Monday, December 14, 2009

An important message.

After an emotionally draining Sunday and an energy-sapping two weeks, I found these among the email messages I've subscribed to. The fact that they were received in my inbox on the very same emotionally-draining Sunday is a bit chilling and disturbing, because I had hoped for something that did not lead me to where angels fear to tread. Emphasis mine.

This is your mission. To become what you were born to be. You were born to bless and heal and love in a very specific, fantastic way. I don't know about you, but it's really incredibly exciting just making it all come to pass.

Here we have one of the smartest people who ever lived, accepting the fact that he couldn't do anything alone. He understood that he could not know what he knew or do what he did without the help of others. Greatness happens when people get together and pool their strengths for each other's benefit. It happens when lessons are passed down and taken even further. Who do you know in your life that you could learn from? Do you have a hero? How can you build on the opportunities that are given to you? How will you pass your knowledge down to the coming generation? Learn your strengths and the strengths of the people around you. Find out how you can help each other achieve what you never could alone. Right now, you can be the one "seeing farther." Be the "giant with shoulders" for someone else. Either way, you'll be part of something big.

I love the gift of healing, but right now, with the way things are looking I can't even manage to heal myself. I'm so terribly drained that I just want to curl up in a corner and cry myself to sleep, but I can't get the rest and release I need. (For starters, I am wide awake.) I really, badly need a recharge. X_x Pwede po bang time-out muna, please? =_=

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The 25s: The Ultimate Gratitudes or The Intangibles That I'm Grateful For

Of course, I am no ingrate. I have realised that I have been very lucky. And so, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would love to return my love to the universe in this manner.
  1. My family, which keeps me grounded and sane no matter what happens. 
  2. The chance to talk to my older sister again - her birthday falls near or during the Thanksgiving weekend, which is a plus (November 23rd)
  3. My newest job, yay! (Can't believe I forgot this. XP)
  4. The chance to determine who and what my friends REALLY are
  5. University of the Philippines In-Christ Thrust for University Students (UP ICTUS) - almost 30 years and counting! Anniversary next week! Nihil Fide Sine - Nothing Without Faith! Never Without Passion! \^0^/
  6. The opportunity to lead Reach Out Otaku 
  7. Mommy Gemmy, for founding Reach Out Otaku
  8. Costume play - I don't care who invented it, bless their souls for making it popular! XD
  9. Graduating college with cum laude honors - I'd had such a hard time, but even now I still don't think I deserve it, because by technicality alone I shouldn't have gotten honours in the first place.
  10. The opportunities to prove that I am human and thus capable of feeling, compassion and change.
  11. People who, in rare occasions (I speak from personal experience), love me more than I love them, and way more than I love myself ... I cannot count you all, but suffice it to say you're all on Blogger and LJ too. :P
  12. Many boys and men from ICTUS and the cosplay community, for teaching me that not all men are as terrible as I've been lead to believe - there is a LOOOOOOOONG (and unfortunately very tragic) story behind this, and you will NEVER pry any of the details out of me! v^_^v
  13. The problems that cast shadows in my life, because I beliefe God never gives us what we cannot handle.


...One of these days I WILL do a photo-collage here. I love my sister, but we're ruthlessly competitive sisters, and today is one of those days when I just can't stand how pretty her LJ is next to either of my blogs. v^_^0

Monday, November 23, 2009

The 25s: The Material Possessions I am Most Grateful For

Here are the things I am most grateful for. I have realised I am very lucky to have enjoyed these comforts and my own personal fortune, however small it often appears to be. ^_^

  1. My life. It IS material and it is something that's ultimately mine.
  2. The house I currently live in, La Casa Nueva. Part of my life savings (put up from when I was a little tyke getting a small allowance at grade school) went into this beauty. And now I have my own room too! ♥ We've definitely come a long way from renting a tiny flat full of mice and cockroaches which barely had any running water.
  3. My eyeglasses. I have terrible vision (short-sightedness/myopia plus astigmatism on the left eye), and I don't tear up easily, which is why I prefer glasses over invasive contact lenses. My current pair is extra-special because I bought it myself and it looks super cool. 
  4. Every single thing that was given to me as a present which I currently use. Whether it's something edible or useful, something large or small, something worn or held or simply kept, I know that the person that gave that item to me gave much time, effort and money up just to give something of great value to me.
  5. My job, my career and my agency (and my bosses). They came at a time I felt very hopeless, and I have learned so much and enjoyed so many great things that I honestly can't think of myself doing anything besides public relations anymore.
  6. All the clothes, shoes, bags, belts and accessories (especially costume jewelry) that I bought with my own money. I am grateful because these are things I bought for myself, for my own personal use and enjoyment, with the money I make doing something I love.
  7. My Panasonic CCD mini-DV video camera. I wish I could use it more often though. I miss making videos! T.T
  8. My costumes, because their presence means I DID enjoy being a geeky and creative kid. dXDb Especially Danaya of Encantadia because she literally opened doors for me - new friends, newfound appreciation for myself, newfound appreciation for Filipino culture (you need to see the show to see why), and new cosplay possibilities.
  9. My modest anime and manga collection, which have influenced my tastes and my worldview profoundly. I've collected them even before being nerdy and geeky were cool. They entertain me and make me happy. dXDb
  10. My lovely wigs, for the same reasons as above. Also, they give me a new look and a measure of confidence to try new things ... notably new hair styles and colours. dXDb
  11. My ultimate impulse buy, the white 2008 edition MacBook that I have dubbed Chigusa. I wanted to give her up, but she's become so useful to me especially for doing work outside of the office and the house. I still need to pay Mum my share of her though. XD;;;
  12. My built-from-scratch desktop, Anthy. From an ASUS-Seagate-Intel base, she's now a hybrid Gigabyte-ASUS-Seagate-Intel-Samsung baby. Through the years she has been my repository of media that I have made, as well as the many things that continue to inspire me from all over the world. Also without her, I'd never play all the awesome MMORPGs and PC games I love. dXDb 
  13. My Sony Ericsson Walkman w801i Black Lady, which at her prime was the most gorgeous phone ever. She's a grande old dame now. ♥ Thanks for selling this beautiful baby to me, Carlo San (a former colleague at my former office)!
  14. My Nokia 6020 mobile, Pink Lady. She was originally silver, but after her silver covers chipped off I customised her with a pink set and tons of decoden despite being my oldest phone (circa 2006 baby - three-and-a-half years and counting!). She's so durable and portable, there's no way I'll let her go. ♥
  15. My paper journals, organizers and diaries. They are terribly cheesy and melodramatic but they link me to the Ligayas of years past.
  16. My online journals that I have been able to keep for the past 10 years or so, because they help me evolve into the Ligaya that I am becoming.
  17. Every little material item that Mahal has given me, from food to jewelry to candles to manga to books to mix CDs. Yes, they all deserved their own number because these are all presents from my beloved. ♥♥♥  
  18. The things I've won through lucky draws, like the tickets for the very intimate Anggun concert at the Hard Rock Cafe back in 1999 (wow, it's been 10 years! *0*) and the HP printer I won during the Gadgets 4th anniversary party this past June. Who'd have thought I'd get so lucky? ;P Now how I wish I could get lucky again... X3

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Photoshoot for Work! <3

Hi all!

