, won against Rain or Shine on the quarterfinals, bested the Philippine team, Smart Gilas on the semis and entered the PBA finals :)

More Splurge. I bought 7 books in 1 trip to the bookstore and stayed overnight in a hotel with my sibblings(no occassions to celebrate but it was too hot in our house!). Yeah, whatever happened to saving 0.0

Holy Week. I was supposed to spend the Holy Week with my high school barkada at Vigan but things happened but its all good. Its a good feeling to continue traditions like staying on our ancestral house at Cabiao, watching the penitensya and just enjoying being with the whole family. :)

Health is Wealth. I spent the last weekend of April on Philippine Heart Center because I had to accompany my grandmother who needs a blood transfussion. It wasnt that alarming. I ended up watching my stock videos on my phone but the bad news was I caught colds. All is well because my nanay got out of the hospital by Monday :)

Brgy Ginebra Kings are Back in the Finals

2011-04-24T19:07:00.002+07:00

95-82.I went to mass earlier so I failed to catch the first half of the game but when I got home my dad was watching another show. That's a sign that Ginebra is not playing well. LOL. They started the third quarter, down by 15 points but the guards, Cortez, Caguioa, Tubid and Miller made up for the rare lackluster performance of import Nate Brumfield. Great passing, defense and teamwork helped the Kings clinch the third win on the best of 5 semifinals series against Smart Gilas.

2008. The last year that Barangay Ginebra Kings reigned on PBA with the help of super import Chris Alexander.

2009. Ginebra had a finals stint, Jayjay Helterbrand was named MVP but San Miguel got the crown.

2010. Injuries plagued the team.

2011. After falling short in the All Filipino Cup, Ginebra is finally 4 games away for another championship in the Commisioner's Cup. The Kings finished 5-4 in the eliminations to get the 4th seed. They swept Rain or Shine on the quarterfinals and tonight they ended Smart Gilas' campaign in the PBA. They won 2 straight games on the best of 5 semifinals series but the nationals outshined them on the third game. I'm a Ginebra fan but somehow I dont want them to sweep the series with Gilas. Of course I want to see the national team fight hard, especially since Fiba Asia is a month away.

Happiness. Im so excited! I know TalknText is a tough team but I really hope that Ginebra will get the championship as the last hurray for Caguioa era. Reality bites, they are getting old and I really want them to get this one since its within reach - 4 games away!

Code Blue, Engine Start-o

2011-04-23T19:52:00.003+07:00

If it can be treated one second earlier, the heart might start beating again. If there is one extra helicopter, another life in danger may be saved. If one more life can be saved, the Japanese medical community may regain trust. There are more lives in this country that can be saved. The "Doctor Helicopter" system was legalized in Japan in June 2007. A medical team is dispatched to the patients on a helicopter to provide medical care in the field as soon as possible. One day, four young physicians are assigned to this latest medical system. The doctors experience traumatic medical situations, deal with personal ambitions, witness the fragility of life, and they grow personally and professionally. --Fuji TV

Engine Start-o. In the first episode of Code Blue Season 1, there were 2 amputations so I was warned that this will be a bloody series. What I didnt forsee was I would cry so much while watching this medical drama.

Experience is the best teacher. Aside from providing faster rescue to emergency patiensts, Doctor Heli was established to provide experience to new doctors. Four new interns, fight t

It Sucks to be Loyal to Globe

2011-04-19T12:07:00.001+07:00

Yes. This is an irate post from a globe postpaid subscriber for almost 8 years!

I've been eyeing iPhone4 for quite sometime now but I remained patient because I know by April, my plan will expire. And just like the past years, i will rely on the Globe loyalty program to get a new phone.

So I inquired on how to get the 16gb iPhone4, I was informed that I need to pay the cash out of 25,000. Then i'll retain my monthly plan of 800. I was happy with the deal because I know the phone still costs 43,000+. Then i searched online for Globe postpaid plans and found out that plan999 has a cash out of 23,000+. There's no plan 800 so after my computation, it seems that I didnt save anything for being loyal to Globe! I can get the same deal when I apply for a new postpaid line. Pftt!!! Globe's loyalty perk is keeping my existing number. That was it!

Forget about iPhone4, I just settled for downgrading my line to 299. I'll stop being materialistic and stick to my iPhone 3gs. I'll just probably spend my cash out money on something better..and probably switch to better telecom company!

Proposal Daisakusen: Hallelujah Chance!

2011-04-10T17:01:00.003+07:00

Generally, movies, tv series or stories with happy endings stop at "And they lived happily ever after" or something similar to that. But what happens after?

In the Japanese TV series Proposal Daisakusen, Iwase Ken (Yamashita Tomohisa) have been secretly loving his childhood friend Yoshida Rei (Nagasawa Masami). On the day of Rei's wedding, Ken met a man fairy who gave him a second chance to redo everything in the past to win Rei's heart. Rei ended up ditching her wedding and runaway with Ken.

Proposal Daisakusen SP. One year after, their friend Eri did not show up on her wedding ceremony with their other friend Tsuru. Consequently, a year passed since Rei ditched her own wedding and she is still uncertain with her relationsip with Ken.

And then the fairy showed up once more. Ken took this chance to go back in time to help his dear friends Eri and Tsuru avoid the misunderstandings that will lead to Eri's wedding jitters. Ken also remembered that he promised to make Rei the happiest girl but he failed to do so. He started by facing Rei's parents and apologized for the commotion that he caused.

Note to self: Most of the time we want to get this something and when we finally have it, we take it forgranted. Dont forget how you got everything that you have now.

Yogilates for Inner Peace

2011-04-10T14:50:00.003+07:00

Inhale, exhale!

It is funny to be stuck on traffic, argue with a receptionist then without a choice, completely immerse on a yogilates class.

It was the first day of our Gold's Gym 10 sessions of any class and we decided to try Yogilates - an exercise that combines Yoga and Pilates, duh! We arrived late on our 6:30pm class at InterCon because we had to fill out some forms on the receptionist. As we entered the cold, quiet room, everyone was on their yoga mat, a soothing music was playing on the background and the instructor easily established a commanding presence. He's not thin or fat, he has a bulky built so it was amazing how he manuevered from one floor exercise position to another.

Inhale. I joined the class with the goal in mind - find inner peace. Well i still havent found it -but for an hour i felt free. Free to move and feel my movements. Free from the rushhour traffic outside. I momentarily escaped the thoughts that have been bugging me. For that moment, i just felt the trembling in my body while i tried so hard to follow instructions without any warm up. Then I learned to relax and improvise the positions so that I wont overwork my body.

Exhale. The one hour yogilates ended in a breeze. I was really concious of my posture and seeing myself through the mirrors reminded me how bad i look lol.

Namaste. I dont know why but after every exercise, I end up pigging out. I didnt even sweat on the session but i ate 6' inch sandwich, seafood pasta and bacon macaroni plus i bought pastries for dessert.

The next day I woke up later than I expected and I experienced bodyaches. That means I did something right, right? :)

This is the preview of our next class, Street Dance!

Taguig City Day Tour

2011-04-03T13:45:00.000+07:00

One fine satuday afternoon, I was invited my by friend Joni to eat brunch at Mercato with his boyfriend and friends. Actually it was her casual way to introduce me to his bf's guy friend but that's another story :)

1st stop, Mercato.I've heard Mercato from friends and I knew that its a weekend market where independent or small-business-cook-chefs gather to sell their stuff.

Mercato is located at the Fort and I'm unfamiliar with this area since I live on the north area. As I imagined, Mercato is like a high end version of Banchetto. It has food stalls that offer wide variety of food and items. There's a wide parking space and an area of tables and chairs to eat. There's even an airconditioned portalets for the guests. I think its open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2pm and on midnight.

I was intimidated to take photos because the place is kinda sosyal lol. But actually the prices are reasonable, I bought a baked fish meal for P100 and watermelon juice for P50. Not bad!

2nd stop, Myth of the Human Body Exhibit. After enjoying great food and conversation on a windy setup, we decided to visit the Myth of the Human Body exhibit at Neobabylon building still in Taguig. I was hesitant but of course my curiousity won over me. Its not everyday that I can visit a museum - a museum that showcases real human specimens.

It was a surreal feeling to look on actual bone structures, skeletons, fetus because I can still see their human form minus the skin. The guide said most of them were Chinese and Europeans but they were mummified in a modern way with permission. It was an educational experience because for an hour, the mystery of human life, the process of how people come to life, age, die of illnesses were uncovered. My favorite part is when they show the difference between a good organ and a bad organ then the guide provides a lecture of what we should eat and what we should avoid. It made me more aware of my organs and how I should take care of my entire body.

We're not allowed to take photos and I respect that because after all they are still human.

dd

Banchetto Food Trip

2011-04-02T12:19:00.000+07:00

My high school barkada and I thought of trying something new to celebrate Tin's birthday. Instead of the usual drinking/bet all/videoke session, we decided to go to Banchetto at Emerald Avenue, Ortigas.

"Banchetto" is an Italian word that means feast. And the atmosphere on a Saturday midnight do not disapppoint. A certain area of Emerald avenue is closed and food stalls were lined up. The food choices can cater to almost anything that you crave for.

Whether its street food

Cebu lechon
Baked seafoods
Pastries and cakes!

kimchi and other Korean dishes

The prices were reasonable that's why you should expect a huge crowd on a Banchetto night out. Another setback is there's no setup for tables and chairs, fortunately we found an empty table on a 7/11 store nearby. I think we spent less that 2k for isaws, baked seafoods and lots of desserts. Happy tummy and great food trip experience with friends!

