halloween round-up

"I believe playing dress up begins at age 5 and never truly ends." -Kate Spade

I really treasure every opportunity to get dolled up and sometimes dress up or just try to be a different character especially when I'm in a good mood. That is why I totally enjoy having themed parties or trips, aside from the added "fun" factor when you do it with friends.


and halloween parties are a great excuse :P I just wanna do a quick recap on the different "costumes" i've put on these past years.

an angel in 2008

little miss evil in 2009

and it's quite telling when you win "most realistic" LOL



in 2011 our theme was Disney, so I went as Cruella de Vil of course :P

this year, since it was kind of last minute just looked up whatever was in the closet and came up with "RETRO"

OOTD: bumpits for my hair bump, black top from maldita, retro jazz pants from SM Coco cabana line, love & peace necklace from puregold haha, glass shoes from an ukay ukay :)

as I was looking for pictures for this post, I remembered I did retro for our company Christmas party before. I wonder where's my air wid now? :P

crossover brunch

Last sunday, October 21, my mum, bro and I went back to Dusit Thani in Makati to try their crossover brunch. The week before that we tried the Basix buffet for dinner and we enjoyed very much that we really look forward to coming back.

 

The mechanics of this crossover brunch is to select a "basecamp" out of the 4 restaurants of the hotel. We decided to stay in Tosca, their italian restaurant. Then you can just "crossover" to the other restaurants and try their specialties. Benjarong serves Thai food, Umu serves Japanese food and Basix has Filipino, American, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese and Spanish food. Logically, Basix would be an instant choice since it has more variety, but I think Tosca being more concentrated on Italian definitely served better pasta and meat dishes.

biggest plus plus: Included in the buffet is unlimited sparkling wine. I chugged 4 glasses like water which made me a little dizzy at once, but i loved it since it wasn't heavy on the tummy.

 

crossover brunch dinners were given a wrist band to wear, just like in theme parks :P

 

the desserts not only looked good, tastes superb!

side note: my mum has been much into these Hotel deals and memberships and she has always given it to me as a birthday gift. Some deals though has more than just a free overnight but also food discounts, so I have decided to become the willing victim hehe. Although this may not be a good idea since I've also decided to really stick to my diet. We can just have a cheat day right? :))

take home: birthday cake. it was yummy!!

So far my experience with Dusit Thani dining has been consistently 4 stars for me! maybe if the crepe station at Basix would have nutella and almond in their filling choices and whip cream, I would add a fifth star in there, lol. but really, the food choices were great and staff was really nice. I'm excited for our overnight stay this Decemeber. :)

OOTD (outfit of the day):



cute "oxford style" shoes from So Fab

peacock earrings from H&M :)

mum said my top was too bright, but i love it! :P

major life essential :D

LAoAve. in Love with Laoag.

a recent conversation with an officemate made me reminisce about my trips to Laoag City. well entirely of Ilocos. plus, to appreciate my blessngs more, i want to spend time to recap my travels.

it takes only less than an hour via plane from Manila, but almost 12 hours if you will bring your car. but the trip which ever way is truly worth it.

My experiences to this city has truly been "magical" :P and I feel like I just wanna keep coming back.

In 2010, I went to Ilocos with 9 lovely girls. so imagine, 10 girls running around taking pictures, non-stop stories, non-stop fun!

first stop: Paoay Church

We stayed in Batac, which is where you will find the waxed corpse of former president Ferdinand Marcos. We also tried the beaches of Currimao and Pagudpud. We had a very "mysterious/strange" incident. But I'd rather share that in person :P

During this trip I met my now, very good friend, Chin. She's a cousin of Tini but we've become very close that it's like we're cousins as well. :P Plus, I love looking and shopping! from her "Royalty Heels" collection. I remember when we went to visit their house, I almost fainted because of all the lovely shoes she was selling. I haven't been in her store / showroom, so maybe that is a good reason to go back :)

oh gosh, it sure is "MORANTIC"
 

 

all of us with Chin :)

ATVs at Fort Ilocandia ;) 

But the reason why I was back in Ilocos by January this year was for Chin's wedding! :)

 

 

Though this time it was only me, tini and eloisa because others had work. We stayed at Fort Ilocandia Resort where Chin's reception was held too. We planned to go to places which we haven't seen yet, however, the hotel sheets were just too good to pass up. So we just stayed in our room and enjoyed the long hours of sleep and tv.

fort ilocandia grounds :)

It was only hours before our flight back to Manila, that we were able to roam around Laoag and buy pasalubong straight from the market.