I guess I've missed my photoshoots with friends from Cosplay.ph pretty badly, because when it was announced by my colleague that we were doing a photoshoot for work, I really went all out. dXDb We had hired a long-time friend of the company who was a professional photographer, who in turn got us a shoot director and a very lovely studio with much room, great lighting and all-white walls, and began planning, though rather haphazardly, the two-themed shoot.

Unlike my earlier apprehension, when we did the first part of the shoot which was white (top) on white (background), we found that we didn't actually recede into the walls. Yay! XD Unfortunately, we forgot to have photos of ourselves as a group taken while wearing white tops. >.<000

In any case, our photographer was very kind to allow us to camwhore shamelessly inside the well-lit studio between and after the shoot. XDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I had myself made up to look like Sayaka from the defunct Es Poshh! Magazine, but that proved a bit difficult because my face is terribly round and my hair normally refuses to follow any curled style (unless I get it permed, which costs an arm and a leg). Not to mention that lately, my once-flawless skin is now susceptible to pimples. DDDDDDDDDX But thank goodness for an awesome hair and make-up team that was able to follow the look I wanted using mineral make-up and, of all things, a straightening hair iron. I love them so much! ♥ I am pleased to report that 4 hours later, my hair and make-up held up remarkably well, though admittedly the humidity had set in on my hair and reduced the curls just a bit.

We've already got our photos, but I haven't put them up yet because we're still in the process of editing the official shots. For the meantime, I'm putting up the products of our self-indulgence.

Behind-The-Scenes
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=124720&id=558573814
Multiply: http://ligayadiwata.multiply.com/photos/album/66/2009-11-03_VPRI_Photoshoot_Behind_the_scenes
Hair and Make-up: Ms. Toni Malabanan and her team
Photographer: Ms. Orthia Hernandez

EDIT: Official shots are out!
Official Photoshoot
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127961&id=558573814&l=2922191893
Multiply: (to be added as I left the HD with the originals at work =_=0)
Hair and Make-up: Ms. Toni Malabanan and her team
Photographer: Mr. Louie Aguinaldo

Monday, November 02, 2009

The 25 Wants: Hoping God & the universe hear me!

I want:

  1. A credit card. No, seriously. Bringing so much cash is worrying. X_x Most likely the UnionBank EON account because it's PayPal-friendly.
  2. A decent pair of shorts that I can fill out without riding up my crotch or simply just looking skanky.
  3. MATCHING UNDIES!!! Because none of my bras go with my knickers, WTF. >_>0
  4. 2TB hard drive. Just for back-up. Seriously. So my computer can keep its games and pr0nz hahaha.
  5. New wigs, especially those with FULLER POOFINESS! So I can be more gyaru and just go hair-crazy some days without worrying over my ever-increasing hairfall. T.T
  6. A Sony Walkman with matching Bluetooth headphones. As much as I love Apple, the iPod has become seriously overrated and less fun. I want to go against the norm. ;P
  7. Skins, decoden and rhinestones for my phones, lappy and camera. I kinda like my PC looking and staying black but if a gorgeous yet supremely monstrously functional case comes out of the PC manufacturers I may just change my mind. XD
  8. Old issues of Es POSHH!, Ego System, Honey Girl, Vanilla Girl and all the lovely but sadly defunct gyaru magazines.
  9. Volume 13 of the original Japanese version of the Ayashi no Ceres manga so that I can FINALLY complete my collection. XD
  10. Work-out videos, particularly for Tae-Bo, Hip-hop Abs, Bellydance and anything to do with dancing and martial arts.
  11. A tan, or a less-than-PhP1,000 artificial tanner, to even out my skin tone.
  12. Sony Creative Software 2009 Editions, especially Vegas, the original of which is rare and hard to come by here where I live.
  13. More make-up! Preferably mineral and/or hypoallergenic. (Sadly, the Shu Uemura testers my younger sister gave me caused some crazy breakouts that I never recovered from. X_x)
  14. Shiseido skincare and beauty products. Because, to my greatest frustration, this is about the only brand that still agrees with my skin. 
  15. A perfume that comes thisclose to the bouquet of The Body Shop's Oceanus, which sadly has been phased out. T.T
  16. DVD sets of all the following: Ayashi no Ceres, Sailormoon (all 5 seasons), Saint Tail, Inuyasha, Sugar Sugar Rune, Tsukikage no Ran, Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl, Candy Candy, True Blood, Peach Girl, Hana Yori Dango, Meteor Garden, Hana Kimi, Vision of Escaflowne (movie is optional), Flight of the Conchords, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Black Lagoon, Card Captor Sakura, Angelic Layer, Vampire Princess Miyu, CSI: Las Vegas (only the episodes with Gil Grissom in the lead though), Roswell, Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Audrey Hepburn Collection, Sex and The City, Heroes, Oh My Goddess!, HBO Films' John Adams, and last but definitely not least Joan of Arcadia.
  17. An upright piano and some starter music scores I can use to teach myself to read notes and play piano with again.
  18. Piano, voice, street/hiphop/pole dance and clothing technology lessons that someone else will be willing to sponsor in my behalf. (For the music lessons, I'd rather take them at The Ryan Cayabyab Music School, BTW.)
  19. Personalised calling cards for Midwest Ocean and for my own business purposes. Must make time for this.
  20. I still want the Chloe leather alligator fold clutch. Second-hand, or preferably someone can produce a version locally, one which doesn't have to be made of real leather. Close-up here.
  21. Sexy black legwarmers with chains. (Granted, I COULD make them myself but I don't have the necessary skills to ensure they don't all fall apart after just one wearing. XD;;;) Photo taken from Royal Jelly Clothing, no longer in stock in that store though.
  22. Music-themed anything! Whether it be this Forever 21 Melody hoodie jacket (alas, it's no longer in stock either, I really should've bought it during the holidays! DX) or this piano and musical-themed bag from the Japanese brand JUNKS, I am totally and madly in love!
  23. These Kvoll strappy sandals with heart-shaped heels, sans ribbons. I first fell in love with Christian Lacroix wedges with heart-shaped cut-outs during the Lacroix exhibit 2 years ago at the Ayala Museum (thanks Ate! XD), and when I was in Taipei this past June I stumbled across another set of heels in this exact style. However I didn't have money at the time so I never got to buy them.

The 25s (Possible-to-reach) Needs: Hoping God & the universe hear me...

