Gah.

Wow. LJ has been too hot for comfort. XD;;;

Tere needs YOU! \^0^/

Yes, it's time to vote for Miss Universe 2007!

And of course, you all know who I'm pimping promoting. XD

Please, please, PLEASE (x 100000000000000000000000) vote for Miss ANNA THERESA LICAROS, aka TERE!!! I've been very fortunate to have experience her brilliance in everything she does back when we were classmates in UP Diliman, which is why I believe she is most deserving of the title out of everyone in the tilt.

Voting commences HERE. (If your browser can't automatically open that link, it's http://hs.interpolls.com/cache/nbc/missuniv2k7_88DFA/americas.html.)

Please leave me a comment if you voted for her. (If you didn't, don't bother. XP)

Thank you all so much!

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD: My Daily Dose (includes shameless plugging!!!)

What websites do you visit every day?
Submitted by Chez Michelle.

Hmmm... I regularly visit the following:

• Yahoo! (for Mail, MyYahoo, and Groups, particularly the ones I'm moderating ... oh, and of course YM d^V~b)
• MSN (for Hotmail, MSNBC and MSN Messenger)
• Cosplay.ph (moderator)
• FilCosplay
• CosplayKada
• The Oracle
• Livejournal

Sadly, Vox isn't one of them especially since I'm still attached to my LJ. XD; Sorry Vox! D:

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD/Vox Hunt/Hand Of God: Call to Action

 I count myself as lucky. Those who have heard my origins normally continue to disbelieve the dire circumstances we once came from. I guess that that's what ultimately pushed me to contribute actively to charitable causes through financial and voluntary efforts.

I am for children's and women's welfare, the rights of the transgendered, the disabled and the terminally ill. I'd like to support the rights of the aged and WWII veterans plus animal rights, but I've still got to get my act together and actually go vegetarian. (*Author's Note on 2010/09/04: This blog lists all my causes. Please check the left-hand side.)

Let me tie this to today's Vox Hunt question, since the documentary in question is one of the things that inspired me to become a volunteer: Minsan Lang Sila Bata (Children Only Once, 1994), by Ditsi Carolino and the Ateneo Center for Social Policy, in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Manila Labor Centre. It's quite graphic with its portrayal of child labour in the Philippines, with its feature of children working for more than 10 hours with little food or monetary compensation at slaughterhouses, warehouses, meat markets and shipping yards, among others. It shows child labour in all its ugliness, and what makes it even sadder is that the children involved are very much resigned to their fate, but continue to be rather cheerful in their work.

How very timely the appearances of these questions are, right when I'm about to embark on relaunching RO2.

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD: My Dream Room

In your ultimate dream house, what does your favorite room look like?

Right now, I already live in my dream house, and I have my favourite dream room! \^0^/

Only, it's not just as clean and as organized as I dreamed it to be. XDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Photos after the cut! (If you're wondering why I'm here, it's because I was camwhoring for some LJ-based fashion communities. :P)

{points down}

I put on a BOX widget at the bottom of the page! v^~^v Yahooey!

...Wala lang. XD

PORTED FROM Vox Hunt: Weekend Results

Show us something you did, made, saw or bought this past weekend.

Race Queen Haruka. View original at DeviantArt.

I made the little photo at the right. XD;
How do you like it? :3

...I really, REALLY wanted to post a photo of the blue-and-white striped halter summer dress I found on Lulu Castagnette, but I'd been unable to take a photo of it. ;_; I didn't even get to buy it! {weeps}

PORTED FROM Vox Hunt: Just Doodling

Do you doodle?  Show us.

Here are some of my doodles! XD I'm not too proud of anything I draw since I have never had formal education in fine arts, but I rather like these the best. :3

More of this can be found on my deviantArt account, ~ligaya. ;)

Pit Stop 23

Race Queen-Paddock Girl Haruka

Well, seeing as tomorrow today is the start of another lap in the race of my life, let me look back at everything I've gone past so far.