                                                    Hole in a wall: Empanadahan

Oh, I remember, after the wedding, we were so upbeat that we made a dance video with "Moves Like Jagger" as our song. And with that, I end this entry :P <3 p="p">

keeping up

there's just so much happening on-line nowadays, you can just go cray cray with all the beautiful things you can find.

i recently downloaded / put up my pinterest account. just when i thought facebook, twitter and instagram was all i'll ever need. it took a while for me to fully utilize this blogger app, but it has become so easy to use that i just couldn't resist it :))

i wish i could do a certain topic that i could concentrate on and personally post and not only repin / repost.

truly, i'm this great power of potentiality hihi :P

busy bee

it's gonna be almost a month since our conference was done, but i feel / think / believe i've just finished half of the work needed. submitted my "notes of experience" last week and was happy to be able to say exactly what happened and what we need for next year's conference.

yep, it's true. we will have a conference each year until 2016. whew! i can't even imagine how / where i'm gonna be next year and we are already scheduling this for 4 years from now?!

anyway, this kept me uber occupied / stressed / worried the past months but i'm really happy i was given the opportunity and was able to do it. yep, that's another feather in my cap. though i know i have a lot of things to work on and i'm not even sure if the conference next year is even good news. but i can say: BRING IT ON!! :D

*p.s. this is my first post using the blogger app, let's see how it will look :P

i know it looks like i was bored, but really my stress level was off the hook when this shot was taken :O

we had to do manual registration coz our papers got late. ugh, lesson learned :S

this was during the 2nd day already. registration went a lot smoother.

Our guest speaker: Prof. Thomas Lickona, PhD.

spiritual journey

In  line with my eagerness to keep this blog updated, I had to look back at my previous posts. I noticed that I haven't shared anything regarding my line of work. Actually, even in my other social media accounts, I don't spell it out bluntly. It has actually been a conscious effort to keep a low key where I work, not for anything drastic really, but I enjoy sharing it more personally.

On my next post, I will post one of our biggest "projects". For now, let me share my spiritual journey.

I have been with the institution for more than a year and one of the biggest benefit it has given me was to awaken my spirituality, more importantly my Catholicism. I will not discuss any specific belief or opinion here, just sharing some nice "trips" we have been to.

Last year we went to Regina Rica in Tanay, Rizal.

                                                           during my kulot kid days haha

Notice how the hand of the Virgin is flicked? There was a story shared, that when St. Dominic went to heaven and saw Mary, he asked where his brothers and sisters (meaning the people) were. Mary raised her veil and showed that they were there under her protection. That is the reason why the "silong" / passage way to the  chapel is under this huge statue of Mother Mary. It was literally being inside the belly of Mama Mary.

The place was very well maintained and you could really feel your spirit soar up as the climp up, even way back to the guest hut was not an easy feat. This place was also kind of far, so better gear up on food should you decide to visit as well.

This year, we went to Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay City. This trip was truly the opposite of last year, as it is (1) nearer to Alabang. So we left the office at around 11am and was at the shrine of Our Lady Mother of Fair Love by 12 nn. (2) The shrine wasn't maintained, at all. Although they charged us Php30 each for entrance fee.

                                     the sacred heart statue even looked like it had "black eyes"

Over the past year, I have learned so much about the different Saints. Growing up, I felt like Saints were extra-ordinary people that lived their life for God and we or if I may say, "I can never be like them". In this new chapter of my life, I've learned that I can pray through them for certain petitions and most especially we can be holy in our daily life. I know it may sound like a direct rip off from St. Josemaria Escriva, but I truly believe in this now. Through St. Josemaria, God has blessed and surprised me in more ways and more days than ever.

Before we went home from Tagaytay, I decided to hear mass, since it was first friday. We decided to drop by the Lourdes Chapel to check if there was Mass. When we got there a wedding ceremony was just started so we just joined in even though we were so out of place because the wedding was super formal. Look who decided to say hi that day. :)

                      after over a year of knowing and learning about St. Josemaria Escriva, this was the first time I saw a figure of him.

look back

i found this in the temp folder of my office laptop.

i wonder why it's there..

it's my testimonial about my experience with the Peer Facilitator Program of DLSU. hmmm..

It was 2005 when I joined the Peer Facilitator Program of OCCS (formerly CCD) and many have really changed since then. I learned not only how to deal with other people but how to improve myself as well, leading me to involve myself to other endeavors such the Student Council. I realize that being a good listener, isn’t enough and sometimes we have to be impersonal with someone for us to really help them. I met different types of people and I will meet a lot more and have been given the opportunity to work and learn with my co-peer facilitators and counselors, I know that I will be ready and I will do fine in the “real” world.

