ready, set, go!

there had been a bit of a change in this little lady's teeny life (not without a wee bit of drama, of course. but that's another story). i think i should get ready for adventures ahead - may it be trying out a new resto, memorizing the whole of megamall, going out with friends, or getting lost in ortigas. i already started today, actually!

1. went to Mass in my new favorite church.

2. tried chef choi for lunch.

3. tried cocktales (yes, it's spelled that way) for my snack.

4. looked for (and found) the megamall exit closest to my house.

5. finished reading a 135-page short story in 2 hours without the lights on.

i wonder what's next?

hep hep hoo!

powder? liquid!

i've been doing something brainless for the past year. i've always used powder foundation on my face (using a damp sponge). but i have uber dry skin (which is a real hassle). why didn't i think of liquid foundation earlier?

i'm loving Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup! it's not creamy. it's really liquid-y so it suits my skin type and it feels really light. it is a bit weird though because it's color white with black microbeads, unlike other beige/cream/bronze/tan foundations. but when you apply it, those microbeads adjust to match your skin tone. o ha? "wooaaahhh nagiging brown!" haha :)) plus it already has sunblock for extra sun protection. however, if you're a fan of heavy makeup, the sheer coverage may be too light for you.

another liquid foundation that i tried is shu uemura's liquid foundation. what can i say? shu is always nice :)

Tiffyiffyiffy

woot new fave artist!

tiffany eugenio a.k.a. tiffyiffyiffy sings some of the best covers i've heard. she creates her own piano/guitar versions of hiphop/dance-y songs. and voice is awesome too. magaling magaling!

my current faves so far are her renditions of Sweet Dreams (Beyonce), 4 Minutes (Madonna & Justin Timberlake) and Suffocate (J. Holiday). 

i truly hope she makes it big. see her other vids here! :D

http://www.youtube.com/tiffyiffyiffy

24 hours isn't enough

this is one of those times wherein you wish there were more than 24 hours in a day. here's the picture: of course, there's the full time job that i have. and unfortunately, the project that i'm in is so toxic, i'm almost embarrased to leave the office as early as 5:30pm (my shift is 8am to 5pm). so there are times (not always though) that i leave later than usual.

then there's practice for the presentation for the company christmas party.

then there's my other job (without pay, btw). i'm not complaining though. but it does take up a large chunk of my time too. especially now when there are several events lined up and the boss goes "wag ka muna umalis", which means staying for 2 more hours.

then the gym. i can't not go to the gym. if i skip gym for a long time, i get irritable and sluggish. 

then there's christmas shopping. still a lot on my list!

then there's doing the grocery, vaccuming, laundry, scrubbing, taking out trash, and a pile of clothes waiting to be ironed.

what about meee? my needs? my social life? so little time for sleep! little lady needs to recharge her batteries. little lady wants to watch television. little lady wants to spend time with friends and her cute little nephews. little lady wants to watch a movie. little lady wants to buy gym clothes and dresses. little lady wants to go to the beach. little lady wants to read a book in a coffee shop. i want a "do nothing week" please! haha! don't get me wrong. i am happy. just need time to breathe a little :)

17 days before Christmas, everyone!

Sizzlers' Blends, now open!

Hi guys!

Sizzlers' Blends is now open to serve you!

Affordable dishes are available, plus have a taste of our coffees and mocktails :)

See you at the Mezzanine, Shoppes @ Victoria, Timog cor. Panay Ave., QC.

the complete south-people date

the complete south-people date (n.) - dinner, movie and coffee, in no particular order.

whirlwind

this weekend, i felt:

- excited

- stretched too thin

- giggly

- like the girl version of quasimodo

- wistful

- sleepy

- dismal

- glad

- frustrated

- hopeful

- impressed

- want to watch Muppets' Christmas Carol again

- want it to be Christmas already

"falling down ain't falling down if you don't cry when you hit the floor...

yes, i was burned, but i called it a lesson learned."