Checkpoints:

1. Graduating from college
2. Eurotrip!!!
3. Getting a job pretty quickly - twice
4. Getting in touch with old friends especially from Poveda
5. Making many new friends especially through cosplay and RODCon
6. Getting in touch with more senior college friends
7. Learning more about myself and my capabilities
8. Making the decision to stay fit and healthy - and actually keeping it
9. NOT getting too sick, yay
10. Remembering that many other things, and not my whims, must command my attention
11. Reviving Reach Out Otaku, bit by bit
12. Enjoying my job, finally (well it's not all THAT good, but I'm finding it much better now)

Chicanes:

1. Choosing to be an accounts manager in the marketing-advertising field, instead of a journalist, a writer or a production assistant
2. Becoming the family breadwinner and taking over my older sister's duties (I didn't expect it to happen MUCH sooner)
3. Being forced to confront my shadows (since the one thing that occupied my faculties enough to keep them in check and not remind me of them was school)

Roadblocks:

1. Being an account executive in one of the crappiest below-the-line marketing companies alive, where I was hardly paid at all for all the work I did
2. Lack of time or memorable bonding moments with my blockmates, some other college friends and ICTUS
3. Never having enough money for myself or my loved ones
4. Never having enough time for my loved ones
5. Not knowing enough of the chores to do around the house (my sisters and I pretty much divided chores among ourselves and never really switched responsibilities)
6. Spending my birthday working, and with very few of the people I wanted to spend it with so badly

Pit Stops:

1. Turning 22
2. Graduating from college
3. Working and earning money
4. Turning 23

Though I'm still not as recharged as I'd hoped to be, I'm definitely ready to go through the next lap of my life.

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD: Secret Family Recipe

What's one family recipe that you wish you knew how to cook?

Actually, there's a whole lot. XD

As a few of you already know, I am proficient in cooking leche flan, a velvety custard made of milk and egg yolks, so much so that I know how to substitute egg whites in the recipe without anyone ever knowing or tasting the difference. XD This recipe I learned from Mama, my late father's mother.

But there's one other dessert I wish I learned from her, and that's to make ube (oo-beh) jam. My dad would describe how Mama would cut up and then mash the purple ube yam, before boiling the mixture, adding water while she stirred. It sounded easy, but then I learned that she cooked the very sticky ube mixture in large batches of at least four yams, in a gigantic saucepan that was half her size. And judging from her pictures, she was always a petite woman, so it was amazing how Dad told me that "stirring the mixture was difficult" in such a nonchalant way.

It's an acquired taste, sweet yet bitter, sticky yet grainy. I'm a HUGE, HARDCORE ube jam fan (I can finish TWO large jars in one sitting!), and so is my mum. That's why I want to cook it.

And I'm drooling on my keyboard now. XD;;;

I love you Jollbee, kahit sa graduation ko~! {hum hum}

Proud father! ^_~
Originally uploaded by Ligaya Diwata.

This is one of my favourite graduation photos for so many reasons. The main reason is that as a family, we didn't eat at the grad lunch buffet (to the sadness of my friends in the graduation and yearbook committees XD;), but had lunch at good ol' Jollibee Katipunan instead since we were in a rush for the university commencement exercises (in my case, both the college and university commencement exercises had happened in the same day). It was terrible that we were only given around two hours at most to have lunch, since we spent the rest of the time that was supposedly going to be the start of the exercises suffering under the summer heat. XD;;;

When I logged in today, I saw this comment from Flickr user dffcao: "This can be a Jollibee commercial! Don't know if JB already thought of featuring important events like graduation meal at Jollibee. You can pitch the storyline to JB's advertising agency. Just some wild idea."

Now seeing as I actually work in a marketing company and have friends that work in the agencies, I'm thinking this is a great idea. XD More so because I'm also a Jollibee fan and our family has had some connection to Jollibee, employment- and career-wise. But I don't want to take credit for this idea since it simply isn't mine.

That said, who among you buddies at the agencies want it? I just ask in behalf of dffcao that he gets any form of credit or recognition for the pitch. :P (And, well, me for the photo since it inspired his pitch. XD)

Ah well, it's just a thought anyways. XD But if any of you ever take this seriously though, thanks! ♥

Oh, and you can still browse through the graduation set here. You may also add me if you're a personal contact (meaning, you want to see more of my non-cosplay photos and chances are you're actually in those non-cosplay photos XD) here. v^_~v

PORTED FROM VOX: QotD: Recess!

What was your favorite game to play at recess in grade school?
Submitted by Elisheva Chana.

Now as many people know I'm not really a very sporty person, but there was one sport I always loved to play even if it meant scraped skin, twisted joints, dizziness, and tons of sweat.


It was patintero.