31 days of March 2011

2011-04-01T19:36:00.000+07:00

I started the month in zombie style, this time there's no alcohol involved. I was on a plane then on my desk in a span of an hour. What a way to cap off a perfect weekend!

Highs and Lows. Rant #1. The endless MRT and LRT dilemna haunted me. If only Caloocan City was placed more strategically within the metro! Rant #2. I had to allot an entire weekend to restore and update my iPhone. I still dont know how to remove the photos from Places that takes up a lot of internal phone memory! Rant #3. Ctrl c + Ctrl v is not fun!

Then one friday afternoon, nature reminded me to enjoy life and focus on the good things that I have instead of ranting. Seeing the effects of the earthquake and tsunami on Japan taught me to live for the moment because everything and everyone can be literally washed out in an instant. After that realization, I googled if my favorite Japanese actors are ok. :)

Baronesa/Nagger. Fun guys bonding times are the weekly updates a.k.a asaran time and the ironically called yosi break (we dont smoke)which means eating siomai or any street food. Two perfect ways to de-stress.

Revisiting old time favorites. Dined at Sbarro with family, at Hawkers and Yellow Cab with friends. Old places need not to be boring, the trick is trying out new dishes. In the case of Ambers, it became my parent's favorite take out of the month, favorite turned umay!

Movies/TV Series. I didnt watch as much as I did last month but Nodame Cantabile movies are really entertaining. I also watched another series by Chiaki, Love Shuffle. And at last I found 4 episodes of Mike He's Marry Me!! That was after 3 years of waiting and failing! Now, I'm currently hooked on "Outsourced" which is about an American struggling to live and make a living as a call center manager in India. Its hilarous, bordering to racist but still very entertaining.

Something New..Hmm Mostly Food. This month, I tried (1) Camping - My Nagsasa Beach Experience was amazing! (2) the yummy cheeseburger at CBD, Ayala Triangle (3) tasted Paella Marinara at Las Paellas during tyang Emy's birthday treat (4) during my dad's birthday celebration at Little Asia, I finished my lengua before knowing what it is (5) the newly discovered sulit meryenda, Carl Carbonara pasta wrap (6) Quezon's delicacies from Bryan "yema cake" and buko tart (7) Rode a Monumento FX and Jeep with aircon (8) Makeup crazy! I searched for Maybeline minerals foundation all week and I got a Shu Eumura eye shadow from my brother.

Balls. Ginebra kings had a 4 game winning streak, there's a reason why I adore Mark Caguioa! The Azkals advance to AFC, I was "watching" their 3 games on twitter.

To do list, check! Finally bought new glasses and hard drive which I've been delaying for too long.

Itineraries. My May 2011 is booked! I've spent countless hours online, to search for the perfect place for my parent's wedding anniversary, for my birthday getaway and barkada's Baguio trip :)

Inspired by Junior Master Chef. The funny thing was, I wanted to write my March entry 4 days before the month ends but I decided not to. I dont know if its a subconcious thing but I suddenly felt the need to do something productive and significant on the remaining days of March, hence I learned to cook a dish. Knowing my cooking record, it was a feat to produce something edible and satisfactory for my sister and dad. Yay panda!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

2011-03-31T11:46:00.001+07:00

Cordon Bleu is a classic French food but dont be too intimidated, in layman's term it is simply rolled chicken with ham and cheese inside.

I've read different recipes online, some are baked or even marinated in white wine but as a begginer in cooking I opted for the easy way.
Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

2 skinless and boneless chicken breast
2 slices of cheese
2 slices of ham
3 tablespoons chicken breading
1 egg
cooking oil
3 tablespoons salt

1. Beat the egg on a small bowl, spread the breading on a separate plate and set aside.
2. Brush salt on both sides of the chicken breast but do it in moderation.
3. Place cheese and ham on top of the chicken breast. Roll and fold it then secure with toothpicks.
4. Coat the chicken with egg then with chicken breading.
5. Deep fry the chicken until its brown.
6. Remove the toothpicks and place on a platter with tissues to help absorb the extra oil.
7. Enjoy!

The Nagsasa Beach Cove, Capones, Pandaquit Experience

2011-03-27T13:24:00.005+07:00

Date was set. By the end of January, the girls and I have synchronized our schedules. We set March 18-19 as the weekend for our beach trip. The first option was LaLuz in Batangas but the resort was already fully booked for the entire summer!

So we brainstormed.. Then agreed when Tyni suggested a Nagsasa Cove trip. It was actually a 3 Zambales island trip and we need to pay P2500 (10-15 pax) for a 2 days 1 night camping. It will cover the van, boat fees, camping tents, drinking water, 3 meals (lunch, breakfast and dinner) - sounds like a great deal! We texted the contact person, to confirm the reservation we needed to deposit P1k/pax.

Saturday. By 2am, we were picked up by the van and we met our 2 tour guides and driver. We tried to sleep the entire trip and by 5:30 am we were at Zambales. We had hot pandesal while waiting for carinderias to open. The power breakfast (rice and ulam) that I ordered costs less than P100.

Pandaquit. After an hour, we arrived at Pandaquit. It reminded me of Puerto Galera with the lined resorts and boats waiting on the shore.

Capones. Our second destination after 30 minutes boat ride from Pandaquit. We're supposed to have a 30 minutes hike but were too sleepy and girly (?). We ended up taking pictures on the rock formations instead.

Touchdown, Nagsasa Cove, after an hour of boat ride while enjoying the view trying and failing to stay dry and away from big waves. We arrived by 11am, after setting up our tents and things we decided to sleep first. We had our siesta while our tour guides cooks our lunch as part of the package. By 3pm, we all freshened up and toured the island. We waited until its cool enough to swim. Our goal is to be NegRita Avila so we enjoyed the beach as much as we can but we have to clean up before it get darks because there's no electricity and it will be hard to take a bath.

Smores. After dinner, our guide setup the bonfire. It was a steady night with friends, beer and DIY smores made by Tiny! She actually tried to teach us how to make a Smores sandwich but were too lazy she ended up making 2 pieces for everyone :)

When we woke up the next day, yummy breakfast was waiting for us. We had few more hours to enjoy the beach before we return to Pandaquit.

When we first arrived at Nagsasa Cove, I was a little bit disappointed because I was expecting a virgin island. But come to think of it, it was already a struggle to take a bath on the CRs where the battle with frogs always ensue. So what more if its a virgin island as I imagined.

I Heart Discounts

2011-03-27T12:36:00.004+07:00

Happiness is knowing that I got more value for my money. Maybe its a Filipino thing to be easily persuaded by discounts. It feels good to know how much I saved from a purchase, which I can use to buy another stuff LOL

So, last week, I've spent and saved on not 1 but 3 discounted items

1. H2o Hotel BayView Overnight Accommodation valued at P8,000, paid P4,500.

I wanted to book a nice hotel for my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. I had Ocean Park tour on their itinerary and its just practical - in terms of location, not price - for them to stay in H20 Hotel. My stylist by profession brother had a photo shoot on one of the aquarium rooms and he told me its really nice. I showed the room types to my dad and he chose the BayView room since he would already experience the aquarium feel in the Oceanarium.

Room type, check. Now, book the hotel! The keys to getting a good deal is patience

and allotting time. Planning and booking in advance really pays because usually last minute decisions cost more. I've spent at least 6 hours on my Friday night to compare hotel prices and it was worth it! I will let my parents experience H2o BayView Hotel but I got the best deal, almost 50% off :):):)

Photo from WorldHotels.com

2. Imation Venus Portable Hard Drive 500Gb valued at P3,300, paid P2,990.

I've been planning to buy an external hard drive for some time now but when I check the prices online, I end up putting this task on my low priority list. But after canvassing on a Tech Store, I compared the price and I can't pass on this deal! Check!! :)

3. 10 sessions (Yoga, Street Dance, Pilates) at any Golds Gym valued at P5,500 , paid P1,000.

I haven't played Badminton in a long time and it was a great idea to try something new. I can have 10 sessions with any type - Yoga, Street Dance, Pilates, etc - at any Gold's Gym. Wohoo 85% off!!! :)

The Cebu Experience

2011-03-14T10:14:00.000+07:00

Budget trip. I was able to buy a Manila-Cebu round trip ticket for only P1,200(regular price is P2-3K), thanks to a Cebu Pacific local seat sale. Aside from the delayed flight to Cebu, I have nothing else to complain. The flight back to Manila was even faster than the estimated time, so good job! :)

Budget Accommodation Night 1 & 2. We booked 2 nights at Sampaguita Suites in Plaza Garcia for P700/pax. As its website boasts, its for the "travelers who seek value for their money." They even have a free shuttle who picked us up on the airport. It is an hour away from the airport but its strategically located near the pier for our Bohol tour. It is also just across the Magellan's Cross shrine, restaurants, Capitol and Sto Nino Basilica.

Our room is for 4 people with 2 comfy queen sized beds and bathroom with hot/cold shower. Sampaguita Suites is not your ordinary microtel because it offers free WiFi access and elevator with touchscreen panel! Overall, the micro-tel is simple but elegant in design and a perfect place to unwind after a day long city tour.