- alicia keys

pass the cheer!

it's funny, but i always look forward to Starbucks releasing their red cups for the year. it makes me giddy and excited for the christmas season, just like a little girl. the coffee tastes the same, but there's an additional sprinkle of christmas spirit :) (plus the christmas flavors, of course) and it's finally here yeah!

it makes me think of white christmases and cozy fireplaces and huge stockings and santa and family and relatives and friends. wah, it's been years since i've had a white christmas. gusto ko ulit haha! 

oh! and decorating our house! it has always been fun :D remember, i even took photos of our decorations last year. i wonder what motif would my mom like this year? we've had gold, violet, pink, white/crystal-y, orange and red. hmmm... i think my brother likes blue for this year though. 

oh, and christmas shopping of course. it has been my yearly super-therapy. i love splurging and buying gifts for my family and shopping alone for hours, going through every aisle to find the perfect gift. i remember giving dad funds for his leather carseat covers and car tint (he needs the cash more than clothes or shoes). then i got mom a pair of sophisticated aerosoles (she wears them during meetings haha! and those are the only heeled shoes that she wears.) and a swivel chair for my brother (i stopped giving him drummer stuff. saka nalang when he's interested to be a drummer again). toys/clothes for my nephews and godchildren too :) and yummy-scented lotion for my tita. hmm what would i get them this year? naku! eh it'll be my parents' birthday on december (dad's 50th pa). and my their 25th anniversary on january. woohhhhh! kelangan mag-ipon nang bonggang bongga!

ok... see where my thoughts are going? and just because of one red cup of toffee nut latte :) 

tis the season to be jolly! merry berry christmas everyone! pass the cheer!

muay thai wars *this is it, pancit!*

are you ready?

Muay Thai Wars

Body Combat Marathon 

November 2009

hot (and icy) stuff, coming through!

watch out for it, people! :D

extremely lucky

the philippines has been hit hard, hasn't it? ondoy's wrath has come as a surprise for almost everyone. a lot of people had flood fill their homes for the first time.

given the circumstances, i consider myself and my family as extremely lucky. in ortigas, ADB Ave was not flooded. my grandparents' house in qc was dry as well. my family and i were separated throughout the storm, though. i was stuck on ortigas (with no water), mom & dad were in qc (with no electricity), and my brother was in batangas. come sunday afternoon though, my parents and i were able to get home to batangas safely. thank you Lord!

it is during times like these that the heroes come out. i am glad and proud that there are a lot of filipinos who stepped up and reached out. mabuhay kayo! :)

(photo from gmanews.tv)

made me think, it did.

"Mr. Meant-to has a comrade,

And his name is Didn't-do

Have you ever chanced to meet him?

Did he ever call on you?

These two fellows live together

In the house of Never-win,

And I'm told that it is haunted

By the ghost of Might-have-been."

                       - Anonymous

yihee!

i would just want to acknowledge our awesome employees at SD. first off, i'm impressed on how fast they work. sobrang galing :) even if there are dozens and dozens of people lined up at the counter, hindi sila nagkakagulo, mabilis parin. plus, we're actually not a fastfood restaurant. there's still some cooking to be done before we serve the food (yes sir, we serve fresh food, not left over food from the day before). but in fairness, SD serves fast.

second, i am really amazed by their loyalty. imagine, there are people who offer to pay them a good sum of money if they give away our gravy's recipe. haha! it's cool i guess, in a way. it means people notice and like (and want to imitate) our gravy, right? and our crew already know what they have to say when people ask them that mwaha! :D then, when a new resto was about to open up, they were pirating our SD boys! :-o "kung gusto mo ng mas malaking sweldo, just contact me" sabay abot ng calling card. well, that calling card is with me now. hahah! sabi nila "ma'am, kinukuha po kaming crew dito." and it's a way bigger company too, compared to our meager foodcourt outlet. hahah! it's funny, but it made me go 'awww' too :)

so thanks a lot guys! GO SD BOYS!

thank you starbucks!

yahoo!! this is the 2nd time that this has happened to me. happiness :D

a free drink is always nice, isn't it? :)

whew!

i survived my first 2 weeks at work! yay!

but damn. my brain has taken a beating @_@ i swear, when i get home, i just want to surf the net then crash. no energy to do chores no more. oh yea! today was my first OT day haha!

almost everything is different. new tools. new culture. new product. new concepts. new processes. infooooow overload. tapos may palpak na din akong nagawa hahah! @_@ i think i'm starting to get the hang of it though.