As far as I know, it's a uniquely Filipino game. The playing ground has to have a series of solid lines, either drawn or built-in (in our case, we played this at the school driveway). There are two teams, composed of at least two players each. One team is the "it" or "taya", and this team has to guard the lines on the playing ground as hurdles. The other team has to outwit and outplay the taya, avoiding their every move as they go through each area, and then return to their starting position. If one of their members is touched by the hand of one of the opposing team members, the entire team becomes the taya and they switch places with the former taya. (I'm sorry if it sounds complicated. I'm translating the mechanics in my head as I go along, and it's not as easy as I thought it would be.)


It was in my generation that we introduced new innovations to the game. We grew crafty and created all sorts of schemes to ensure that we would effectively catch the other team and extend the entire playtime. The biggest change was the installation of the patotot, who would guard the lines perpendicular to his or her playmate's line-areas. In time virtually every single line in the driveway was used as more and more of my schoolmates (and by this I am including members of the kindergarten AND high school levels) joined in the fun. It came to the point that the school authorities decided to close a section of the driveway during recess and lunchtime, and then re-open it during dismissal time; it's been that way ever since.


I loved playing it, even if I was often caught (to be fair, I was pretty good at catching the other girls). It was one of the few games that allowed you to get away with being cheeky in all good fun. It also actually encouraged me to keep running for fun and fitness, since prior to that I was pretty much anti-exercise because of my weak system.


It makes me a bit sad though that right now, most of the girls in my alma mater would rather play football (soccer) or dance as cheerleaders. There's nothing like the excitement and camaraderie that only patintero can bring.

Long-Awaited Workout Update: Feb-Mar 2007

Holy cow, has it been THAT long? @_@

Well. Since so many things are keeping me busy, I'm making this post short and sweet.

Good:

1. I can do crunches now, as so many of you already know. XD
2. I can actually TOUCH MY TOES. Granted, it's not without a lot of some effort, but it has never been so possible. And I can actually do it with little strain on my back, which is a plus.
3. Some of my clothes fit again! (Well, not all. T^T But some!)
4. I can walk briskly for 15 minutes straight without getting winded. Found that one out on Friday night when I walked from my house to McDonald's on Jupiter Street and back again.
5. I actually have the discipine to continue doing this. I've passed the 21-day mark for forming a habit out of exercise, and now I try to turn even common activities into mini-workouts. Fun fun fun. d^V~b

Bad:

1. There's no real difference in my weight. I'm still 128.5 lbs according to the gym scale, which I consult for consistency's sake. O_o
2. Mum's birthday came up (on the 26th) and the whole house is doomed has been tasked to finish the large rectangular chocolate mousse pie that her subordinates and colleagues gave her. I've been good with the fruits, but I've never been good at resisting sweets, so this is instant death, almost literally. X__________x
3. Ever since I had to discontinue my sessions with Sir Rommel, I've been kinda lax on some exercises in terms of execution. Not to mention that with the variety of exercises he made me do, I don't quite remember how to do each one.

Ugly:

1. My knees HURT no matter what exercise I do. I can compare it to when you pull a piece of string (or even rope) on both ends too hard that it threatens to split in half. Do you guys think it's because I went to the gym religiously every day up until last week, which was when I forced myself to NOT go every day because of the pain? And does anyone know what I can do to minimize possible injury? I want to be fit and get thinner but I don't want to break my knee joints and make my knee muscles split in half. T^T
2. My birthday's coming up. And as you all have noticed, diet regimen pretty much fly out the window when someone's birthday comes up at home. I will love anyone who can suggest something that's delicious and sweet, but doesn't pile the calories and carbs heavily.

IdolMaster!

Check this out!
!


* Video courtesy of pointyman2000.



I kinda miss these kinds of idols, when they're all dancing and singing cutely. Most of the idols now are certainly more opinionated and more informed, making them more capable of controlling their own image. But, a lot of them are certainly much less cute and energetic too - it's like the whole world is gravitating towards seriousness and gravity. X_x

Workout Journal (25th Jan to today)

* For those on LJ, I'd prefer you comment there. After all that's why I cross-posted this. (Please don't forget to read this in full!) v^_^v Thanks!