-Rlynn F. Marchan, BS-EPSY

Minsan May Isang Puta

Tingin ng mga bobong kapitbahay ko, puta daw ako. Nagpapagamit, binabayaran. Sabi nila, ako daw ang pinakamaganda at pinakasikat sa aming lugar noon. Di ko nga alam kung sumpa ito, dahil dito naletse ang kinabukasan ko.

Tara, makinig ka muna sa kwento ko, yosi muna tayo.

Alam mo, maraming lumapit sa akin. Nagkagusto at naakit. Ang hirap pag lahat sa iyo, virgin eh. Tinanggap ko naman silang tao, bakit kaya nila ako ginago? Hindi ko maintindihan ang mga nangyari sa akin. Bukas palad ko naman silang pinakitunguhan, ni hindi ko nga itinuring na iba. Iniisip ko na nga lang na kasi di sila taga rito kaya siguro talagang ganoon.

Tatlong malilibog na foreigners ang nagpyesta sa katawan ko. Sabi nila na-rape daw ako.

Sa tatlong beses akong nagahasa, ang pinakahuli ang di ko makakalimutan.

Parang maski di ko ginusto ang mga nangyari, hinahanap-hanap ko siya. Kasi, ibang-iba ang hagod niya. Umiikot ang mundo ko sa tuwing ginagamit niya ako. May mga pagkakaton na nasusuka na ko sa mga nangyayari sa aming dalawa. Parang ‘pag humahalinghing siya, nararamdaman ko na nalalason ako.. Gusto ko mang umayaw, hindi ko makuhang humindi. Hindi ko din alam kung bakit. Ibang klase din kasi siya mag-sorry eh, lalo pa at inalagaan niya ako at ang mga naging anak ko.

Alam mo, parating ang dami naming regalo – may chocolates, yosi at ano ka! May datung pa! Nakakabaliw siya! Alam kong ginagamit niya lang ako pero pagamit naman ako nang pagamit. Sa kanya namin natutunan mag-inggles, di lang magsulat ha! Magbasa pa!

Nung kinasama ko siya, guminhawa buhay namin. Sosyal na sosyal kami! Ewan ko nga ba, akala ko napapamahal na ako sa kanya. Akala ko tuloy-tuloy na kaligayahan namin, yun pala unti-unti niya akong pinapatay.

Punyetang buhay! Sa dami ng lason na sinaksak niya sa katawan ko, muntik na akong malaspag. Ang daming nagsabi na ang tanga tanga ko. Palayasin ko na daw. Taon ang binilang bago ako natauhang makining sa payo. Iniisip ko kasi na parang di ko kakayanin na mawala siya sa akin… Sa amin!

Sa tulong ng ilan sa mga anak ko, napalayas ko ang demonyo pero ang hirap magsimula. Hindi nga ako sigurado kung nabunutan ako ng tinik o nadagdagan pa. Masyado na kasi kaming nasanay sa sarap ng buhay na naranasan namin sa kanya, kaya eto nabaon kami sa utang. Lubog na lubog kami sa pagkakautang, kulang yata pati kaluluwa namin para ibayad sa mga inutang namin.

Nakakahiya man aminin pero hanggang ngayon, sa tuwing mabigat ang problema ko, siya ang tinatakbuhan ko. ‘Yun nga lang, kapit sa patalim sabi nga nila. Para akong isang aso na nangagat ng amo, na bumabahag ang buntot at umaamo kapag nangangailangan.

Usap-usapan ako ng mga kapitbahay ko. May nanghihinayang, namumuhi at naaawa. Puta na kasi ang isang magandang katulad ko. Ang dating hinahangaan at humahalina ay nabibili sa murang halaga. Alam mo maski ganun ang mga nangyari sa akin, nilakasan ko pa rin ang loob ko. Kailangan makita ng mga anak ko, na masasandalan nila ako maski ano pang mangyari.

Maski ano pa ang sabihin ng iba, sinisikap namin na maging maganda ang buhay namin. Nag-aambisyon kami at nangangarap. Ayun, may mga anak ako na nasa Japan, Hong Kong, Saudi. Yung iba nag-US, Canada, Europe. ‘Yung iba ayaw umalis sa akin. Halos lahat, wala naman silbi. Masaya daw sa piling ko, maski amoy pusali ako.