BUT! i'm still oddly quiet. i don't talk much at the office. yuck. hahah! totally not me. but everything's cool :) this chocolate is sweet :D

oh yea! my PC has a sound card now!

and free coffee YEA!

isa nalang ang kulang.... DF. nasan na ba yun? HAHAH!

evening breakfast

tonight i was able to watch a classic movie: breakfast at tiffany's

what can i say? the movie was simple. no flashy effects whatsoever. 

but i loved it! there were some parts that i could really relate to. and i cried! hahaha!

1. holly golighty (audrey hepburn) loves glamour. but she can't afford it. haha!

2. holly loves new york. and she lives in an apartment alone (well.. with a cat with no name). which is a bit disorganized as well. hihihi!

3. there's this line near the end of the movie... paul varjak (george peppard) said "you call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing... and you're terrified someone will stick you in a cage. well baby, you're already in that cage, you built it yourself." aahh ang galing!

hmm.. that was a nice way to spend the evening :) oh yea, i SUPER DUPER love moon river. i have a little secret about this song. but i think i'll keep it to myself. for now :D

envy

it makes you do vile things.

it blurs the line between one's professional and personal life.

how desperate are you, really?

i must admit, you are good at spreading shit.

so, you ruined a person's career.

you happy now?

and yea, my brother's going to be a college freshman soon.

do you have an idea on how much his tuition fee would cost?

enjoy your victory. savor your achievement.

oh, and thank you.

you might just have opened a new window for us.

a better opportunity, maybe.

when our time for success comes, i would love to slap it across your face.

but for now, congratulations.

you win.

huh?

it's weird. today is my free day. i'm supposed to have fun and do whatever. and tomorrow is a start of a new chapter in my life. so i should be excited.

but today, i felt the first pang of loneliness since i moved out of the house. i want to talk to my mom. *sigh*

green tea yogurt, anyone?

for dinner today, i decided to have my favorite Medium Green Tea Swirl Yogurt with mango at California Berry (Level 4, Robinson's Galleria).

when i placed my order, the cashier said they ran out of mangoes. so i said ok, i'll have a Medium Banana Split instead (yogurt with banana, strawberry and white chocolate thingies). and they ran out of bananas and strawberries too. 

then something weird happened. i usually get pissed when this happens ("ano nalang ba pwede kong orderin?"). but today, i felt happy. hahah! happy for them actually. that means more people got to taste their yummy yummy yogurt! hooray!

(photo from www.clickthecity.com)

i super love california berry. you can choose from the original yogurt, coffee, green tea, coffee swirl (coffee + original yogurt) and green tea swirl (green tea + original). and you can choose from chocolates and fruits for toppings. they also give free tastes (a spoonful of yogurt). plus, it is frozen yogurt. the texture is almost like ice cream, not like the usual liquid-y yogurt you buy in groceries. and my friends know that i have this weakness for cold concoctions (smoothies, shakes, ice cream, frappes, halo halo, etc.. you get the picture). so it's like having a huge nice treat of healthy guilt-free non-sweet ice cream! awesome :D AND, it's only 8.8 calories per serving! :-o

the goodness of fresh pasta

i luckily discovered this little store in robinsons galleria. it's called Ravioli, located in the middle of the food court (it's a small kiosk, not like the usual food court stores). ravioli is actually a kind of pasta. it's square-ish with fillings (either meat or cheese or veggies or whatever).

(photo from www.i-taly.org)

anyhoo, Ravioli's dishes are YUMMY! yes, it's a bit more expensive than the usual jolly spaghetti, but man! super sulit! when you see your order, at first you'd think it's bitin because the serving looks small. but it really is very filling! plus they make their own pasta (i saw one of their cooks actually preparing it), so no easy-cook pasta stuff. the sauce is really rich in flavor, and they even sprinkle fresh herbs. o ha? if you taste the dish, you'd think that it's from a resto, not a food court kiosk. their chorizo and tomato ravioli is the best!

what i noticed though is they have a limited number of menu items. less than 10 dishes, i think. i just don't know if it's because of the small kitchen space that they have, or they're just trying to specialize in certain dishes. hmm... well, i guess it's better though, than serving dishes that aren't really well-developed/prepared, right?

this little kiosk definitely gets a two thumbs-up from me :)

the extreme enigma

i would like to congratulate
the one...
the only...
the rainbow haired warrior...
the extreme enigma...