After checking in and freshening up, we took a cab to go to Larsians. It was a short trip to Fuente Osmena and costs P50. When you enter the gate, you will see a number of barbeque stands lined up and you will hear random voices urging you to eat at their store. Their selections are almost the same - chicken wings, thigh, isaw, chorizo, tocino, fish and "puso", the uniquely wrapped rice - you just have to find a cool near a fan area. Some offers free something usually soup in different forms as a marketing strategy. After 10-15 minutes, our food were cooked, served and finished by hungry travelers.

Sky Walk Fail. We finished dinner by 9:30pm and we're supposed to try the Edge Coaster and Sky Walk but we were too tired from the flight. We decided to go back to the hotel and rest to prepare for the long Day 1 is Bohol Day Tour

Touchdown Cebu by 8PM and dinner time at AA's Barbeque Cebu.

Cebu City Tour. I had a good night sleep on the second night, I even woke up earlier than the rest of the group. I went out to explore the Plaza Garcia area. I took pictures of Magellan's Cross and even watched the flag ceremony of local government employees at the Capitol. We rented a van for P2k for our city tour. We went to the Heritage Cebu Monument which features some of Cebu's important sites and events.

Beach! After visiting the Taoist temple, we went back to Mactan City. My friends and I booked an overnight stay Tambuli Beach Club which is 15 minutes away from the airport. We payed P800 per pax and this includes breakfast, a nice room (2 queen sized bed with bathrooms, Aircon, cable, the basics), white sand beach area and pool. I barely stayed on our room. Since its our last day, I did everything I can - played cards on our veranda overlooking the beach, swam on the beach and pool.

Food trip. We got to try Cebu's famous lechon at CnT, it was a lunch to remember as almost everyone got so full and felt dizzy (high blood!?) We also went to a factory to buy Cebu trip must have pasalubongs - Dried Mangoes and Squid.

My Cebu experience is my first out of Luzon trip and I can say that its really memorable with the places that I've been to and the people I traveled with ;)

The Bohol Experience

2011-03-12T17:52:00.000+07:00

Our trip was originally a Cebu tour but since Bohol is just 1 hour ferry boat ride away, we decided to include it in our itinerary. It was a great decision!

We woke up at around 4am to catch the first boat ride (6am). We bought a SuperCat roundtrip ticket for P1,040.- We rented a van from 8am to 5pm for P2,500 (so its really practical and more fun to come in big groups), our driver served as our tour guide. We went to Chocolate Hills first, which is the farthest destination from the Port of Tagbilaran.

For only P50.00 we experienced Chocolate Hills - the main tourist spot of Bohol and I'm convinced why. It was an amazing sight. According to kuya, our driver, there are 1,200+ uniformed grass covered hills that changes its color from chocolate brown to green depending on the season. Tourists may think that the hills are man made but its definitely natural at its finest!

We climbed 120+ steps to reach an area to enjoy the view and it was worth it. There's even a scandalous wishing well where you can of course make a wish, throw a coin and pull a loud ringing bell. There were many local and foreign visitors and on the way down, we bumped into Korean boys who asked us to take pictures with them, we gladly agreed.

Our next stop is the man made forest. Taking photos on this area feels like a scene out of Twilight but instead of wolves or vampires, we looked out for passing vehicles.

We had a quick stop at the Hanging Bridge

Then a late buffet lunch at Loboc River. The food quality and the variety is okay but P400.00 was worth it because of the experience of eating on a floating restaurant with an amazing view of Loboc River and entertainment from Loboc singers.

We decided to be adventurous by trying the Bohol Zipline and Cable Car. This costs P350 plus we got to have a CD of our aerial photos taken by their staff.

We were running out of time because we need to catch our 6pm boat ride to Cebu so we just decided to pick 2 more destinations. We literally just passed by "Sikatuna-Legaspi Blood Compact" site, Baclayon Church and Butterfly Conservation Garden. Of course, a Bohol trip wont be complete without Tarsier watching and then we visited the biggest Phyton I've seen. To be honest, I would rather face my fear of heights than deal with animals. I felt stressed being around them. The only thing left is souvineer shopping, peanut kisses is a must have pasalubong.

I can say that we made the most of the 8 hours that we spent at Bohol and wow I would definitely recommend a Bohol tour for a nature trip and adventure.

My February 2011 in Photos

2011-03-05T17:53:00.001+07:00

February came by soooo fast!

I lived vicarously through movies and tv series
<3 Inception, 127 hours, Kurosagi, Crazy thing called love, Nodame Cantabile Remember me, Letters to Juliet, Despicable Me & Love and Other Drugs

Tried Something new
Kanin Club "One more chancee" dinner
Matt's despedida at Momo Cafe
Farm trip
Chai tea, fail!
1st time to ride an airplane

Events
CKP!!
Cabiao reunion weekend
Trip to Cebu and Bohol, outside of Luzon trip, check!
Lolo lou visits!
Tita Anne's birthday
Azkals vs Mongolia
Small world: current vs ex sa lrt
Valentine's lunch with friends
Shakeys family day with Bruno
Watched the boy's basketball game

Something blue
Zones out with Good Times with Mo Podcast
When all else fail, retail therapy
Cheese sticks
Got sick and felt like a kid again

The Azkals Hype

2011-02-20T21:08:00.000+07:00

When I was in college, my friends and I used to hangout at the UST football field to watch intercollegiate football games to pass long breaks. It was fun and exciting but I often feel tired for the players who run around the massive field. As a casual on looker I was just waiting for a goal. I guess that's an instinct as a basketball fan because I know that in the 48 minutes players will score at some point. But in football, 2 hours can result to excellent defense and zero goal.

Hello Football:I first learned about Phil Younghusband as a football player when I watched him at GMA7's Celebrity Duets. But later last year, he and the rest of Azkals/Philippine Football team skyrocketed to fame when they won over Suzuki cup's defending champ Vietnam in 2-0 fashion. Just when I thought its just a flash in the pan, they went on to semifinals and now the whole country is aware of another sport!

No need to say Goodbye Basketball: Philippines is a basketball loving nation and Im guilty of that. I follow Ginebra Kings in PBA because Im a 3rd generation fan, it started with my grandfather and dad. I enjoy college basketball, when I can I watch UST tigers' games.

The Philippines also love Pacman but honestly, sometimes I cringe in the thought of the whole country uniting and cheering as Manny Pacquiao beats the hell out of his opponents. Efren "Bata" Reyes and billiards are also interesting. But Im glad that there's a football bandwagon these days. Call it the 'uso' sport but I think the country needs to experience another team sport that can unify the nation.

I just watched their game against Mongolia in tv but i can just imagine the feeling of watching live and cheering for my country - the 2 goals, the wave and fireworks after the victory!

Football finally arrived in the Philippines and long live the Azkals hype..and pride :)

Bravo! Nodame Cantabile

2011-02-20T16:47:00.000+07:00

Nodame Cantabile is a Japanese romantic comedy series. It was set on a music university. Chiaki is a standout piano student but conducting is his real passion. When he was younger, he traveled in Europe and was exposed to classical music. He was even mentored by a famous conductor Sebastien Viera. He hopes to see him again but his trauma from riding an airplane is a big obstacble.

Noda Megumi or Nadame is a skilled but sloppy piano student - she is also the unbelievably messy neighbor of Chiaki.

Then..Food and music brought them together.

Wow! The quality of this tv series is just amazing. Every musical performance in each episode could've taken so much time to rehearse. I've learned so much about classical music from this series - Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Handel and more!

Tamaki Hiroshi who plays Sinichi Chiaki looks like a better version of Toma Ikuta on the otherhanueno Juri who plays Nodame looks like an anime character who came to life lol

Two things first..
1. Hmm why didnt i study any musical instrument? I play guitar!? When i was in grade 6 playing guitars was the thing. I recieved a guitar as a gift but it took 5 years for me to start plucking instead of just displaying it. I learned to play "Jeepney" by Spongecola and "You Belong to me" by Taylor Swift. Does that count?

2. I need to watch a musical or orchestra within this lifetime!

What i love about Nodame Cantabolile is the lead male Chiaki, is living the dream student life. He's rich, popular with girls and the top student on his piano class. Girls like him, boys want to be like him but beneath that he has this secret dream of being an orchestra conductor. I love how they showed that success can be gained after working hard.

I always believed in Mo Twister's delayed gratification but we need to do it in moderation. To be a good musician, you need to work hard during practice and at the same time remember to enjoy it. That can be applied to living, we need to do our best on daily endeavors and seize the moment :)

My January 2011 in Photos

2011-02-15T21:49:00.000+07:00

So, I plan to do this monthly collage for the entire year, and here I am 15 days delayed for the first month. lol

My January 2011
*I was feeling artsy fartsy and finally finished my scrapbooks!
*I found the perfect/with-tolerable-heels-but-sexy shoes!
*Bad news: Ginebra fell short on the semis series vs SMB. Good News: MC47 is still furious! See you next conference :)
*Finally bought Pupil's Limiters of the Infinity Pool \m/
*P is <3 (Polaroid & Pudding)

*Celebrations
-I spent the 1st day of January 2011 with my family. I treated them to the movies, I realized that I'm a closet Jennylyn Mercado fan haha
-Another fun family day was Intet's birthday!
-Its a boy for Sean!
-"Surprise" birthday party for Joni :)
-Ambers feeding program with Lou
-Welcome to Christian World, Amanda - my new inaanak :)
-Fireworks + UST Hymn = EPIC
-One more chance barkada dinner
-Matt is back, kada k reunion - jel!