To God and the universe, I hope you can help me with the following needs:
  1. At least US$10,000 added to EACH of my bank accounts (BPI savings account, Banco Filipino savings account, and the one I plan to open in Standard Chartered) so I can finally get that long-delayed trip to see Mahal again without worrying about rainy STORMY days.
  2. A ten-year multiple-entry visa (B2) and TWO-WAY tickets to the USA from the Philippines to see Ate, Jannie, Laney and Mahal!!!
  3. A USB cable for my Sony T-20 Cybershot (pamana ni Inay/inherited from Mum). Okay, I forgot I DO have this already, so instead of my old number #7 I would like some better-quality silicone cases for my mobile phones. An almost-new Sony DSC-T20 Cybershot camera, which I lost during an event at the Peninsula Manila last 23rd September. DDDDDX 
  4. Better quality silicon cases for my mobile phones. 
  5. A new set of eyeglasses with ultra-thin, multi-coloured transitional lenses (L: -6.00 + astigmatism, R: -3.50). I prefer thin, coloured rims as horned rims don't work for my facial structure at all. 
  6. Diksyunaryo ng Wikang Pilipino (Dictionary of the Filipino Language) by UP Press. Or, failing that, a decent, comprehensive, one-stop Filipino-English dictionary, which we SERIOUSLY lack in this country.
  7. A miniature (portable?) electronic sewing machine complete with implements.
  8. A decent pair of jogging/jazz/workout pants/shorts that don't split when stretched out at the crotch as I can get surprisingly involved and malleable during my exercises.
  9. Board shorts especially for summer days. Thanks Ate A and Ate E!♥
  10. Dress forms, body hangers and/or mannequin bodies for my costumes and for my sister K's fashions.
  11. Original Windows 7 OS and Microsoft Professional applications for Windows XP and 7 - preferably not overpriced by PhP1,000 the way they sell it here (@#&;* local customs bureau!), and with full multilingual and app support. 
  12. The latest Adobe Creative Suite, all-original and with full multilingual and app support.
  13. The latest McAfee Anti-Virus system, all-original and with full multilingual and app support.
  14. A new case for Anthy, my PC, who looks so shabby because of all the holes my Dad carved into her casing so we could fit more fans in. (As it turned out, all those fans contributed to her constant overheating, and the solution was newer, better fans.)
  15. Lots of belts (especially narrow, not thick belts) and shoes. I need belts because most of my trousers and some of my skirts keep falling (curse of the half-size), and shoes because I wear them out so easily (curse of ginormous yet strangely half-size feet, grossly disproportionate to my body). Brand is not important, but build and durability are.
  16. Lots of jewelry that are extremely durable but also cheap or at least reasonably priced.
  17. Lots of bags for daily use and special occasions alike, but most especially a formal yet theft-proof clutch or purse. I will pay premium only if it's sturdy, not because it's by a famous brand or its knock-off. 
  18. Business card keepers for work and personal use.
  19. 4D-size batteries for emergencies, especially after Typhoons Ketsana and Parma hit us.
  20. BlackBerry Storm charger for work, which I ironically lost on early September after I brought it back to work. DX
  21. Clear books and clear sheets for the old cutouts and clippings that I really, REALLY want to save.
  22. BlackBerry devices with matching data plans. One for me, one for Mahal (especially so we can chat for hours on WiFi!) and one for Dad because it would totally help his business. Sorry Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Apple, this baby beats you in lightweight-ness (especially compared to the MacBook) and data efficiency hands down. Though those keypads can get seriously tiny...
  23. A nice, durable, clamshell/hardshell laptop bag that can comfortably fit a 13.3" white MacBook (my workstation) and all its stuff. Thanks K! ♥ Well, crap. I still need one because the last one I had, a lovely black one full of lace with a Hello Kitty design given by K, got stolen while I was at the mall - though thankfully without the laptop inside. DDDDDDDDDDDDDX
  24. A spiffy wireless modem that's stronger than our grande olde dame of a wired modem - as much as I love her, she IS showing her age already by not being able to pick up signals via the cord - and our el cheapo router combined.
  25. A portable HDD, minimum capacity 320GB, with its own idiot-proof shock absorbers to match my on-the-go lifestyle. Bonus points if it looks pretty. X3 ♥ Got a spiffy black 320GB Apollo II from Imation, complete with its own cover! ♥

Monday, October 12, 2009

PORTED FROM VOX: Boys need not apply.

I found this on ChaiGyaru's blog, who in turn found it on Nira Chan's blog, and I totally feel her. While I currently have a man to lean on, and I know he won't be perfect, I still find myself wishing on occasion that some of these things would come easier to him...

I want a man, not a boy. ♥
a man who knows how to appreciate the things I do for him.
a man who pampers me with something money can't buy.
a man who knows his mistakes and tries to make it right.
a man who can be my pillow whenever I need someone to lean on.
a man who knows when to give in and let down his pride. 
a man who’d communicate, listen and respond.
a man who respects me, my family and his
a man who enjoys what life has to offer. 
a man who can say yes or no instead of ‘anything’.
a man who won’t keep me waiting though the day or night. 
a man who (at least) try figure out what’s going on inside me and resolve it. 
a man who help the relationship work when it gets tough.
a man who'd never lay his hand on woman.
a man who works hard and planning well for his future.
a man who is motivated.
a man who takes responsibility for his actions 
a man who gives me freedom that I need.
a man who loves me with no doubts.
I would also like to add that I want 
a man who knows and understands that a woman will usually associate sex with love.
a man who believes in a Higher Power and would acknowledge that sometimes, there are things beyond any measure of human control. 

Sunday, October 11, 2009

OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGG!!!

I found out from one of my trusted sellers in Multiply that she's offering a personal shopping service from Japanese stores. Now that I'm leaning heavily towards the gyaru style, I'm going nuts because this is the chance to own something, ANYTHING by Cecil McBee, Gilfy, Swordfish, Ego System, Liz Lisa... OHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Unfortunately, I still owe some other sellers money. And I just finished investing quite a heavy sum in retail treasury bonds, so I have absolutely skint. DX

Not to mention that I feel incredibly guilty since there are so many people out there currently living worse off than I am due to Typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which attacked our part of the country in the last 2 weeks.

I just want to go for it SO badly though...! T.T

God, please, I would like a windfall right about now. Please? I've been really, REALLY good! T_____________________T

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The 25 (Almost-Unreachable) Needs: Hoping God & the universe hear me!