JEFF HARDY!


you deserve the championship title :-> aaaaahhh!
keep on whispering in the wind mr. jeff hardy! \m/

(photos from www.wwe.com)

lazy tuesday

i set my alarm to ring at 5:40am. and i got up at 6:20. don't you love lazy tuesdays?

damn.. when i woke up this morning, i felt heavy and weak. so i got up later than usual. i was even able to play mafia wars and fluff friends before going to work :D

honestly, i don't mind my tasks right now. i'm supposed to fix the format of this document (i'm on page 92 out of 1699. wooh.), coordinate with the tech team, and i also prepared my boss' laptop for her demonstration/presentation. however. i wish my dear beloved client would stop calling me every 5 minutes! i swear, just thinking of their emails and calls and complaints and requests make me woozy.

so i came in late for work. and i am allowed to leave early wooh!! as what my friend said, "late na nga ako papasok? late pa ba ako uuwi?! hindi na tama yan!" hahah well said, man :D 

damn, without group x classes in fitness first... i'd go nuts.

i want!

i. want. this. bag.

baaahahaha love it!

(Photo from www. chuvaness.com)

errands

things to buy/do when i finish paying for my iMac:

PHASE 1:
1. buy a shelf to house my little tv, books, magazines, dvds, other stuff
2. buy an antenna
3. shop for workout clothes and dainty tops (woohoooo! this one's my fave!)
4. get a hair treatment (Additional Note: i discovered recently that the parlor in my building does eyebrow shaping (using blades) for only 30 bucks! woohooo! and their work looks decent. they also have threading for more over a hundred bucks, but i prefer using a blade.)


PHASE 2:
1. buy a sofa set (this one's a huge investment, yet again, given my current income. i want a japanistic or a modern-looking one!)
2. buy a floor lamp (so that the sofa would be my reading nook instead of my bed)
3. buy new curtains
4. get a bigger mirror for the washroom
5. print and frame my other photos for display


i won't do these things in one month though. 5-10 months maybe, or else i might drown in debt :)) xx,000 pesos more to go before i get to start phase 1! hopefully when 2010 starts, i'll have a decent looking pad :D

release 40

body combat release 40.

challenging.

hahahahah i love it!!!

kicks, esquiva and jump kick in one track :-o omgosh.

new move: komodo dragon. note: use abs, not butt.

and the plank returns. for 45 seconds :-o

but i especially love the muay thai track. it focuses on the form and power of the descending elbow :D

gaaahahah! absolutely lurve it! happy 10th anniversary body combat!

swing swing!

yesterday was a bad day.

fortunately, today seems to be the complete opposite :D

i woke up this morning at 7:30am. and i was still sleepy, i wanted to go back to sleep. but i forced myself to get up and try the body combat class in wynsum (ortigas).  i haven't been to that club yet, so i wanted to give it a try. besides, it's really near my place.

when i got there, guess who the instructor was? Ms. Fhe! THE program head (or director or something) of Body Combat Philippines. o ha? o ha? geez i envy her abs and arms. haha! and her energy! mygosh. the class took longer than usual coz she had lots of chit chat, which were very informative so it was all good. oh! and she told us that they're starting to prepare for the combat marathon this year! woooohooo! the theme would be muay thai wars or something. oohhh can't wait :D

after gym, i decided to take a stroll around my new 'neighborhood'. oh gosh. i am in love with emerald ave! ahaha! the place is just so... urban. aah i love it. the only minor glitch here is that there are so many coffee shops and i'm tempted to enter all of em! 

ok! time to get ready to go to greenbelt for ate ria's birthday lunch :D

sounds like a good day, huh? and i'm just halfway through the day. yey!

retarded

awful. awful. awful day.

1. today, i decided to wear flip flops. and the rain poured and my feet were all wet and grimy.

2. i had to stay longer than necessary in the office because of this data conversion thingie i had to finish.

3. wasn't able to submit my letter today.