*Something new:
-Pepper Lunch @ Greenbelt
-Met Jack at Alley Gator
-Spicy Cheese sticks at Gerry's
-Its tea time at Starbucks
-Stop motion \m/
-Clubbing at Guillys (Thursday) and Manor (Saturday)
-Pier 69! Visited 3 Pier One branches in one weekend 0.0

*Something blue
-Zombie Like a G6
-Central
-North Park
-Robinsons Galleria
-Mid

The World They Live In

2011-02-12T20:21:00.000+07:00

The world they live in is IMO the most realistic Korean TV series that I've seen. It is a story of Jung Ji Oh(Hyun Bin) and Joo Joon Young(Song Hye Kyo), both are young TV directors working on the same production company. I love the chemistry between the 2 leads. I also enjoyed the aspect that the they developed sub characters and at the same time showcased how tv production works.

Ji Oh and Joon Young are lovers and coworkers at the same time. Their love story is closer to reality. They first got together when they were studying and then they became sort of a rebound to each other. They just got out of a relationsip when they got back together. Most tv series that I've watched ended with "they lived happily ever after". But in The World They Live In, it showed the struggle of working out a relationship inspite of differences in attitude, social status & family background as well as managing to stay competitive in their career. In reality, when you get into a relationship, you still need to be a daughter/son, a sibbling, a friend and a careerwoman/man. I enjoyed watching a mature and deeper take into love and relationships.

I choose not to live in fear

2011-01-26T21:07:00.000+07:00

With the recent carnapping incidents plus the bus blast yesterday, its easy to fall into the paranoid "trap". But what will be left of me if i live in fear of the unknown?

As my friend shared "the secret" is all about mentality. The truth is to live in fear because of these circumstances is the same as to stop living. Pardon my language but this shits happen and all I can do is be more vigilant and cautious not paranoid.

I choose not to live in fear, i should not harbor the fear of the unknown, i should only fear God.

Sense and Sensibility

2011-01-22T19:33:00.000+07:00

"Lose your heart and come to your senses"

For more than a year now, I've kept my Jane Austen books on my shelf. Unfortunately, I still cant muster the willpower to read both because of the "old book smell". I was contented on watching Pride and Prejudice's movie version but I cant seem to get my hands to a Sense and Sensibility VCD. I've been searching for this movie's VCD for a long time and I finally got it last night! I was buying Pupil's new album (that deserves a separate blog entry) and as usual, when I go to Music/Video stores, I ask if they have a copy of this. To my delight, they have 1 VCD and 2 DVD copies! I'm so glad to buy it on 2 for P175 deal because I was so desperate I was about to buy the DVD copy.

Sense and Sensibilty is a story of Elinor and Mariane Dashwood, sisters by blood but their characters are as opposite as night and day. Their comfortable suburban life changed after their father's death. Due to tradition and law, everything was left to their stepbrother, the son on the first marriage. Their mother and a younger sister Margaret were left in an unstable circumstance.

Simply put, the practical Elinor and romantic Mariane both fell in love but their lack of fortune have directly affected their marriageability. Its fun to watch how they both handled their unfortunate love situation. The sister with all sense and the other with sensibility each got her happy ending

I really enjoy period films, the production and costumes are eye candies. Im amused with the chivalry during that period when men and women had to be so cautious of their words, actions and how the society sees them. Maybe because this is a love story, but Im not comfortable with the idea portrayed that women's main goal at that time is to be married. Of course most women dreams of having their own family, regardless of generation but I cant remember any instance where they have zeroed in on the main character's careers. Maybe because that's not the focus of the film!? Its a must see for romance lovers like me, the story is not bounded by time. :)

My Boss My Hero

2011-01-08T14:47:00.000+07:00

If you can only watch 1 Japanese series, I will definitely recommend "My Boss, My Hero". My new favorite J-dorama so far<3

My friend was raving about it and now I understand why.

It is a school drama which revolves around Sakaki Makio (Nagase Tomoya), a 27 year old next Japanese gang boss. He is called the Tornado because of his fighting ability..but..a boss doesnt only need strength, he also needs skills that can be learned from school.

His father, the current gang boss, forced him to attend high school and pose as a 17 year old student. Makio needs to earn a diploma to be the next boss or his younger brother will take over.

It was a perfect mix of school, gang and romance but what stood out the most is the humor. It has funny characters and scenes from start to finish.

In no particular order my favorite scenes are
-Scare face - He used his yakuza intimidating face so that sensei's wont call him during class discussion lol
-Makio's cooking skills - girls were impressed by his ninja style chopping
-Basketball tournament - after winning he wanted a group hug with girl teammates but they were scared because his shorts fell off lol
-For the cultural presentation, his drums was totally off lol
-Makio's expression when he thinks of something "Hanya, I actually understand this question. The dwarf in my head is opening my brain" - during his make up test lol
-When his classmates were bullied he secretly helped them by wearing a Shaider-like uniform
-The quest for pudding lol
-He was complaining about the dwarf in his chest or the kilig he felt with Umemura :)
-After everything he's been through, he couldnt graduate :(
-Makio refers to Jun as Sakura-something haha
-Class 3A's graduation ceremony for Sakaki

Iyak tawa talaga!

2011 New Year's Resolution

2011-01-02T16:45:00.001+07:00

"Thoughts become things" and "Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions"

In 2011, I visualize myself as Mei who "Looks and Feels Good Inside & Out"

*Save moolah!
*Travel
*Be Happy
*Be in Love
*Be healthy
*Have fun with friends
*Will live everyday with a goal

Hello 2010 In Retrospect

2010-12-27T18:16:00.000+07:00

Check, check, check!
Try 12 new restos
Meet 12 fabulous people - more than 12 :)
Try 12 new dishes
Read 12 good books - :)
Visit 12 new places
Write 12 blog entries - need to catch up, does social media posts count? :P
Buy 12 new outfits -more than 12
Attend 12 party invitations -yey!
Give 12 special gifts to 12 special people - hello maxed out cc!
Take 12 stunning winner photos - too much photos lol
Buy 12 worthy pieces
Find 12 favorite persons
Try 12 new things
Learn 12 lessons of experience - great lessons learned.
Count 12 great blessings - thank you Lord!
Do 12 good deeds - ;)
Discover 12 great artists - checks ipod, done!
Share 12 ideas to others - uh huh!
Gain 12 new friends - yeah, more than 12!
Learn 12 new vocabulary each month - words with frieds yey!

FAIL!
Cook 12 special dishes - i still suck in cooking :(

Ginebra - still the Fast and the Furious' team!

2010-12-25T23:24:00.000+07:00

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As much as I agree on some developments on Ginebra, acquisitions for additional star power (Miller, Villanueva, Cortez) and preparing for the future (JC Intal, Jimbo Aquino), I bet the doubt on who's the heart and soul of Barangay Ginebra was answered last night!
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Isn't it ironic, don't you think

2010-08-06T10:29:00.000+07:00

Sometimes series of events have its weird way of unfolding to make us realize what matters.

She parted ways with someone whom she thought was the one and it was a bad ending. She was devastated, she blamed him for neglecting what she has done for him. She was angry because of the promises that he broke, for not standing by her side when she needed him most. She was hurt because he made her come to a point that she had to threw everything away.

Months later, after buckets of tears and beers she found herself in an ironic situation.

She became the friend who had to join a pal in drowning his sorrow because he fought with his girlfriend. She was the friend who see's her guy friend's crumbling relationship and she's unsure if she would advice him to go try and fix it. Now, she's the friend of a guy who wants to jump in a new relationship even if it's barely a week that they broke up. She's suddenly a bystander in a familiar scenario and odd as it seems she understands how he could just throw their years together without solid second thoughts.

She found it funny to be part of the same situation because she was once the girlfriend who was hurt because her boyfriend was busy hanging out with her girl best friend while they have an unresolved issue. She was the girlfriend who wanted to talk things through to save what they have even though she knew they'll end up fighting. She was the ex girlfriend who felt numb when she found out that he already had someone new although it was barely a month that they broke up.

What a twist of fate! She was sad to see another couple go through the same experience but at least a lesson was learned. She has now accepted that she too had her share of mistakes. She can now smile and remember their great times together instead of dwelling on how they drifted apart. And now when someone asks what happened between her and the boy she used to love, she can now say that it was meant to be but maybe it was never meant to last.

Cyrus Baguio, UST Tigers, PBA Finals

2010-08-06T10:20:00.000+07:00

Balls post.

Cyrus Baguio's defensive stance against Eric Menk ended Brgy. Ginebra's season and his end game steal sealed Alaska's finals stint much to TNT & MVP's dismay.

Earlier this season he was traded from Ginebra to Aalaska. What a sweet revenge to eliminate your former team and lead your new team to a possible championship. I'm a Ginebra fan but on this upcoming finals match between Alaska Aces and San Miguel Beermen, I'm rooting for the former. Sure, I had bad memories of Alaska team in my childhood -they were Ginebra's rival - but I like Tim Cone's system over the beermen's all star ladden line up.

###

UST Tigers are exceeding expectations with 3-3 record, quota na! To think that they were ranked 8th by experts because of several valid points - veterans Ababou & Mirza graduated and the team opted out on preseason tournaments.

The UAAP's MBT 1st round is about to end and UST's remaining game is against FEU Tamarraws, the number 1 team whose proven that they're not only strong in papers. Its gonna be a tough game for the tigers but who knows if it rains enough 3's to give FEU their first loss. Aside from school spirit blah blah I really want the tigers to win just to watch coach Pido's humble, highlarious post game interviews.

Me and bad vides need to part ways

2010-07-28T12:45:00.000+07:00

Immediately and non negotiable please.