Sooooooooooooooo... I've noticed that exercising at night increases my adrenaline and my heart rate. This keeps me up at night. I'd like to exercise in the mornings but the gym doesn't open till 8:00 AM, and by that time I'm usually either preparing to go to my office, if I'm not on the way there already. It also causes me to eat more since I'm deprived of sleep, and couple that with the hectic activities of the past few days which pretty much kept me from exercising. It's no surprise that I've returned to my original weight of 128 pounds. Ugh. X_x

This Tuesday (6 February) I decided to take a huge risk and enroll in a 6-session training regimen with one of the trainers at my gym. I guess I was sold hook, line and sinker to Sir Romel (the trainer)'s unabashed pride at having greatly improved the self-esteem and health of one of his clients when he was still in Fitness First Manila - imagine, from being a gangly duckling with rather severe scoliosis, she became this beauty pageant material in three months (I saw her picture. She's not spectacular at first glance but yeah, she was brimming with confidence and that made her look very pretty in her own right.)! And so I signed up. ^_^0 I know it'll remove PhP2,500+ from my salary, but if I budget really well I know I can afford it. Besides, he really did know his stuff - besides checking my BMI (body mass index) and heartbeat, he also tried some exercises on me so he could gauge how bad the curve of my spine was and the direction of that curve as well. In fact, he's tailoring the programme to my needs so that my body won't be overwhelmed by all the physical stress brought about by exercise. AND he gave me a power stretch-cum-massage afterwards, which felt goooooooooooooood. ^_^

Sir Romel also taught me how to use all the other exercise machines at the gym and assisted me in exercises, especially the abdominal-core muscle exercises like modified crunches. And I also learned how to compute my BMI from him. My BMI is currently 24, which fits the desired BMI range for my body type of 18-24.5. But he said that the best BMI range for me would be the average, which would be at around 20-21. To reduce my BMI by 3 notches, I have to lose 6 pounds, which leads me to suppose that 1 notch of the BMI is around 2 pounds. But to have a BMI of 21, I have to weigh only 122 pounds ... which is okay, but still above my desired weight of 117 pounds. I wonder if the weight of 117 pounds might make me underweight. But is it wrong to want to know how being underweight feels like though? ^~^

I've returned to SparkPeople, an excellent site recommended by the lovely Mew Pudding on, of all places, Cosplay.com. Although if you think about it, it does make perfect sense - most fictional characters wear tight-fitting and/or little clothing these days that just the slightest flab would make you fat. The great thing about it is that there's a growing Filipino (part Fil-Am, part-Noypi) community there called Filipino Pride. I joined it and now we're keeping track of our weight, food intake, diet and exercise regimens together. The people there are so positive that it's very nice to be around them, even it's all just online. I hope my weight- and health-conscious friends (FList, hint-hint! XD) join it.

Well, I better get ready to leave for the gym soon (I'm winding up my activities for work here at the office). Tonight, I start my regimen. Good luck to me, I hope I'll be alive after tonight. v^_^0


Current Weight: 128 pounds (again!) >_>0
Current Waistline: still 29 inches though as before I can still squeeze into 28-inch clothes
Ideal Weight by 31 May 2007: 117 pounds
Ideal Waistline by 31 May 2007: 27 inches

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO. (If you're hit by my comments, PISS OFF.)

Mike Abundo has put up a little missive, "inviting" people to the Blog Parteeh for the sole purposes of dukeing it out.

... IF, OF COURSE, HE ACTUALLY HAS THE PHYSICAL CAPACITY AND THE KNOW-HOW TO BEAT PEOPLE UP. X3

I'd like to go, but really. I can't. I have something coming up for work (FL, you know what this is), so no matter how this is highly tempting for me to ditch work (and really, beating him up would be good exercise!), I've got my priorities.

Besides, really. In line with my current drive to improve myself, I will prefer to take the high road for now. Meaning, I will let karma bite his ass instead. {wide catlike grin}

Oh, and I refuse to drive traffic to his site by linking to the "invitation". I'm not that low. XD

I feel so sorry for the Philippine mainstream blogging community (as opposed to the niche bloggers like us cosplayers) though. Or maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't, since a significant number of them (take note, I DID NOT SAY "ALL" or "OVERWHELMING MAJORITY"!) really just think with their dicks but don't have the heart or the balls to admit it to themselves. Seriously. I mean, Dickweed Fucktard's the best thing since sliced bread to those people, so much so that they want to be associated with him all the time. =_=0

If you're one of those people who think he is the best thing since sliced bread, EITHER YOU COMMENT WITHOUT THE SECURITY OF ANONYMITY OR JUST PISS OFF - nothing you say or do will ever change how I think of him and of everyone who associates with him. v^_^v

Blah.