4. jeff hardy, the love of my life, is here in the Philippines and i wouldn't get to see him.

gah. how retarded could this day be?!

hmmm... what do i get for dinner to make me a little bit happier? cerealicious? green tea yogurt topped with mango? pistachio sansrival? strawberry banana blizzard? whopper jr? clubhouse sandwich at pancake house?

oh i know i know!!! good ol' kwek kwek and razon's halo halo! yum! oohhh!! and i have left overs from last night's dinner at bubba gump! woooooh winner!

hope tomorrow would be a better day :D

fevah!

i rarely get sick. i think i get sick only 2-3 times in a year. but once i do, it's over. knockout.

and i have been knocked out this weekend. darn. bedrest. i hate being stuck at home doing nothing. although yes, i think it's about time i caught up with my much needed sleep. but what i don't like the most is having to take all these meds! i have a hard time swallowing huge pills (loser). struggleee...

but i feel much better today than a few days ago. thanks to good ol' water and alcohol towel wiping and paracetamol. i still can't sleep continuously though. i can only sleep for at most 2 hours straight.

but anyway, i need to stick to this bedrest thing so i can be up and about by monday!

it's that day already?

today, i am a year short of being officially a mid-twentier. a lot has happened this year. there were a lot of firsts too.

- a lot of gimiks (i super love you guys)

- was able to shoot a gun for the first time.

- was able to shoot an arrow for the first time.

- had a body combat convert (bwahaha!)

- was able to start a real blog.

- discovered FashionToast and SeaofShoes.

- was sent by a client to mindanao for a business trip for the first time.

- was able to buy my first pair of naturalizers with my own money.

- had another godchild. that's 4 in total now.

- co-organized a valentines day promo for the first time.

- joined the body combat marathon for the first time

- shook ronnie winter's hand *swooonnnn*

- now living on my own (on weekdays, at least)

i super thank the Lord for showering me with blessings in the past year. i pray that more would come this year :D

so wait, i spent my birthday differently this year than the last. last year i had my "me-time". now i spent it with family and friends.

- my birthday arrived while i was watching transformers (woot! bumblebee pogi especially when in killerbee mode!) with my fellow evils.

- i got home by 2am. woke up by 8am. mom & bro arrived by 8:30.

- attended body combat and body vive with mom.

- attended an impromptu baking demo in galleria in the afternoon with mom.

- had dinner with family at annabel's.

- had dessert at annabel lee.

thank you thank you thank you for all the greetings! they are greatly appreciated! mwah mwah!

are the stars aligned?

• i was asked to go to davao last friday. work-related stuff. i wasn't really completely happy about this. maybe 50/50. probably because i had to be up ridiculously early for my flight. but then the people from davao (and cebu) were actually ok :D even if it was a business trip, it was stress-free :)
  
• on the way back, i saw my close highschool friend, roselyn, who i haven't seen in ages! of all the places to meet, sa plane from davao to manila pa talaga! haha! she was also sent there to assist their client.
  
• something AMAZING happened in the office *snicker snicker*
  
• i have 8 hours OT. i thought only 3 hours would be approved :D
  
• two of my favorite gym instructors were at the gym :) one was a substitute instructor, the other just visited. woot! lucky-ness!
  

awesome! i hope the stars would be aligned properly until the end of the week. PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAASEEE!

dad's early birthday present

a pair of dark brown olivia crocs!

(image from www.crocs.com)

i just love its shape and the little sparkly jewel on the strap. i can pair it up with slacks, jeans, or even with dresses. and it's soooo light and comfy, i could wear it the whole day. woot! i used to wear heels while having a 10-minute walk going to the mrt station... and then standing in the crowded mrt until i get to buendia. oh lord... now it'll be easier to commute when going to the office :D

thanks papa!

reminder

note to self: stay away from distant relatives (who you see only twice a year, and who don't know the effort you put on working out) who can't say anything except you're fat. sheesh.

wait for your turn please

yesterday, my brother and i went to this yogurt store. i wanted to get yogurt with kiwi and strawberry toppings (waaah heavenly!)

so we were there in the queue. there were 2 guys in front of us and a girl at the back. when the cashier (a girl) got the order of the 2 guys, she left the cash register (WHY would she leave the register?) and prepared the 2 guys' orders. then the other crew (a guy who was SUPPOSED to prepare the orders) asked the woman behind us what her order was AND THEN proceeded to prepare her order. and i was like WTF?!