Paulo Coelho's The Winner Stands Alone

2010-06-05T18:47:00.000+07:00

Image credit: http://www.amazon.com/Winner-Stands-Alone-Novel/dp/0061750441

The Winner Stands Alone gave me a "backstage pass" to Cannes film festival which I only see and hear from T.V.. This book takes on the interesting lives of different people - models , directors , actors , producers, locals - who attended this event. Its a sneak peek on the lives of the superclass and trying to be superclass. The plot and the characters are conventional, the main characters are trapped in the web of reaching their dreams at all costs.

Igor is a rich man whose desperate to get his wife back. The universal truth about break up stories is there are 3 sides: Igor's story, his ex wife's story and the truth.

Gabriella is a struggling actress who is getting the break she has always dreamed of.

Jasmine is on the brink of modeling success.

Hamid, a fashion designer in the middle of glitz and glamour at Cannes.

Criminal detective Savoy who wants to unveil the mystery.

Funny as it seems, I thought about the lyrics of Miley Cyrus' song The Climb, hey its right on the spot!

"Aint about how fast I get there
Aint about what's waiting on the other side
Its the climb"

A Beautiful Mind, A Beautiful Film

2010-06-05T18:25:00.000+07:00

"A Beautiful Mind," is a story of Dr. John Nash, a genius and a victim of schizophrenia. The movie showed how his great mind have brought discoveries that guides humanity today but also how it almost betrayed him and ruined his life and family. Dr. Nash went from madness to greatness as he was able to prove his worth on the academic world, restore his life and family after all the delusions.

This movie, made me believe in the power of love AGAIN, on holding on to your loved one as shown by Dr. Nash' wife Alicia, played by Jennifer Conelly, who stayed by his side and continuously "believed that something extraordinary is possible."

Here's a funny quote from Dr Nash while courting his wife
"Ritual requires we proceed with a number of platonic activities before we have sex."

I was fascinated by Dr Nash's life, his journey to success and his vision of coming up with an original theory. It is inspirational because Dr Nash and his wife did not let his mental illness stop them from living their lives.

It made me reflect on my situation and its about time that I rise and take action!

Caguioa to Miller FTW

2010-05-29T08:52:00.000+07:00

Where's 13?

Aside from an All Star or national team game, I never really imagined Caguioa playing pointguard to Miller. But as much as I love to have Cyrus Baguio on Ginebra's roster, I cant really find enough reason to convince myself to hate Willie Miller..hate is a strong word by the way..let me rephrase that..its hard to dislike him.

Ginebra's game against San Miguel beermen last Wednesday - my birthday :) - which I failed to finish, great thing someone uploaded it online - was IMO Miller's breakout game as a gin king. Together with Mark Caguioa, they both propelled a come from behind win. I was really unsatisfied of the previous trade because Baguio came out strong on the first match of Alaska & Ginebra, Cyrus even had consecutive great games as an Alaska main man. On the otherhand Miller had to slowly adjust mainly because Ginebra is very loaded on guards.

The new Ginebra team is slowly adjusting with Ginebra's core players - Helterbrand, Menk & Caguioa - coming off from injuries, Hatfield from LOA(?), new acquisitions like de Ocampo, Villanueva, Cruz, Miller. I just wish JC Intal can bring his A game again and they can find a tough, reliable import ASAP.

For 2 consecutive games, Ginebra has won due to end game efforts against Barako Bull and Alaska Aces. I dont know if its a bad or good thing but a win is a win.

Looking forward to another win, their next game is on Sunday versus the young guys of Rain or Shine.

Hello 2010

2010-01-01T17:20:00.000+07:00

A repost from my cousin's blog :)

Try 12 new restos
Meet 12 fabulous people
Try 12 new dishes
Read 12 good books
Visit 12 new places
Write 12 blog entries
Buy 12 new outfits
Attend 12 party invitations
Give 12 special gifts to 12 special people
Take 12 stunning winner photos
Buy 12 worthy pieces
Cook 12 special dishes
Find 12 favorite persons
Try 12 new things
Learn 12 lessons of experience
Count 12 great blessings
Do 12 good deeds
Discover 12 great artists
Learn 12 new vocabulary each month
Share 12 ideas to others
Gain 12 new friends

Fangirl moment

2009-10-21T17:27:00.000+07:00

After eating Korean Popsicles with my friends, I went straight to Galleria. I finally had the itch to check out the new store beabi. I checked out the items which were actually my kind of stuffs - organizers, kikay kits - and then when I looked sideways I was surprised to see Jayjay Helterbrand! *fan girl mode. I was like "oi jayjay, kakagulat ka naman!" lol first of all feeling close, second I was speaking in Tagalog (I think he understood because he kinda smiled). Then I looked around, there's only 3 people around..me, my idol and the cashier..so what the heck? I said, "kakahiya naman pero picture?"
After that I thanked him and said goodluck on their game on Friday. We proceeded to the cashier to pay and few fans saw him from the store window and asked for photos. He's so accomodating :) too bad I can't post our photo because my laptop is broken again.

From a very pleasant surprise - I had a not so pleasant experience on my way home - a school in our area caught fire. I didn't mind the traffic caused by that I'm just really scared of fire and it's consequences.

Staying in your local parlor for about 15 minutes is enough to give you an update of the neighborhhod's status :)

Alternatives for pinoy ballers - Ababou in Smart Gilas and Mirza in Philippine Patriots!

My favorite love-team is back

2009-10-14T21:22:00.000+07:00

Lol
I'm happy to watch Ginebra's vintage trio Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Eric Menk winning a game together. The kings have won their first game against San Miguel 98-86. SMB started hot but BGK's fast game took over from 2nd quarter onwards. The kings had a great defensive night with steals, blocks and hussle plays -plus Tubid's mind games- that dictated the tempo.
It's jayjay's birthday and he said his wish is to play with Mark. LOL sobrang cheesy!
After sitting out for one whole season, MC scored 17 pts with 7/12 FG, not bad for someone who claims to feel like a rookie.
Good off season acquisitions done by the management, Celino Cruz is a good and stable back up pointguard plus big men - enrico villanueva and rich Alvarez can beef up the front line. It's not as much compared to other team's front line but I think it can complement Cyrus Baguio & JC Intal who are both very athletic.

:)zzzzx

Dylan Ababou MVP :)

2009-09-19T13:52:00.000+07:00

This is old news since it was announced last Monday but the awarding ceremony is on a finals game. Dylan Ababou, the king (UST) tiger was named as UAAP Season 72 Men's Basketball's MVP. He deserves it after his consistent double doubles per game, he led the statistical points race and more importantly brought the team back on final four. Prize rookie, Jeric Teng also bagged the ROY award, which Dylan failed to get on his rookie year because he spent his first year in UST's team B.

UST will face Ateneo on Sunday on a do or die game, the eagles have the twice to beat advantage. I hope Dylan and the rest of the team can put up a W and live for another game.

Or else I'll just settle to 2009 as the year of individual awards for my basketball teams.
Helterbrand of Ginebra - 2009 PBA MVP
Ababou of UST - 2009 UAAP Men's Senior Basketball MVP

2006 will still remain as the best basketball fan year for me with both teams winning a championship and players getting individual awards.

Disconnection Notice

2009-08-31T15:58:00.000+07:00

Being disconnected online because of laptop and PC failure means being more productive!

For the past couple of weeks we've been bringing the PC to a shop much to my father's dismay because of video card failure and Trojan virus problem->extremely annoying! My twitter account which I use to follow celebs (lol) was hacked! And then my laptop had its problems too, after its warranty expired :( To fix the broken DVD drive, fan and loose screws costs me a new mini laptop but then its my first investment so I prefered to fix it rather than buy a new one.

So after DVDs, books marathons, friends and family bonding. I'm back online and guess what David Cook is finally on twitter! Lol, he never fails to mention that he dont want to join the craze but someone shoved it to his throat, maybe or maybe not!?

Its expensive to have blurred vision :(

Its so sad when I had an eye checkup and I cant see some slides,so now I have to wear corrective glasses and contacts (much to my nanay's dismay).

Cyrus Baguio Fangirl Post

2009-08-08T21:40:00.000+07:00

I just finished watching Team Pilipinas' game against South Korea where the latter team won 69-56. Both teams entered the game with flawless record of 2-0. Team Pilipinas won a blow out game - 80 points +- against Sri Lanka and had a tight contest with Japan yesterday. In tonight's game (morning in China), I was worried because South Korea is a powerhouse team and Filipino basketball fans have a collective bad memory with the team that snatched a dream away. *wipes tears lol

Team Pilipinas have played catch up all game long but they failed. They had the opportunity but they were shooting poorly on the free throws and on the long range shots. As several basketball experts declared, you need potent outside shooting as part of your arsenal to succeed on international games. Genetics is not on our side, we are not as tall or built wide like the Europeans or Americans so outside shooting is very vital to our campaign.

On tonight's game surprisingly, the team got it's points inside through Cyrus Baguio and Jared Dillinger's daredevil drives and Asi had his moments too. But as we can see on the game's outcome (53-69) Team Pilipinas cannot live by that alone, we are not lucky enough to convert inside on every possession especially when the Korean Bonel Balingit look a like is waiting for you. He's big and cannot be ignored.

The game's outcome would've favored our way if only.. If only.. I can think of many reasons but that still doesn't count because it didn't happen.

I'm still satisfied because the team can compete at Korea's level it's just too bad.. no more excuses.