These qualities and situations I have always desired for a VERY long time. I'm doing my best to work on these, but I wish some of them would come to me more easily. The others, well, they are what we call "suntok sa buwan" ... literally "a punch at the moon," the best English transliteration being "aiming for the moon." I am hoping and praying that they don't feel that way for very long though.
  1. Longer weekends. As long as they are announced a week early and not sooner.
  2. Longer vacation days, so I don't succumb to the stress of my occupation and thus burn out easily. *looks meaningfully at her PR agency, which she loves but sadly doesn't offer more than 1 week's vacation at the most*
  3. Better eyesight. Glasses can be a pain even with the meganekko/girls with glasses/girl geek-nerd trend being big right now. If by some miracle I either suddenly possess enough tear glands which will facilitate immediate healing after eye surgery, or I just suddenly wake up with a marked improvement to my eyesight, I will be forever grateful. The only reason why I could not qualify for the surgery is because I can't cry - and because I can't cry, I can seriously go blind instead of heal during post-ops for the eyes.
  4. Handwriting that's reasonably easy to read. Ever since I was a child, I practised, but I could never get it right. I think I've just given up now because it's just so hard to conform my fingers into those words. X_x
  5. Infinite patience. Enough said.
  6. Retaining my capacity to sing. Once upon a time I had such a beautiful voice. ;A; I should start sleeping early though, but still that's kinda hard considering we have so many things to do at work and even get calls so late into the night... =_=
  7. Superior PC tech skills so I can finally reformat, reprogram, rewire and revamp my PC without worries. (I am trying to practise but I always get it horribly wrong. DX)
  8. Superior hair-doing skills. Seriously. I try so hard but cannot style my hair to save my life wallet.
  9. Superior make-up skills so I can do my own make. I mean, I AM getting there... but I wish I could be with it a bit faster, y'know?
  10. Superior styling skills so I can maximise the clothes I currently have and fit them into the current trends, instead of seeing all the pretty but trendy new ones that are being sold right now.
  11. The ability to discern which of my clutter stays in my room, and which goes.
  12. Superior cash and credit management skills so I can finally ensure my future.
  13. Superior business acumen, because I have inherited absolutely none from my perennially business-minded mum.
  14. Superior sewing skills so I can DIY my clothes and finally sew my own costumes. Alas, I am currently "sewing machine killer." XP
  15. The capacity to forgive.
  16. More courage and humility to ask for forgiveness from others.
  17. More self-control. This means prudence over my spending, moderation in my eating, restraint over my reactions, and particularly shutting up instead of talking, because obviously I have no bone of tact and diplomacy in my body. That way I wouldn't need to ask for forgiveness as much and I wouldn't need to try and remedy disasters that could've been avoided had I done better.
  18. More tact and diplomacy, along with the self-control.
  19. More courage to do things I've always been too scared of trying, like swimming, riding a bicycle...
  20. Increased speed and the ability to assimilate new actions quickly so I can start and finish work faster.
  21. More time to visit and hang out with my older sister in the USA. Oh, and the cousins too, but not so much them as with Ate. X3
  22. Meet Archfaith and my cosplay friend Mew Pudding in New York, and Pinksugarichigo along with all the other gyaru in California. Hopefully I can do the latter when I go to the US.
  23. Mahal with me right now and forever. Yes, I am thinking about marriage and raising a family. (Who'd have thought?)
  24. More free time. To party, to fix my room, to fix my handwriting, to fix my weight, to fix my LIFE...
  25. More sleep. Which reminds me, why am I still up?

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Conflicted/Word Vomit 2/? [To be transliterated in Tagalog]

Hmm, my thoughts have become disjointed and incoherent and are going EVERYWHERE. I guess it's because I think based on emotions? This makes it so much harder to write them down.

So let's see... where did I leave off?

Oh yes. Now changing an entire mindset, which is perhaps the domino which will start the whole betterment and positive development movement, is the hardest to do. Mental conditioning is difficult to effect especially in the adult years, and it doesn't take a scientist to see that.

The Filipino is notorious for having amnesia of both long-term and short-term memory. We take the proverbs "Forgive and forget" and "Start fresh, start clean" a little too seriously. This is one of the saddest things about being Filipino - we, as a nation, forget too soon the grievous sins committed against our people and our country, whether by foreign parties or (and this is where it gets worse) fellow Filipinos ourselves. For starters, we suffered exactly 333 years of tyranny under Spain; today, Instituto Cervantes and the Catholic Church are still around (as much as I believe wholeheartedly in Christ Jesus, it is very sad that many figures in the Church have done things contrary to His teachings through the ages), IBM's Philippine unit hires and trains Filipino call center agents for accounts based in Spain and Latin America, many land, labour and governance problems rooted in politicking Spanish exiles and their way of "running the country" continue to plague us today, and I haven't even mentioned the controversial "Filipinas" biscuits which were said to have tasted good, save for their Oreo-like premise of dark cookies with white filling. Have the Spanish insulares and naturalised Filipinos originally from Spain helped the Philippines? Not really - the capitalist Zobel de Ayala family, for instance, have contributed to the rapid, technologically-driven Western-style development of Makati City, but they have also popularised mall culture and San Miguel Beer to new heights. No-one had heard a peep from them the moment the Ondoy/Ketsana hit, and one friend who found herself stranded in one of the low-end Ayala malls in Taguig City told me that the Ayala personnel were extremely lacking in compassion at the height of the storm.

Oh, alright, I take back my hatred of San Miguel Beer, but then again, I was never a beer drinker as I find it too bitter.

This kind of mental condition could only be sheer stupidity at best. But that is how my brain is conditioned. There is no avoiding it; after all, while my late grandparents fought in their own ways during the Japanese occupation during World War II, I can only be described as a rabid J-Pop fan who is a virtual slave to gyaru fashion. Except I refuse to forget, or at least I grasp at straws and devise ways to keep everything in my memory.

Trust me, it's not fun to focus on the negative like this. But the Filipino likes focusing more on the happy and pretty things than the sad and ugly ones. I know I prefer sleeping in the car than staring the greasy-skinned child wearing tattered clothes begging me to please buy a sampaguita garland, and I know I will much rather read my magazines, newspapers and books in English than the longwinded vernacular.

Conflicted/Word Vomit 1/? [To be transliterated in Tagalog]

Wow, it's been a while since I was last here, hasn't it?

After the catastrophe that was Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana), I've been thinking again. A lot.

And as we all know, the products of my thoughts will most likely be tiring to read as they are to write. Please bear with me; otherwise, you've been warned.

First, I regret sincerely that I was not more committed to the environmental effort. This was Mother Nature's epic bitching and ownage of the Filipino people, who I must admit have an attitude of being nice only when it works to our advantage. It used to be in our nature to live in total synchronicity with the environment's habits, but endless colonialisation and hurried industrialisation (the latter having been introduced to us by the Americans) have made myself and my countrymen inconsiderate of our surroundings and the other creatures that live in it.

Please note I am in no way generalizing the United States of America and its people, as well as the Philippines and her people. I am well aware that both countries have their own strengths, and that indolence and irresponsibility know no race, no religion and even no gender. It's just that... somehow, I wish we Filipinos were able to figure out what the Americans were so good at doing, and then do one better by surpassing them instead of just following their lead, or worse, bickering among ourselves. Those are two Filipino traits that peeve me - bickering and blaming, especially because we Filipinos are happy to always rely on other people to take on the tasks that we ourselves should be doing and are natural debaters when we find an opposing perspective. More on this later.

Anyway, it used to be that we in the Philippines had natural treasures, "likas na yaman", that we were very proud of as a people - tall, swaying coconut trees that reached to the sky, crystal-clear bodies of water, wide-eyed tarsiers on Chocolate Hills. After all, we have always been the Pearl of the Orient Seas. But the concern that many of us have these days is to be rich through any means possible - even if that entails making colleagues look bad in front of our bosses, cutting more trees to build more living (as opposed to livable) spaces, and throwing our trash just about anywhere because we're in a hurry to get to work. In fact, immediately after the onslaught of Ondoy in our metropolis, my friends retold in Facebook how the drivers who made public transportation possible were mindlessly throwing their trash outside their windows. It's a shame, considering I actually did join an environmentally-driven organisation. Of course, since I wasn't passionate about the cause (I've always been more civic-minded), I hardly got anything done. I did practise proper disposal and segregation of waste, but I've always been queasy around animals. Even now I'm not exactly a pet-friendly person. To be fair, my fast-paced working gal lifestyle doesn't allow for pets at all; I hardly even have time for myself these days. But I admit that privately, I always held much disapproval and disappointment for people who spend so much to groom and even dress their animals in human-like clothing when so many people outside were dying of hunger and lack of shelter and medicines. What's worse are those people who like keeping animals and yet do not take care of them responsibly - and make no mistake, we have a lot of them here.