so i asked my brother 'gusto mo pa ba?' 'umm..ok lang...' 'ayoko na e.' 'baket?' 'e kase nauna pa yung babae e.' then i left the store. (no, i didn't storm out. i'm not like that. haha!)

grrrrrr.. and i was SO looking forward to having heavenly yogurt with kiwi and strawberry! :( hmm... i'll have cerealicious one of these days instead. YEY!

dance

i tried doing hiphop and body jam classes in fitness first this week. although i sucked at it, i saw how beautiful dance is. i dance a little, but i'm not a dance enthusiast. yea, i loved the movies step up and step up 2, and i super love jabbawockeez. but i'm not really a dancer. so i sucked in body jam. haha! 

but i really had fun in class! what we usually hear is that dance is a form or expression. your emotions flow when you're dancing. but aside from that, i saw that there is a sense of sexiness in dancing (yep, even in hiphop). because i usually do body combat (this is my favoritest class in the whole world btw), and i feel powerful. it's like, "if men can throw a strong uppercut, so can i." but in hiphop and jam, i feel more feminine. and i love it :)

so, from now on i'll try to attend hiphop and body jam classes more often! i'll improve, I PROMISE! more calories burned.. dancing skills improved (hopefully haha)... plus if i do hiphop/jam before body combat, i feel more energized. i can punch and kick harder. probably because my muscles are already warmed up. 

alright. hiphop and jam it is! :D

the perfect cup of cappuccino

just the right amount of froth.

a little pinch of cinnamon.

milk that soothes your tastebuds.

espresso that tingles your senses.

aroma that makes you go 'aaah..'

the cup that gets you through a rough morning at work.

the cup that makes you go 'oooh, hello sunshine!'

the cup that somehow relaxes your tired muscles.

the cup that calms your stressed brain.

the cup that helps you focus during crunch time.

wooh can't wait to get my cappuccino fix!

burnout

i just used my vacation leave today. i was at batangas with my friends. ooohhh i so need this vacation. i looove lazy mondays. i really don't feel like going to work. actually, i have felt this way for quite a while.

why am i still here?

oh yea, i need money. i need to pay bills. and unfortunately, job hunting is apparently really difficult.

aside from that.. i've been really torn. i'm currently in an IT industry. and i don't like it here. you know what i think is the perfect job for me? being a wedding coordinator. imagine... gowns, catering, jewelry, music, photography, make-up, travel, flowers... everything i love is practically here! but i can't go there just yet :( if i were to start my own business, i have to have sufficient savings first, since my income would be erratic (and probably a lot lower) during the first 2 or 3 years. so before i go into that... it's the IT industry for me.

bestfriend

one of my friends recommended that i watch Bride Wars (anne hathaway & kate hudson). he told me that if you have a bff, you'd really appreciate the movie.

so i watched.

and i missed having a bestfriend. oh no, i'm not an anti-social loner. i have a lot of acquaintances and friends and a few really close ones. but i don't have that one person who really knows me. who i can rant and cry to when i'm upset. one who i could talk to for forever and we wouldn't run out of things to talk about.

hmm... i used to have one back in college (let's call the person X). or so i thought. maybe I thought X was my bestfriend, but it didn't mean that it was true the other way around too. X may be my closest friend, but that didn't necessarily mean I was X's closest friend as well. yes, X has been a very, very good friend to me for what, 4? 5 years? when we graduated, we continued to be great friends. but something happened (no details here. but it wasn't a fight or anything. if you hear the story, it would sound shallow, actually.) that made me realize that we weren't as close as i thought we were. 

and when it hit me, it sucked. lesson learned - never assume. so i went through the process of self-brainwashing. i had to tell myself over and over that no, we weren't really bestfriends, even back then. 

it was hard, but i'm ok now. i'm cool with this setup. X will always be a good friend, but not a bestfriend anymore. what's funny is, even after what happened, i NEVER felt any ill feelings. i was never angry. just lonely. but no feeling of angst or hatred or whatever. X has given me 5 years of incredible friendship which i'll be forever thankful for. that won't go away that easily.

i must admit, i miss having a bestfriend. but now, i'm happy with my small circle of close friends. and when the time comes that there is one person who can become my bff, i'll make sure we're on the same page first. :) for now, i guess this blog will have to bear with the musings of this little lady. :)