Sa dami ng mga anak ko na nagsisikap na tulungan ang kalagayan namin, siya din ang dami ng mga anak ko na nanamantala sa kabuhayan at kayaman na itinatabi ko para sa punyetang kinabukasan naming lahat. Eto na nga ang panahon na halos di na kami makaahon sa hirap ng buhay. Napakahirap dahil nasanay na kami sa ginhawa at sarap.

Alam mo, gusto ko na sanang tumigil sa pagpuputa kaso ang laki talaga ng letseng utang ko eh. Palaki pa ng palaki! Paano na lang ang mga anak kong naiwan sa aking puder? At paano na lang ang mga anak kong nasa abroad? Baka di na nila ako balikan o bisitahin man lang? Hindi na importante kung laspagin man ang ganda ko, madama lang ng mga anak ko ang pagmamahal ko. Malaman nila na ibibigay ko ang lahat para sa kanila.

Sa tuwing titingin ako sa salamin, alam ko maganda pa rin ako. Meron pa din ang bilib sa akin. Napapag-usapan pa din. Sa tuwing nakikita ko ang mukha ko sa salamin, nakikita ko ang mga anak ko. Tutulo na lang ang mga luha ko ng di ko namamalayan. Ang gagaling nga ng mga anak ko eh, namamayagpag kahit saan sila pumunta. Mahusay sa kahit anong gawain. Tama man o mali.

Sa dami ng mga anak ko, iilan lang ang may malasakit sa akin. May malasakit man, nahihilaw pa.

Mabigat dalahin para sa akin, ang katotohanan na ni minsan ay di kami naging isang pamilya. Halos lahat ng mga anak ko, galit sa isa’t isa. IIlan ang gusto magtulungan, naghihilahan pa. Madalas kong itinatanong sa sarili ko kung naging masama ba akong nanay para magturingan ng ganito ang mga anak ko?

Kanino bang similya ng demonyo nanggaling ang mga anak kong maituturing mong may mga pinag-aralan pero nakakadama ng saya at sarap sa paghihirap ng kapatid nila? Di ko lubos maisip kung saan impiyerno nanggaling ang kasikiman ng ilan sa mga anak kong ito. Sila pa naman ang inaasahan kong magbabangon sa amin. Nakakabaliw isipin na natitiis nila ang kalagayan ng kanilang mga kapatid na halos mamatay sa hirap ng buhay. Parang di sila magkakapatid sa tindi ng pagkaganid at walang pagmamalasakit.

Ang di ko akalain ay mismong mga anak ko, ang tuluyang sisira sa akin. Kinapital ang laspag na ganda ko. Masaya sila sa mga nabibili nila mula sa pinagputahan ko. Buong angas nilang pinagyayabang ang mga pansamantalang yaman at ang kanilang hilaw na pagkatao sa mga makakakita at makikinig. Talaga bang nakakalula ang materyal na kayamanan at mga titulong ikinakabit sa pangalan? Hindi ko maintindihan.

Minsan sa pagtingin ko sa salamin, ni hindi ko na nga kilala sarili ko.

Dadating na naman ang pasko, sana maalala naman ako ng mga anak ko. Ilang linggo pa, magbabagong taon na. Natatakot ako sa taong darating. Ngayon pa lang usap-usapan na ang susunod na pangbubugaw sa akin. Gagamitin pa nila ang kahinaan ng mga kapatid nilang alipin sa kalam ng tiyan. Sa tagal ng panahong ganito ang sitwasyon namin parang eto lang ang sulok na gagalawan ko. Sana may magtanggol naman sa akin. Ipaglaban naman nila ako. Gusto kong isigaw: “Ina ninyo ako! Pagmamahal nyo lang ang kailangan ko!”

Sensya na, ang haba na ng drama ko. Masisira na ang make up ko nito eh. Salamat ha, pinakinggan mo ako. Malaking bagay sa akin na nakausap kita. Ang tagal nating nag-usap, di man lang ako nagpapakilala.

Ay sorry, di ko nasabi pangalan ko.