I honestly think that many of my own people, myself included, really do not have a sense of responsibility. I do not bother to reduce the clutter of my own room because I am lazy, because I know that I can always rely on my mother, who prefers to see everything tidy, to clean everything up for me. (I'm very sorry Mum, I will get to that long-awaited clean-up once I'm done with this entry.) I do not lobby for more tree-lined parks and pedestrian lanes in Makati because I leave the planning for these to our city government, which has many staffers who admittedly do not have the foresight to see the benefits of these things. I do not complain about the massive logging in my mother's mountainous hometown of Rizal, Laguna, because again that's the provincial government's work; besides, we're based in Manila now, and there are some greedy relatives there who we'd rather not see.

It won't be easy, but I will have to change my mindset and make myself accountable for causing the floods brought by Ondoy to a certain extent.

PS this show of mercy and accountability to the environment will not be extended to mosquitos, flies and cockroaches though. They're disgusting and carry diseases on them no matter what they do. Ugh. XP

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The 25s: Things I Want To Do Before I Die

This list has been carefully thought of and not yet deliberately filled out. Well, so far these seem the most feasible things to do.

  1. (Learn how to) fall in love freely for once, and maybe even admit to the object(s) of my affection of my feelings for him/her(/them). Stand by my decision that Mahal is truly worth all the pain I'm going through to be with him, worth being the only one for me. Preferably marry him for keeps at Church. 
  2. Put all my favourite charity work in order. Re-instate Reach Out Otaku so that a firm system is in place, and it keeps going through at least two standard activities for years on end. Return some of my time, talent and treasure to ICTUS as well.
  3. Do something insanely daring and not at all associated with me. Learn how to swim. Learn how to ride a bicycle and a motorcycle. Learn how to dance. Learn how to sew clothes and a costume or 10.  
  4. Learn how to DIY around the house. Really. 
  5. Travel. A LOT. Preferably return to South Korea, China, Italy and/or any Schengen country ASAP, and finally go to Japan and Israel. Possibly visit Argentina while I'm at it. 
  6. Watch a full Motograndprix race day live at either: Sepang, Malaysia; Laguna Seca, California; or Motegi or Suzuka, Japan.
  7. Meet my penpal Sarah and catch up on so much lost time.
  8. Catch up with the Seven Habits Pioneers gang.
  9. Compose music and create videos, and possibly make music videos! I used to be able to do so back in broadcasting classes, but I've lost the skills. DX
  10. Get in touch with my geek self and go marathon the following: Battlestar Galactica (which my sister K likes), The X-Files (which my sisters love), Xena: Warrior Princess, Star Trek (though I am partial to The Next Generation, I should try the others like the original 1960s series and Deep Space Nine), Heroes (K and I are still sad it got cancelled ToT), The Journeyman (underestimated series IMHO),  and... am I missing anything?
  11. Go to a gyaru meet-up, learn para-para well enough to be able to dance properly without tripping all over myself, and generally have fun and be true to my gyaru-at-heart self. 
  12. Finish all my cosplay plans and ease my way into permanent cosplay retirement. (And learn how to make my own costume in the process.) Para na rin may maisuot ako kung sakaling... a basta. X3 Akin na lang muna ito.
  13. Have a super-glamourous photoshoot taken by involving up-and-coming photographers, hair and make-up artists, and possibly stylists with a strong gyaru sensibility. Para naman maramdaman kong maganda ako. XD;
  14. Train in martial arts and self-defence.
  15. Run a marathon that's either locally staged or for all of Asia. 
  16. Become as cool and as calm as ice on winter. For the sake of sanity and efficiency.
  17. Fix my meager properties and business (costumes, animanga, games, bank accounts, insurance, budget!!!, etc.), and invest in stocks and retail treasury bonds if necessary. Obviously this means I have to earn and save a lot. v^_^0
  18. In fact, my goal is to EARN PhP500,000.00 A MONTH within the next 5 years. 
  19. Get Midwest Ocean and Practical Love up and running ASAP, again to help Mahal and myself with the PhP500,000.00-a-month goal. Now if only I weren't so tired all the time... =_=000 
  20. Confront THAT PERSON peacefully and calmly. Ayoko nang magalit. Ayoko na ring matakot. Ayoko nang mag-atubili. Wala na akong panahon. Pagod na pagod na ako sa paghihintay. Closure MUST come no matter what.
  21. Get people to watch over me and also take care of whatever may lie pending during - and possibly after - the confrontation. I DEMAND these people to be friends who will stand by me regardless of the outcome.
  22. Set the record straight with some family members, and ensure that no matter what happens, our family remains strong.
  23. Make amends and be at peace with everyone and anyone I can remember off the top of my head.
  24. Party hard with all the people I love while I can. Preferably all at the same time, all together. 
  25. Live freely with very few regrets, if not none at all. 

...Pero geez. Masyado talaga akong atat magplano. Matagal pa naman ito ano!! ;P

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Tayo na, tayo na!

Partida tayo may nakaalala pa nito. d^_~b



Honestly, while the late Rene Villanueva was a most disagreeable man and a disappointment for youngsters who loved his TV show, everyone from my generation agrees that Batibot was one of the best things ever shown on Philippine television. ♥

Friday, August 21, 2009

We need a revolution...


We need a revolution...
Originally uploaded by Ligaya Diwata.
Yes, I was in the rallies leading to the 1986 EDSA Revolution. I'm the tiny kid in yellow. My mum, in pink, is holding me, along with our nanny at the time. The other young girl is my older sister. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where this is, but according to the writing at the back of the photo (my mum's) this was somewhere near EDSA.

It also sucks that we lost all the other photos taken no this date. Lesson to future parents: Never, EVER, let your kids take your original photos! It's a good thing we now have digital photography and digital storage - like Flickr! - at this day and age.

Uploaded to commemorate the 26th death anniversary of Senator Benigno Severino "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on 21 August 2009. This event became the catalyst for the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

Monday, August 10, 2009

'Wag kang kukurap! (Blink and you'll miss it!)

While looking for videos on the late, great former President Cory Aquino on YouTube, I stumbled across this:


ASAP 2009 tribute to Cory Aquino, originally aired on August 2, 2009 live on ABS-CBN 2 and simulcast (or delayed telecast?) on The Filipino Channel (also owned by ABS-CBN Networks). Uploaded by VisayanPinoySBG without intent of infringing copyright laws.

Do NOT miss 3:55 of the footage - the wedding photo, where Ms. Aquino's eyes blink! Whether or not this was a broadcast flicker, or the image happened to be super imposed over a simulcast on-cam footage of a viewer, or it was actually Ms. Aquino being slightly impish but still untiringly watching over her baby, the Filipino people, who knows?