***
As Cyrus Baguio's fan, I'm really happy that he's part on the national team and on the past three games he has proven his worth. I can only speak about his FIBA Asia stint because I haven't watched the Jones Cup at all.

I'm lucky enough to watch Cyrus play for the UST Tigers. He played his late year in UAAP when I was a freshman, the year before that coach Aric chose to sit him out. It was the first and only season, on my 4 years at UST that the Men's basketball team made it to the Final Four. (Of course they had to win a championship the following year after I graduated!). As a big basketball fan, its amazing to watch Cyrus, an athletic 6'l lanky player who displays his swagger through his dunks or hang time moves. During that season, we might not win a game but I bet he had a highlight play or two.

I also watched his stint on the PBL where he played in Kutitap and other teams owned by Lamoiyan Corporation. I think with Peter June Simon, they led a team to a championship. I remembered convincing my bestfriend to stay up late to watch his games.

When he joined the PBA draft in 2003, I wished that Ginebra will take him but I'm still happy that he was drafted by RebBull surprisingly on the second round, 14th overall. PBA's 2003 rookie class is amazing by the way but the pick was too low.

Of course, the usual rookie route is to sit out on the bench until the coach trusts you. Luckily, he had Coach Yeng as his mentor, he was given a support role and he made the best out of it IMO. When the team's main men like Villanueva, Penissi, Tugade, Miller, etc were traded Cyrus had his moment to prove his worth. He became the team's main offensive option and became a bonafide all star. In 2004 I was happy to watch Cyrus play in a championship series, too bad he was playing against my favorite team, Ginebra who eventually won the Fiesta cup.

In 2008 Baguio was traded to Air 21 Express together with his then Red bull teammate Celino Cruz. I'm not sure if he also played against the Gin kings on the 2008 finals - which Ginebra won:) In the same year, he was also named as part of the Team Pilipinas.

Fast forward to 2009, more than 5 years in the making, Cyrus Baguio is now on Ginebra's roster via a trade with his second team Air 21. He was a late addition in the king's campaign and sadly no notable contributions on the 2009 Fiesta Cup Finals - where Ginebra lost to San Miguel. But I can imagine the possibilities of Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Cyrus Baguio on one team.

Honestly, I've just watched the highlights of Team Pilipinas' game versus Sri Lanka so I can't personally have a strong opinion on those but I've read on forum, news and my dad told me that he was a focal point of the first game. On the otherhand, I've watched the game versus Japan and Korea I observed that Cyrus have the right confidence to play, he's slashing inside when he have an opportunity but he's not forcing his shots. Plus he gracefully made hard shots to evade defenders or finished fastbreaks amazingly which I bet impressed even the opponents.

I'm just proud of him, like a mother lol Not because of age, he's older than me, but because I've watched his growth as a player. He used to be a fancy highlight making collegiate player but Coach Yeng Guiao have developed him a complete player, adding defense and perimeter shots in his arsenal. But of course he cant help to make beautiful sky walking shots, it just comes out naturally :P

**
I wish Team Pilipinas goodluck, good health, better decision making for the coaches, better shot selection and percentage for the players. Prayers, that's all I, we can give.

Game Schedule:
Aug 10 4PM Vs. Chinese Taipei
Aug 11 11AM vs. Iran
Aug 12 9AM vs. Kuwait

God bless Team Pilipinas!

UST Tigers End 1st Round with 4-3 Record

2009-08-08T17:36:00.000+07:00

The UST Tigers played a game on every UAAP game day this week since Sunday against the Green archers, Thursday against FEU Tamaraws and today against UP Maroons.

They have lost back to back on the early part of the week but had a come from behind win against the Maroons, 95-85. UP started the game hot leaving the Tigers to play catch up until the tail end of the 3rd quarter.

UST's regular 1-2 punch or the "Yum Doubles Duo", Ababou and Mirza, got a big lift from rookie Jeric Teng who scored 22 points with 8 rebounds spread on the earlier part of the game. Dylan Ababou is back with 22 points and 8 rebounds coming from a disappointing game against FEU. He's been consistent on 6 out of 7 games, scoring in double digits and leading the young UST team.

Khasim Mirza only had 3 points on the first half but had an explosive 2nd half. He scored 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. He also shot the dagger 3 pointer that was sooo far from the regular three point line. I saw the relief in his face maybe because a.Dylan already fouled out at that point b. the Maroons were threatening to comeback c. he just had a crucial turnover or d. all of the above. What a dramatic way to redeem himself! Props to Fortuna and Camus for their silent but consistent contributions.

On the start of the season, UST was tagged as a dark horse and perceived to win only against the 3 lower ranked teams. With this in mind, I could say that they overachieved so far but for that's not an excuse to be overconfident. I think the formula is to have Ababou and Mirza score big time consistently and have a 3rd, 4th or even 5th guy to step up. Both can score but not enough to beat the powerhouse teams. The second round is another ball game and hopefully the team can improve and peek at the right time.

Its St. Dominic's feast day today. Viva Sto Tomas!

Breakfast With Tiffany's, a Classic!

2009-08-04T17:07:00.000+07:00

I've only seen Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast with Tiffanys but with her beauty, grace and acting skills no wonder she's 60's IT girl!

Audrey Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, a gold digger who establishes a friendship with Paul Varjak (George Peppard ), a struggling writer slash socialite's "kept" man. This unique friendship between different individuals soon blossomed to true love but Holly's eyes is set on marrying a rich man, so is there a hope between the two?

I really appreciate old Hollywood glamor as shown by Audrey Hepburn's character. There's one time she wore a white shapeless shirt but she's still gorgeous!

Audrey as Holly is very natural and sophisticated at the same time.

New York is a character itself, the city is so alive in day or night scenes!

Breakfast with Tiffany's is a classic film not because of its antiquity but because of its strong identifiable characters and plot.

Rob Pattinson in How to Be

2009-08-04T16:44:00.000+07:00

Before Edward Cullen, Robert Pattinson played, Arthur in an indie film How to Be where he won a best actor award on Strasbourg Film Festival Award.

Art is a twentysomething young man suffering in life crisis. His girlfriend broke up with him, he sucks in his job, he can't even finish his composed song. Then he found himself moving back to his parent's house.

To get out of his unhappy state, he turned to self help books and hired a life guru - who is not the ordinary therapist because Dr. Elvis lived with Art and his parents for a week in their quest to figure out how to heal his soul.

I love the ideals from How To Be. Our happiness depends on 3 things family, friends - the family you choose and our self.

I love this film because it showed Robert's musical side, his character Art is a struggling musician who plays acoustic guitar with his techno digital instruments playing bandmates/friends . Overall, its an entertaining, super funny film! Plus I got to hear Rob Pattinson's talking and speaking in his to die for British accent for more that 80 minutes.

Whats Next For Joo Ji Hoon

2009-07-26T12:51:00.000+07:00

I'm so late on the news!

Only today that I've learned my favorite korean actor of Goong, The Devil, Antique Bakery and Naked Kitch fame, Joo Ji Hoon's drug scandal. He was apparently busted for drug use, ecstacy and another drug. Its so sad since in South Korea this is such a big taboo which can certainly equate to his career's downfall.

He already pleaded guilty and received his sentence. Apart from that he can kiss his role for Tokyo Tower goodbye and any other roles for that matter :( He was also banned by KBS. No excuses Joo Ji Hoon, you need to face the consequences.

What's Next For Joo Ji Hoon?

UST Tigers Bounce Back Via Win Against UE

2009-07-25T17:18:00.000+07:00

Photo credit Balls

After a sorry loss to defending champs Ateneo Blue Eagles, UST Tigers bounced back by winning againsts UE Warriors. The Tigers' 1-2 punch Dylan Ababou and Khasim Mirza led the team to this victory. Mirza waxed hot on the first quarter, scoring 8 of his 20 points while team captain Ababou scored 28 points. He scored the crucial points needed on the last quarter and even had the steal that capped the victory.

The first quarter ended with both teams scoring 24 all. On the second quarter, the Tigers held the Warriors to 12 points but they bounced back scoring 35 on the third. The fourth quarter was a see saw battle but when the Tigers got the lead back, they were poised to get their third win. UST's Ababou-Mirza combo, who scored 48 of the total score 92, got enough help from Allen Maliksi, Chris Camus and rookie Jeric Teng.

Final score was 92-88.The Tigers improved their standings to 3-1 and ties with FEU Tamarraws for the second place on the UAAP Men's basketball team standings.

Highs and Lows

2009-07-17T20:32:00.000+07:00

Erik Menk and Jayjay Helterbrand accepting the 2nd place award.

I'm writing this with less than one minute remaining on game 7 of PBA Fiesta conference. Ginebra lost to SMB but I have to salute 2009 MVP Jayjay Helterbrand for being the lone bright spot amidst his hamstring injury. If only we can present the award again to Jayjay.

Still proud of the team because they overachieved with their depleted line up. Be well ASAP Caguioa!

****

It was in 1999 since the UST Tigers have had a 2-0 start. Now the Tigers are off on a blazing start after defeating NU and Adamson via the 1-2 punch of Dylan Ababou and Khasim Mirza. But next sunday will be the real test as they go against the defending champs Ateneo.