Pilipinas nga pala.

by Mike Portes

***I knew I had to share this when I read it today as we just celebrated our 114th Independence Day last June 12, 2012.

are we truly free??

after office wandering

it's a monday and i was excited to go to work today. not because of anything really, but because i wanted to update the blog and post this! tsk tsk :P

anyway, it's been really really HOT nowadays. as in scorching, not-moving-but-still-sweating-hot. last year, around this time, i was having a blast in the gorgeous beach of boracay but this year, i have work and my lolo just passed away :( (will post my eulogy later). so i don't have much "fun" option, though i still have the rest of summer -- as in the month of May to do some relaxing and fun time at some nearby beach.

in between tasks at the office, me and my officemates would check-out websites and popular fashion & lifestyle bloggers to see the latest trends. we've been enjoying: www.bryanboy.com, www.breakmystyle.com, www.divinemlee.com among others. so, last thursday, i invited Weng along to wander, check out outlets and do a ala "fashion shoot" in Sta. Rosa.

Nuvali is a less than an hour drive from Alabang via SLEX. there was a bit traffic along the crowded areas, near the Coca-cola plant but everything else was easy breezy. :) we wanted to utilize the light from the very hot sun, so we got down to business: i posed and Weng took pictures!

yup, it was hot. but i just loved this scarf i bought from london brand, peacocks. i wore it with a white shirt, mullet skirt with brown belt and black 6inch-platform shoes. :)

i always liked the phrase  "alis volat propiis" which means, "she flies with her own wings". so i took this chance to take a picture that would best go with it :P

"Do you ever get those lazy, cloudy days when it feels like there’s nothing interesting and important to do in life but shop?" -bryanboy

when we got there we were hungry already, but we wanted to see what restaurants we could try out that wasn't in Alabang yet. Weng though insisted on seafood island, and since i haven't tried it before i agreed and around that time i just wanted to rest my legs, already, hihi.

it was indeed a feast and was too plenty for us. but we finished a good part and kept joking that there was another person with us. #girlswithappetite :))

kudos to Weng, as most improved photographer!

 

love month, supposedly.

earlier this month, i coined the term #valentinegrinch because of all the bitter remarks that was popping out in time for the coming valentine's day then. here's some of them:

the always remarked -- "SAD, Single Awareness Day" which even evolved to "Single Appreciation Day"

"good thing it's a leap year, we get an extra day, for a day that will just go to waste"

and even on the day itself:

"November 1 ba today?"

"today is february 14, also known as a Tuesday"

and there's so much more. I, myself have celebrated this day on numerous ways, mostly movies and dinners. the best ones are definitely the one with friends, maybe because i don't like the cliche of being all sweet on this day. we should do that to our lovers all throughout the year, yeah yeah i know that's also a cliche line itself. anyway, i don't have a point of argument here really, just wanted to share. :P

***

RT @kimpoyfeliciano Yung feeling na hindi naman naging kayo.. pero nagmu-MOVE ON ka. :))

***

I'm looking forward to my 3day close retreat next month. I badly need it to unclog my thoughts, emotions and vision in everything's that's going on around me. Hopefully I could come up with a good entry after that experience. TTFN.

You Da One

If by any reason I can be somebody else for a day, I'd definitely choose: RIHANNA.

I'm an ultimate fan and wanna be. (plus the fact that my name starts with R too and not the usual "Arlyn" blows me out of the water. we are destined. HAHAHAHA #oktoomuch) and guess what i had drafted this entry earlier this year, but out of the blue remembered to post it yesterday, February 20 (west coast), and will be posting it today her birthday (east coast) :P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBYN RIHANNA FENTY! :D <3 <3

I really believe she's the prettiest girl in the world. i love her songs, i love her perfume, i love her looks, i love her tattoos! i love her nickname "RiRi", i love everything about her! Her creativity is just mind blowing which brings me to her "latest" (meaning the latest that i saw) video -- You Da One.

as most of her songs this one has that upbeat and engaging/relatable lyrics that could easily get stuck in you head. and got u singing it the whole day. (yea yah it happened to me :P) i totally love the black and white motif and all the geometry. my problem with the video though was her dancing/holding the crotch step. the move is ok, but too much of it is not. it was really distracting. which got me wondering what Rihanna does on her free time?? (haha, ikr, ang layo!). i just really wonder how she lives her life.

speaking of life, Whitney Houston passed away recently (err, that was bad, i know). She has not been a good role model for all the issues that she's been linked to but her songs, will truly live forever. Being a karaoke-loving country, i bet no one i know has not tried to belt out one of her songs and loved every moment of it.

And because I'm a much bigger fan of Rihanna than Whitney, I wish that Riri get to be more than just her music, crazy looks, fashion and brand. Of course, who am I to ask anything from her but I really think that she needs a deeper advocacy in life because of the huge power of influence she has, her potential is limitless. And If she already does, I wish I could learn more about it and maybe be a part of it too. :)