Also, major props for people who noticed:

Read this, PRES. CORY AQUINO died August 1, 2009 at 3:18 in the morning. That's 08/01/2009 3:18 right? now, remove the zero's(0) and put the numbers together... Results to 8129318 Rearrange the numbers... Results to 8/21/1983 That's August 21, 1983. The day Ninoy died. Coincidence? That's the true Love.
- taken from the official Cory Aquino Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Ribbon-for-President-Cory-Aquino/100738003363)

Nakakakilig nga naman kung iisipin. ♥

Plus, of course, a bit of school pride, courtesy of Mr. Erik De Castro and (Thomson) Reuters:

Students make the sign of the cross as they pay their respects to late former President Corazon Aquino at De La Salle University in Manila August 3, 2009. REUTERS/Erik De Castro


Postscript: This idiot keeps spamming the official Ninoy Aquino thread on Facebook by writing hate messages! Writing it once was enough, but seriously, your devotion to piss people off... are you a die-hard Marcos loyalist (in which case, didn't you get the memo that Bongbong and Imee Marcos were at Tita Cory's wake on Tuesday, August 4th?) or are you a typical uzi (usisero/kibitzer) with too much free time on your hands? :P

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Paalam, minamahal na Pangulo.



As someone who has lost relatives to cancer, I am glad that you have been relieved of your pain. As someone who has been tasked to safeguard the principles you fought for, I am determined to ensure your legacy is not in vain.

Maraming salamat po, Tita Cory.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The Social Persona Test!

Lol is this for real? Seriously. A friend of mine took this test and got the exact same result too. >_>0

Your result for The Social Persona Test (Version 2.5)...

The Rarity (QTAF)

Quirky Traditional Alpha Female



You have an unusual and unbelievably precious combination of traits, especially in a woman. Not only are alpha females extremely rare, but traditional ones with nerdy/geeky interests are even more scarce. Unlike the other types, I can't give you a description because I'm not sure if you actually exist.



PS: I know this is not a compatibility test, but there is a very good chance you are the girl of my dreams. Not to sound desperate or anything, but please, oh please message me! (Assuming, that is, that you are between 20 and 30 and live in New England).


--Bookwyrm85



You are more QUIRKY than NORMAL.


You are more TRADITIONAL than LIBERAL.


You are more DOMINANT than PASSIVE.



When picking a date, consider: Lord of the Misfits (QLAM), The Late Bloomer (QTAM), The Snowball's Chance in Hell (QTBM), or The Manga Geek (QLBM).



(Image from http://folk.uio.no/thomas/lists/amazon-connection.html)


Take The Social Persona Test (Version 2.5)
at HelloQuizzy

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Cosplay Judging Criteria and System

While I'm never going to be as active as I used to be in Cosplay.ph, I am reposting this so the world that cares about costuming and cosplay may know how it's done here in Manila.

And for the record, while it's me a while to grasp the logic and I did not at first find myself in agreement with it, I understand now that this new system has its merits, perhaps more than I gave it credit for.

So here it is, the post of Kero/Pablo of Cosplay.ph on the issue at hand:

Ever since Cosplay.ph has managed cosplay events, we've been tweaking the judging system to try to find the right mix of aspects to ensure a system that is the most efficient, leads to the least errors, and allows the judges to focus on aspects that really matter.

With this in mind, we have been implementing a system where each judge is assigned a criteria instead of all the criteria for various reasons:

1) It allows the judge to focus on their expertise. They can ignore other aspects and really focus on their criteria. It allows them to consider their score at length given the only 1-2 minutes he or she has to observe the cosplayer.

2) It addresses the concern that a person might be judging something that is not necessarily their field. For instance, a judge might be more into making costumes for other people and simply allows someone else to perform in his costumes or another judge who is good at performances might simply be commissioning his or her costumes.

3) It reduces the chance of "score copying" that occurs when a judge starts to get behind and simply copies the scores of the judge beside him or her to catch up (the judge can't really stop the cosplay just to catch up.)

4) Each criteria really makes an impact. For instance, if there were four criteria and one was 10%, most judges would just score a 5 in almost all contestants thinking that it's insignificant. This undermines that criteria and renders it useless. By making it their sole concern, they can award a 0 or 5 or 10 or anything in between if they feel they really deserve it.

5) It reduces errors simply because you are reducing the numbers that are being tracked and the considerations being made by 1/3 (for 3 criteria) or 1/4 (for 4 criteria). So, in a cosplay with 100 contestants, instead of 300 or 400 numbers, you just need to keep track of 100 numbers. In addition, this gives judges time to double-check their scores and keep track of their results and even reconsider some of their scores.

Yes, indeed cosplay is "the whole package", but their weight should not be treated equally. In the case of E-Games, it was mostly Craftsmanship/Accuracy > Performance > Audience Impact. Does this mean that Audience Impact is useless? Perhaps in the old system where most judges would've just scored all the contestants a 5 it would be, but in a system where the judge gets to study the impact of the cosplayer and his or her projection carefully, it becomes pivotal.

Just to prove how pivotal it was, the top 3 winners were decided on point differences of 1-2 points with the Best Female winner being decided by a single point! The Audience Impact score could have, in fact, DECIDED the outcome of the winners. You're talking about 10 points: something that could have put the 6th placer in 1st place.

About the fact that newbies aren't being represented and that scoring was manipulated, let's take a look at the results:

Best Male: 1st Time Cosplayer
Best Female: 1st Time Cosplayer

1st Placer: Cosplayer Since November 2008 (Kid Robocop)
2nd Placer: Brand New Costume. Last time he cosplayed was last year (Spongebob Squarepants)
3rd Placer: Cosplaying Since this year (Kid Terminator)

Where is the manipulation and prejudice against newbie cosplayers? In fact, Hitman and Katsune (both multi-award winning, veteran cosplayers) participated and did not even get 3rd place simply because we let the scores stand for themselves. We adhered to the rules that were set and did not "tweak" or "manipulate" them in any way.

To be honest, I had concerns because the 1st and 3rd placers were both siblings, but despite this we allowed the scores to stand BECAUSE we respected the judges and the rules and made their decisions final. Integrity in the cosplay contest and the adherence to the rules was our main concern. We may not have entirely agreed with the decision of the judges, but we trusted their judgment and felt that the winners were indeed deserving.

With the choice of judges and their expertise, how would you have ranked the following in the different criteria (Craftsmanship/Accuracy, Performance, Audience Impact):

JM Chua
Robert Wong
Alodia

With the criteria having to be equal, let's be honest. Who would want Audience Impact to have the same percentage as Craftsmanship/Accuracy and Performance? Does this represent cosplay properly that a cosplayer having a great costume and poor projection is scored the same as a cosplayer with great projection and a poor costume?

In fact, if there was a problem with the judging system, it could have been brought up when Alodia herself was a judge during Tagcom 3. In the end, you can't argue with results. Using this system, score tabulation has been FASTER and MORE ACCURATE. Errors have been minimized (if not completely eradicated) and all the criteria emphasized. In the end, the result is a smoother cosplay contest that has resulted in deserving winners.

Or would it be better to wait 3 hours to come up with the winners and to ask cosplayers to come back on stage because a judge didn't catch their performance or wasn't able to look at their costume properly?