Mirza Helps Tigers Get First Win

2009-07-11T19:10:00.000+07:00

The duel between UST Tigers and Adamson Falcons was the first offering for UAAP Men's basketball's opening day. Khasim Mirza led the tigers to an 86-85 victory through a game long inside and outside shooting with 9/19, almost 50% field goal shooting. Mirza was a promising rookie who experieced a sophomore jinx last year, I hope he can be consistent this season. Dylan Ababou, who contributed 10 points, will need all the help he can get especially with the departure of key players former MVP Jervy Cruz, starting pontguard Japs Cuan and athletic wingmen Canlas, Taylor and Allera.
This year, the Tigers lost an inside threat and a stable guard, I hope this game was just a bad game for Jeric Fortuna because he needs to step up big time!
It was an exciting game, the Tigers led all game long until the last minutes wherein the Falcons almost catched up.
I'm loving the paws but we need better killer instinct! Go USTe!!!

Kikay and Pamper Kit

2009-07-11T11:47:00.000+07:00

While having a coffee, my friend and I touched up on the topic of toiletries and how much girls - like us - spend on it. A regular guy, we thought, just needs shampoo, soap and deo. I've audited my pamper kit and here it goes
For hair:
Must have shampoo: Palmolive white pearls
conditioner: L'oreal Gloss or ever reliable cream silk blue
leave on: L'oreal anti frizz
For face:
cleanser: Olay or Body Shop Aloe cleanser
toner: Body shop aloe toner or Celeteque toner
moisturizer: Celeteque moisturizer
For Body
Victoria secret or Dove body wash, my new favorite Body shop strawberry polish and body butter!

Let's not even get into make-up. Oh well, back in the days, I can live by soap and shampoo but as I grew older, hopefully wiser, I've learned about these products that can really pamper and nourish me in different ways. Love your body, its the only one you've got.

Hooked on True Blood

2009-07-11T10:59:00.000+07:00

Vampires will never go out of style!

After my Twilight mania,I've learned about another interesting show and I finally got a hold of my True Blood DVD. It is a sexy and addictive series from HBO. It has a unique plot wherein human coexist with vampires, it was still the early stage so there are various civil and political issues mostly centered on equal rights and public safety. The Japanese have discovered a synthetic blood that's why vamps can now go "mainstream".

The lead character is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Pacquin), who like Twilight's Edward Cullen can read or hear people's minds. She tries not to use this "gift" to everyone especially to people dear to her but it takes a lot of effort. That's why it was a breath of fresh air when she met Bill Compton, a brooding vampire that she can't hear.

It was hard for Bill to fit in a small town expecially when succeeding killings happened. Sookie has been alarmed since the first 2 killed were her friends and at one point were dated by his hot but gullible brother Jason.

The next tragedy was when the Stachhouse' grandmother, the one who raised the sibblings was found dead on their kitchen. Bill was the suspect while Jason and the townfolks have another thing in their minds. They thought that that was supposed to be Sookie since all of the girls associated with the vampires were killed.

I'm off to watch the rest of the episodes!

I love the soundtrack and the subplots. I'm excited to watch Eric, the Vulture like vampire.

JayJay Heltebrand 2009 PBA MVP

2009-07-09T14:56:00.000+07:00

Time flies, a year ago Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa proved to be the team's best backcourt tandem and last night after literaly carrying the Brgy Ginebra team on his back, Mr Fast was awarded as the Most Valuable Player - he is the 2nd player next to Eric Menk to win this most coveted award for the Ginebra franchise. I've read that he had 3000+ statistical points and the Arwind Santos trails by a big margin, he had 700+ points.

The Menk-Helterbrand-Caguioa era of Ginebra is probably the most successful batch as they have garnered
4 championships

2004 Fiesta Conference
2004 Philippine Cup
2006 Philippine Cup
2008 Fiesta Cup

and is currently vying for their 5th, with the 2009 Fiesta cup series tied 2 all

MVP awards

Menk 2004-2005
Helterbrand 2008-2009

Best Player of the Conference
Menk 2004 Fiesta, 2005 Philippine Cup
Helterbrand 2008,2009 Fiesta Cup
Caguioa 2006 Philippine Cup

along the way. Here's to hoping that Mark's turn to become MVP will be next year :)

Ginebra Lives & Dies with Threes and Defense

2009-07-07T16:57:00.000+07:00

For the 2009 Fiesta cup the barometors for Ginebra Kings' chances in winning is their good defense and prolific three points scoring. That was the key factors on their Game 1 & 3 wins and the missing link on their game 2 loss.

Coach Jong Uichico have combined his defense oriented style and Ginebra's good old run and gun plus outside shooting to make the kings evolve into a very potent team vying to defend their crown.

Here's to hoping for better outside shooting, great defense on the next two games! *crossing my fingers

Ginebra Kings back in the Finals

2009-06-28T17:35:00.000+07:00

Brgy. Ginebra kings are back in the finals to defend their Fiesta cup crown. The kings was down 1-2 in the series but managed to win three straight games against the young Rain or Shine team.

Game 4 86 - 70
Game 5 96 - 85
Game 6 108 - 100

Wohoo!!!

Juno and Nanny Diaries

2009-06-27T17:22:00.000+07:00

A friend once asked me why do I even bother buying original VCDs, well its discounted and why not?

I bought 2 CDs on sale for my Saturday weekend marathon.

CD#1 Nanny Diaries.
My Nanny Diaries book have been on my bookshelf and pending item on must read list for a while now and after seeing the movie adaptation, I think I finally have the urge to read it. Scarlette Johansen stars as Annie, who is fresh from college with an Anthropology degree. She finds herself immersing on a nanny job for the "X" family.

Lesson Learned: Don't confuse your career with your life.

CD #2 Juno
Juno is a critically acclaimed movie and definitely not your ordinary teen movie. The story revolves on Juno, a funny, snarky teenage girl who deals with "unwanted" teen pregnancy. It has a fun exchange of dialogues but it manages to send the message accross to be pro life without being preachy.
Lesson Learned: Be chaste or be safe. We always have a choice and we should stand by it.

Definetely a steal for 2 for P151 deal!

Ginebra Kings back in the Game, Ties Series

2009-06-24T18:43:00.000+07:00

I was out of town this weekend so I only had the game updates from the SMS of my dad, Ginebra won last friday to tie the semifinals series 1-1 and last Sunday Rain or Shine bounced back for a 2-1 lead. Tonight was the king's time to bounce back and tie the series to 2-2 via a 86-60 win.

The kings started slow with import Noel relying on low percentage shots and nothing brilliant happening on the court. But on the third quarter Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid fired up the offense and that started their intensity defensive wise. The king's lead ballooned upto 20+ points and they eventually maintained it upto to last second of the game. Its back to square one, don't ever give up on the kings!

Sidenotes:
Oh my, MC47 is in the house! Actually he's been there, watching the live games with Jayjay's daughter since Friday, but I've been living in rock and I only knew this today. He's back in town, in cheerleader mode. That's a good start rather than no MC at all.

Anyway, here's Mark Caguioa's interview clip from Rob4Ginebra.

Book Ban!

2009-06-16T15:29:00.000+07:00

I was walking aimlessly at Galleria today and I found a bookstore, National Bookstore's bestseller at the 4th level. Its a bookworm's haven, with a wide range of books and atmosphere comparable to Fully Booked and Powerbooks.

For my chick lit fix, I bought a new book from Cosmo, "My Imaginary Ex" and as brain food I bought Ricky Lee's "Para kay B".

Last thursday, I just bought the last book on Sophie Kinsella's Shopahollic series, "Shopaholllic and a Baby" and "Manhunting" by Jenniffer Cruisie on a thrift bookstore.

With 3 pending books on queue to read, I am officially on a book ban and should be meters away from bookstores.

Say No To Nukes!

2009-06-06T14:01:00.000+07:00

GreenPeace Philippines have sent its message across to the Congress and its loud and clear - Say NO to nuclear power.!

According to Amalie Hamoy Obusan, Climate and Energy Campaigner, it started with an online petition then a protest ride from Morong, Bataan, the site of the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant up to the Philippine Congress at Batasang Pambansa. The last stop is installing pinwheels (symbolizing renewable energy), at the front gates of Congress for all to see - the names of all the petitioners were included. *yes, I'm nodding at everyone who signed and participated.

Each congressmen were given an information pack where "thousands of concerned Filipinos have sent a clear message to the House of Representatives to reject any proposal for nuclear power in the country and instead enable massive uptake of renewable energy."

Many have abandoned their support for the bill but we know how things work in our country, we still need to be vigilant to ensure that this won't be signed behind our backs.

600 Pesos Can Change Lives

2009-06-06T08:13:00.000+07:00

If your way to school or work is EDSA then you might be familiar with Sam Milby's billboard for World Vision where he was photographed with a kid.

World Vision Philippines has a Child Sponsorship program wherein you can help make a difference on a child's life. It only takes P20 a day, P600, $6 a month to take a little boy or girl back to school.

It pains me to see children, who are the future of this country, living on the streets. They are homeless and hungry. Having access to proper education, being able to eat, live in a child safe environment should be every children's right but in the Philippines its a priviledge.

Set aside P600 a month and bring a child back to school!

Check out World Vision's website or call 372-7777 :)

The Only Vampire I Want is Edward Cullen

2009-05-30T14:01:00.000+07:00

Another fangirl moment post? LOL

New Moon will be shown on November but they're promoting it as if it will be shown next week. OMG, I just saw the shirtless Rob Pattinson shots from Italy. I'm just annoyed that they make me this excited and its still monthsss away!

They say that toxic people are like vampires because they suck the hell out of you. I say "The Only Vampire I Want to Suck My Blood/Life is Edward Cullen".