I want a new Blogger layout. This one is not me, and it's also boring me to death. >_>0
If only I knew how to code... {sigh}

Getting Into Shape (Crossposted so everyone I know gets to read this)

After reading Hazel's vanity post, and re-reading sutil-chan's frequent posts on her fitness woes (too many to count v^_^0), I've decided to work out. Unfortunately, I'm not a gym rat; I really, REALLY would like to take martial arts classes, and maybe some beginner's yoga to help align my back while I'm getting fit. In any case, the gym will have to do for now because of time and financial constraints.

My biggest problem will be finding an exercise that tones the stomach BUT DOES NOT AGGRAVATE MY SCOLIOSIS. For those who haven't noticed yet, my abdomen is distended so that all my fat is concentrated there, my left leg is disaligned and I slouch forward so bad. I find it difficult to even do as much as sit up straight since it tires my back muscles. I know, I should work out my abdominal and back muscles, but like I said, the wrong exercise just might kill me (it certainly did seem like I would die the last time I did abs-related exercises - I could barely breathe and the pain wouldn't fade away four days after the exercise, even if I did a couple of stretches before and after). Sadly, I haven't had time to consult with the chiropractor I go to on this one; hell, I haven't had time to go to the chiro AT ALL. If anyone has tips, do drop a line please, because I haven't found any exercise that fits my needs at all, not even online. Trust me, I've looked; apparently fitness experts don't think people with scoliosis want to get fit too. >_<0 So far, my current weight is 128 pounds and my current waistline is 29 inches, though if I try really REALLY hard I can squeeze into 28-inch pants and skirts. I haven't been that huge since first year high school... WAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY before I met everyone I know here. ._. (Even Mum and Dad are remarking on the roundness of my face now. Stupid Christmas chocolates. XP) My ideal weight will always be 115 pounds and my ideal waistline is still 27 inches; I hope I get to achieve that. So! With a will and a prayer (okay, make that a couple), I'm going to try and eat right, exercise right and sleep right*. Already even in this cold office I'm drinking more hot water instead of pigging out on food (though this means more trips to the toilet) and I eat fruits and vegetables on all my major meals. I skip rice when I can, and I'm working on minimizing my dependence on rice completely no matter how much I love eating the fluffy grains. I'm trying to keep my pillows as far away from me as possible since I've learned that sleeping with a pillow under your head aggravates the spine's curvature, which will make it even harder for me to straighten it (I no longer move around as much when I sleep, so usually my sleeping position is also my waking position). I'm trying not to cross my legs while I sit down and type this right now, either, for the same reason. And miracle of miracles, I haven't touched the chocolate-covered almonds that my aunt brought from the US since last week. I wonder how long I can keep this up? Sana naman hindi ako mawalan ng gana kahit hanggang March lang. I want to fit into all my new clothes, which were given to me on Christmas by Mum and my well-meaning relatives with my 120-pound, semi-flat stomach frame in mind. T^T

* Oh yeah FL, if any of you catch me posting or YM-ing 12:00 am onwards, please call me off. I've just realized I work on semi-negative motivation, aka panlalait. Thanks. v^_^v

PORTED FROM VOX: Vox Hunt & QotD combo! v^_^v

Vox Hunt: [design is good]

Link: Link to the Voxer who has the best personalized Vox banner you've seen so far.

--> Definitely has to be sutil-chan bar none. :P (Yeah I'm pimping a friend, but so what? She really does have a kick-@$$ banner. <3 )


Qotd: Fictional World

In which fictional world/universe/land/city would you most like to live?
Submitted by glenn is the new chuck.  

--> Hmm, something shiny and happy and full of love and peace and stars and sugar and... I'm boring like that. XD

{coughs}
Okay, seriously? 

1. The alternate universe where HEROES takes place in. Just so I can have the chance to glomp Hiro. (I don't ask for much. :P)
2. The alternate universe where Sailormoon takes place in. For obvious reasons.  XD;
3. Encantadia. Really. It's supposed to be a lush governed by four seasons, four faeries, and particularly strong elemental magic. It's very pretty. *_* (Alam ko, corny ako. XD;)

At this point, it's just about any place where there is magic, so I can cause mayhem! :P

THE POWER OF NISSIE COMPELS US!!!

I enjoin all of you on my Friends' List - ALL! - to join Boys Don't Cry, Real Men Do, a fanlist dedicated to the kick-ass goddess Nissie/Rin. d^V~b

Much love to eL for putting up the site. ♥♥♥