Original source: http://cosplay.ph/forums/showpost.php?p=56967&postcount=21 (sorry, members only)

This is in response to Alodia's allegations as stipulated in her deviantArt account: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/journal/24104141/.

As I am no longer in activity as a CosPh junior administrator (due to personal and work-related circumstances), this will be my first and last public post in the matter. For those interested to take this up with me, do so at your risk.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Random costume-related post (Tangkilikin ang sariling atin)

A member from one of the Philippine arts-and-culture mailing lists I'm in emailed this:


Subject: (ThePhilippineCinema) LVN costumes...
From: Joseph Borneo Olfindo

Any body interested to archive Costume designs from LVN movies?

pls call me... 09209207512. ..

The costumes are already brittle with age...soon to go...photos may be the only way, but for a select few...I know you can do something better in preserving the costume designs...

joborn2x



I'm suspecting it's from the 1950s-era Filipiniana collection, in which case I waaaaaaaaant. T0T

Ah, to be young and broke.



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Aftermath to the Modern-Day Princess Ball

*Please click the image to enlarge! ;D
25th Birthday Party invitation

First, as always, Many Happy Returns to uchihayukiko, who shares this day with me. ^_^

So I decided to unwind and at the same time celebrate my birthday this past weekend.

I was apprehensive to do it at first, since I was just going through so much at work. Then, of course, there was my godmother's all-too-recent and unexpected demise. Her death prompted me to seriously consider cancelling the party; it just wasn't right considering that the customary 40 days of grieving hadn't even passed yet.

But then I realised, it's EXACTLY the point ... my dad told me everyone in the family thought I wouldn't live past my 1st birthday. But fast-forward to today, exactly 24 years after that measles attack. Who knew, right?

Besides, I wanted to feel a bit special. While I do enjoy my work, I wanted to have some time to commemorate all other things that were awesome about me. It sounds shallow, true, but if you really REALLY know me (or follow this journal with regularity), I tend to dwell on all my negative points and all the negative events in my life. It's rare I decide to focus on the positive, which is exactly what I did last Saturday, March 14th. It's bad enough that even some relatives forget when my birthday is. I like to think I matter, even to me at least.

So after a lot of panicking, I decided to push through with the Modern-Day Princess Ball. I made a list of what I needed and what I could ask my close friends to help out with. After some false starts, I finally managed to shop for many of the items needed for my birthday. However, true to form, I had had no time for the bulk of preparations. I made sure to invite 30 people (all my Povedan friends, the YRT gang, some of my friends from college and cosplay who I felt would be available that time, and my current co-workers ... whoops, sorry I forgot my former co-workers X_x) in the hopes that there would be 25 of them present, in tune with my birthday (hahaha ang drama).

Saturday morning arrived. I began my day at the wet market buying fresh ingredients for the summer vegetarian spaghetti I planned to cook. pan_de_kuneho arrived to assist me with the decorations. mithlin_megil was supposed to help out as well, but she had gotten quite ill the night before, and was therefore in no condition to do so.

Dad stopped by to help out, but it was only after some arguing that we managed to agree on how to hang the decorations. xfridays_childx called him for some urgent matter, then he turned over the phone to me so she could send me some valuable big-sister advice. ♥

As the day wore on more and more people cancelled. I began to panic since almost half my invitees couldn't make it. pan_de_kuneho was such a sweetheart for putting up with me all that time. It was good that chocolatedazed arrived when she did - I began to panic less, and pan_de_kuneho had someone to hang out with while I finally took my long-deserved bath and began freshening up (!).

While pan_de_kuneho helped me out with the curling iron, crimson_azalea of the Kaka Fun Club (KFC) called and tried to prank me saying that she, ube and _freud_ wouldn't be coming over. However, they arrived right in the middle of the call with presents, chicken and alcohol in tow. XDDDDD Add to that the fact that lovediesel/A of SentiGRAM got lost along the way to the house, as did G of SentiGRAM. Good one KFC, I was just about ready to snap your heads off! X3

The two SentiGRAM girls arrived separately with help from both chocolatedazed and pan_de_kuneho (man was she overworked!). lovediesel was armed with balloons and her Victorian Maiden dress, which was a pain to fit into, but somehow we managed it. G looked smashing in her dress! ♥ Then Ana of Reach Out Otaku arrived as well, and quickly changed into a flaming red dress of win. Xtin (our Venus from our Pretty Guardian Sailormoon cosplay with pan_de_kuneho) arrived as well. My room became a flurry of chaos, with people lending each other dresses, accessories and shoes. Then my superior at work (who's also a senior of mine in UP ICTUS, as it eventually turned out) arrived with two of my officemates. She couldn't resist peeking into my room, and ended up doing make-up for some of my beauty-challenged friends (!!!). It was too bad she had to dash off to another dinner before we had our own, but at least my officemates Orthia and Angeline stayed on.

Last to arrive was Ivy of Reach Out Otaku, who brought boxes of brownies and food for the gods from Becky's Kitchen. She also had her Handycam handy, perfect later on that night when the karaoke session was under way. (BTW she just got engaged ... congratulations and best wishes to you and your fiance! \^0^/)

Finally some of the attendees forced me to have dinner. After some false starts everyone who was present sang me Happy Birthday, and then people began digging into the spaghetti and fried chicken. It wasn't long before everyone huddled around the chocolate fondue fountain armed with platefuls of fruit, which made me LOL. We nearly had a crisis on our hands when I had the chocolate fondue thinned with water, which caused the fondue fountain to clog up a bit. Good thing cooking oil helped loosen up that situation! Meanwhile some of the Povedans were going crazy with one of the programmes on my laptop. XDDDDDDDDDD;;;

When everyone had finished dinner and most of dessert, I had a little game of "How well do you know me?" To my surprise it wasn't lovediesel - who has known me longest - who knew the most, but it was ube! Then I awarded some prizes, in the form of cute tiaras: Early Bird went to pan_de_kuneho, lovediesel won Best Dressed thanks to her VM outfit (which she quickly changed out of once she won the award since it was getting stuffy XD;;;), ube received the prize for the game.

Soon it was karaoke time. The KFC gang was being uncharacteristically shy but pan_de_kuneho, Xtin and chocolatedazed in particular showed no such inhibitions. dXDDDDDDDDDDDDDb So in the end, ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea mixed the lemon-lime gin with lovediesel assisting them with the taste. In between it all we all tried to get the YM up and running in my laptop, which was tough because my internet decided to conk out. We ended up stealing a neighbour's connection, hehe. XDDDDDDDD Thus were finally able to get jactinglim and ericvids on board, where they witnessed among other things pan_de_kuneho and Xtin dancing to chocolatedazed's rendition of "Sha-la-la" (yes, THAT "Sha-la-la"). XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD It was too bad janipanda couldn't seem to connect to our webcam chat no matter how hard we tried. ;~; I'm holding out for Ivy to put up all the videos on Youtube. X3

We finally called it a night around 11:30, after some screencapping insanity from our Singapore-based friends. The remaining guests helped clean up, though lovediesel did most of the work. It was then I realised that I forgot to give most of the guests who left early their giveaways. Whoops~! XP Sorry about that guys, let me know when you're free to meet up and claim them alright?