We all know that life is not perfect, as much as we want it to be. So I try to be a type of person who would rather see the goodness in everything amidst the drama and complications because I choose to be HAPPY than dwell on those shortcomings especially if I don't have a control about it. But then I often come across with toxic people, who are they?

*annoying
*depressing
*obnoxious
*malicious

Basically, toxic people are bad news because all they do is spread negativity
We are who we are but we can be influenced by who we hang out with - so choose your friends.

"Be positive instead of negative
Be compassionate not angry
Be generous not greedy
Be patient not anxious
Be happy, not lonely."

Don't Laugh at My Romance

2009-05-30T06:57:00.000+07:00

I've been waiting for months to finally watch Kenichi Matsuyama's indie film "Don't Laugh at my Romance" or "Sex is not a Laughing Matter". Its so hard to find because a. its a foreign/Japanese film and b. its an indie film. Anyway, the long wait is over.

I first watched Kenichi Matsuyama from the Death Note series where he had an iconic role as L. So my initial reaction was "L in sexy scenes?" Then I got a chance to Zeni Geba TV series where he is a heartless money loving boy, and there's the funny Kenichi ni Sexy, Voice Robo. So its a breath of fresh air for him to act dopey-in-love type but not the J-idol over romantic mushy roles.

The film is about a May-December affair of Mirume (Kenichi Matsuyama), a 19 year old college student who falls in love with his 20 years older teacher Yuri (Hiromi Nagasaku). Yuri is not your ordinary college teacher because she's funny and sexy thus she was able to subtly seduce his student. Seduction, adultery, lies, innocent love and more complications brought by sex was delivered in this film.

The film is light but sincere, from the title you might expect presence of sex, but it only features suggestive scenes - before and after the act. But its still for the mature audience - I'm not sure about the Death Note fans - because of its central theme, a forbidden affair. Overall, Don't Laugh at My Romance is an enjoyable film, superb acting from the leads, good execution of the scenes and a chance to watch Kenichi having a close to normal guy role (If you have seen his other movies, you know what I mean *wink).

David Cook in Manila - The Experience

2009-05-20T15:48:00.000+07:00

Last week, May 12-17, 2009, was not the same. Its far from ordinary.

I don't know where to start, but last week, is so far the best week for the Cookistas - David Cook's Pinoy fans. Visit David Cook's Pinoyexchange thread!

After David Cook was crowned as the 7th Season American Idol, he had the AI tour and somewhere along the way he announced that he'll have his concert in the Philippines last January - but it didn't materialized.

Then, there was Jomari Yllana, an actor turned producer (Fearless Productions) announcing that he would bring the 2 Davids in Manila. At first, I was hessitant on the idea because it was like having a back to back concert of an extremely pop star and a rock n roll dude (Which how I felt the real concert turned out)

Tuesday, I was ecstatic because David has arrived (in the building!) I was in the bus when GMA had a flash report about his arrival. No cookie sighting after that upto wednesday, it turned out that he had video conferences fo Malaysia, China, Singapore and other Asian countries c/o Sony, his record label.

Thursday, he had a short but funny interview on Magic 89.9 with DJ Mo Twister. He learned about "Salamat" by this time - which will be very useful on the entire visit (Filipino word for Thank you). I had an annoying story about this, I was excited the whole day for this 2 minutes interview and then when it was Cook's time, I was inside a noisy tricyle, I couldn't understand a thing. But I trust the Cookistas to record it.

After the interview, David went to SM North Edsa for a Meet and Greet. I didn't even try to go there because I got off the office very late and I had to run some errands - of all the days! Anyway, lots of Cookie crumbs from those who went there.

I'm so happy for the Cookistas of PEX who organized the gifts for Cookies -> read the story behind the "The cookistas slept here" shirt, customized guitar, sneakers and the banner!

Friday, another big Cookie day
AM: Fancon on Magic 89.9 with DJ Mo, Mojo & Grace Lee. More than 30 minutes of fangirl moments, great questions and a lot of laugh out moments!
MID: I missed Cook's live performance at Eat Bulaga but of course, there are crumbs when I got home. David sang an acoustic version of Always be my baby!!! The first time he sang after his epic top 7 performance!!
NIGHT: To cause more excitement for tomorrow night's concert, the 2 Davids had a live interview at 24 oras. Me wonders, why do we always force visitors to eat balut lol.

Saturday, an amazing concert (after all the bruhaha -LBM - eww I know, LRT technical failure, overpriced cab fare)!! David Archuleta started the show - only sang along to the 2 songs that I know but I have to say he has a good voice. There were moments that I just stared to hotness known as Jomari Yllana who was standing across lol

After Archie's set, there's a beautiful fireworks display to distract us - of course Dave and his band need to set up.

David rose through the stage through a hydraulics, amidst the darkness with a spotlight and his reliable AC guitar. He silenced the crowd with "The World I Know"- Collective Soul cover and one of is 3 songs for AI 7 finals. Actually I had a mental blackout - I can't remember what the heck was that song - I can't process that David was THERE - feet away from me - well SEVERAL feet, I was on the 9th row gold section. "Mabuhay" - the first Filipino word of the night.

The second song is "Heroes" followed by "Mr Sensitive".
Before he sang "Declaration", Cookie greeted the 40,000+ crowd with "Magandang Gabi" (read as Good evening). I love the pre song banters!! Cookie said that the next song "Life on the Moon" described how his life has been after winning AI last year.

Then he sang the cookified version of "Always be my baby" - this was the first time he'll have a full band accompanying him - that's according to Cookie himself and its part of the special Manila set list :) FYI, Cook's "Always be my baby" was the #1 song on Magic 89.9's year end countdown and other stations as well. You know its a hit song when you walk to busy Quiapo and all the speakers play that song.

David asked if we have the his record, yes! and if we listen until the end of the song because they'll perform "Kiss on the neck". SexXay!

Aside from his amazing voice, you can see and feel through his interaction, banters with the audience that he is a seasoned performer - a Rock god! David - you're born to do this!! In the middle of "Straight Ahead" a song from his Analog heart album, he went to the crowd, and went to take picture of the crowd and himself. He went back to stage with a manly giggle before picking up where he left of. The next song played was "Make Me" from his former band Midwest kings. I learned just yesterday that in the setlist it was supposed to be "Lie", I almost heard "Lie live" :( Another reason why Cook should come back to Manila!

Then he spoke about how he had no expectations when he released his album and then he found out that songs like "Avalanche" was played and did well in Manila. This song is awesome when played live. They did another cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies", I'm kinda familiar with this because of the Declaration Tour crumbs.

Before he sang "Come back to me", there was a banter with the memorable line "Salamat po so much" and David spotted a girl carrying a "Marry Me Neal poster". He dedicated the song to the "newlyweds". CBTM now stands for Come Back to Manila!

David and the EEB (Easy on the Eyes band) does an encore of "Light On", OMG live Bar-ba-sol where there were 40,000 heads bobbing and an epic ending with "A Daily Anthem". Just a side note, ADAm is a song written for David's brother who recently succumbed to Brain cancer so it was really an emotional song for him - he haven't been singing this song on his Declaration tour.

"Will you sing along Manila?"

I was just happy for him because he wrote this song pre-idol and that night 40,000 people from the other side of the world was singing along with him :)

Almost But Not Quite

2009-04-25T08:20:00.000+07:00

When you experience a major setback, I learned that you have to talk about it because the more you open up about the issue with your friends or even enemies, it will give you a wider perspective.

You will be able to hear the opinions of people who matters, the "outsiders" and more importantly, you will be able to HEAR YOURSELF and realize how pathetic the situation. Then you'll come around with the truth - that the answer was there all along.

Its CLEAR now BUT I'm giving myself until this weekend to mop around. You'll probably ask why not start now? Well, I'm just being realistic, I need to cry it all out and then I'll be fine - good as new - ready for another battle.

Ginebra, PBA's Only King

2009-04-20T18:58:00.001+07:00

Ginebra Kings paraded 3 new players, 2 of which had major contributions on their win over Burger King. The newly added players are the import Noel - who had a triple double performance but I still forgot his first name lol. He's quick, have an outside shot, positions himself well, shares the ball *cough Nealy *cough and shows Chris Alexander-esque brilliance.

The 2 other players added on the kings roster are Cyrus Baguio and Homer Se - who I think will replace Alex Crisano's role, and displays a Wilmer Ong-esque style.

I just love the crisp passing, unselfish basketball showed. Baranggay Ginebra Kings sealed their third straight win. Eric Menk and Jayjay Helterbrand had another solid game to boot.

Its all about peaking at the right time, I can't wait for MC to come back :)

A Spark of Never Say Die Ginebra Spirit

2009-04-18T09:33:00.000+07:00

Undermanned, Caguioa-Salvacion-Valenzuela and import less but Baranggay Ginebra kings managed to out hustle Rain or Shine for a 94-89 victory last night. The Fiesta conference defending champs managed to push their first back to back win and improve their team standings to 3-5 for the 7th place.

Major pain Eric Menk, PBA's one time MVP, scored 24 points with 9 rebounds to seal his major comeback from an injury. Jayjay Helterbrand is back on doing what he does best, sharing the ball (now that Nealy is out of the picture), at one point on the game, Mr Fast had more assists than the entire ROS team. JC Intal, Artadi and Tubid also had their contributions but there were instances that as a Ginebra fan, you will miss the big scoring and overall game intensity, a hole made because of Mark Caguioa's absence. He was rumored to get back after holy week but that remains to be a rumor until now.

I hope that the kings will get their major players back and peak at the right time to defend their crown!