Now here's the part where I thank everyone who helped make the Modern-Day Princess Ball possible:

Firstly, many, many thanks to lovediesel and xfridays_childx for the ideas. Thanks for the balloons too, lovediesel!

Thank you very, very much pan_de_kuneho for being the earliest to arrive, helping out with the decorations and overall set-up, curling my hair, giving my other guests directions via the telephone, and putting up with my panic attack when people began cancelling en masse that morning. You are made of so much win! I owe you big-time. ♥

Thank you very much lovediesel and chocolatedazed for sleeping over and helping me fix the venue once the party ended. ♥ Thanks for bringing food and the eating implements as well, chocolatedazed !

Thank you very much ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea for bringing food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), for mixing the alcohol, and for getting me presents even when I hadn't really expected any from you. Thanks also to ube and _freud_ for being kaladkaring katulong the Saturday prior to my birthday and helping out with the preliminary shopping.

Thank you very much to my UP ICTUS sempai (senior) and current superior in VPRI, who dropped by for a spell to bring in my other officemates and who also very gamely did make-up for some of my girls. ♥ You are made of too much awesome. ;~;

Thank you very much pan_de_kuneho & pan_de_kunehofor being sports while waiting for us to fix the internet connection and YM, and for celebrating with us DURING the party all the way from Singapore complete with cake and alky. ♥

Thank you very much to everyone who attended - SentiGRAM (though we were missing R ;~;), Kaka Fun Club (though we were missing Cesca and transient_freak), the YRT gang, the PGSM gang, the ladies of Reach Out Otaku, and my current officemates. I hope I didn't miss anyone! ;~;

To everyone who couldn't be in the party physically for any reason, thank you very, very much for your greetings and well-wishes. ♥ I appreciate those a lot.

Thanks to everyone who remembered for making my 25th birthday memorable! ♥

I wonder what will happen in the next 25 years... v^~^v


PS Pictures are up! More links to be added as they come. ♥

1) chocolatedazed = http://aoyukihikari.multiply.com/photos/album/94/Joy_Hime-gyaru_Party
2) jactinglim = http://jactinglim2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Mai_Hime-tachi
3) lovediesel = http://kismet0225.multiply.com/photos/album/211/Joys_Hime-gyaru_Party
4) Xtin = http://sailorsenshi8.multiply.com/photos/album/24/3-14-2009

Sunday, March 08, 2009

These past 2 weeks have been crazy.

1) Hongkong began as a disaster but at least the weekend evened out. We arrived early at Chek Lap Kok Airport but we couldn't take a ride into the city in time for our meeting. Some of us went ahead to present while the rest, myself included, just caught up with them just in time for lunch (courtesy of our contacts at HK) after arranging for check-in at our hotel. Then the weather was too cool and too rainy for comfort (stupid CNN said it would be clear skies through the weekend! XP), but Disneyland was all sorts of fun (considering how small it is) and clubbing at Lan Kwai Fong was ... well, unforgettable. XD; (Sa mga nakakaalam walang manlalaglag. X3) Did not get to shop as much as I'd wanted though, and I kept getting the group lost and late and stuff, bleh. XP

2) My godmother (Dad's sister; also the proud new grandmother whose picture I posted here 2 years ago) died of cancer two days before I was supposed to fly out. I was numb for the next few days, even with the clubbing and Disneyland craziness. I wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out.

3) Made a couple of stupid decisions especially on Wednesday. Backlogged to the max pa. Did not even get to buy tickets to the final set concert of the Eraserheads. Need to rectify everything ASAP. Shet. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDX

4) Shopped for stuff for my birthday yesterday (Saturday). I honestly wasn't sure I should celebrate it the way I wanted to considering the death in my family lately, but I decided I was turning 25 only once and I wasn't going to celebrate any more birthdays after that so I may as well celebrate life. Besides, it's one of the few times I'm going to see my all my closest friends (hoping to make 25 for 25, lol) from all walks of life. I was in such a bad mood earlier since I was supposed to do some leftover work before I left and then again when I got home but Anthy died so I asked markpoa's younger brother to fix it. He's cool. (Thanks for fixing my PC!) Very glad I had Neko and Sherry, who even went the extra mile by patiently waiting for me while I de-stressed by watching the Charice Pempengco concert, with me or I would've gone nuts. thank you girls! ♥

Also: Francis Magalona died due to complications brought about by leukemia on Friday, 6th March. An acquaintance/semi-friend of mine (who's also a co-worker's sister) is a nurse at Medical City, where he breathed his last. While I am still somewhat embarrassed to remember dancing to his song at age 7 (which has gone on to show that I can't dance but I still do it anyway), I admit I enjoyed his songs as a guilty pleasure. Francis M was 44 and is survived by his wife and eight (8!) children.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Ang mga Belonio

Meeting Professor Alexis Belonio is such a blessing. He's humble and self-effacing, he willingly shares his inventions for free on the internet (www.bioenergylists.org), he acknowledges God (Supreme Being for those who are more spiritually-inclined) as his Source of ideas, he finds it important to foster the spirits of invention and enterprise on his seven children, he would much rather keep working on and refining his inventions than let the justifiable glow of the RAE get to his head and his heart, and he realizes the need of finding alternate energy sources from existing waste material.

Plus his wife, Salvacion, is awesome and so supportive, and just as brilliant as he is. They make a team which cannot be classified into empty words. It is a shame she keeps getting relegated to the sidelines, but it is a testament to her character that she is very patient, considerate and untiring in her support of her husband.

I suddenly feel so small and insignificant. But on the other hand, I am still proud because I now carry a small part of him in my mind and heart.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Abre las puertas dela memoria

One of my acquaintances posted all our old, grade school pictures on Facebook. I'm sure some of you here know exactly who and what that's about. ;P

I remember looking and feeling ugly and hideously fat, lacking total coordination during PE and most especially gymnastics class, being the one of the tallest girls in class at the time (this was before everyone else caught up with me during puberty, LOL), being angry at so many of my classmates, doing crazy things and stupid things (not like that's ever changed...), killing off sewing machines, having magic hands with craptastic computers, cramming loads of Individual Work, having one of the biggest barkadas the grade school department had ever seen, wearing stuff which seemed OMGAWESOME! at the time, occupying the entire driveway playing patintero, lunch on the covered court floors, retreats at Tagaytay, making friends with girls from bitterly opposing political dynasties (it still makes me happy that they seem to get along up until now), massive sticker picture love, booster participation during cheerleading contests, making friends, and of course, being in that yellow-and-white gingham uniform which made us so distinct to the world at large - and so laughable to other girls' schools. (Friends who come from said other girls' schools, aminin. XD)

Oh! The girl who unloaded our old photos was classmates with a girl who I consider my first love. And now, I am finally able to took at their class picture without feeling anything at all for that first love, except for a twinge of what might have been. (Naks, drama! But yeah. ;P)

But to be honest, even with all the shit that school threw at me, I will always regard my life in Poveda Learning Centre with fondness in my heart. ♥