look who's bloggin' now

say hello to the newest blogger in the family!

not only does he have this blog, but this one too - which he says is a watered-down version of his angst hehehe.


****


i was surprised by aldo's post today. i'm the great equalizer of testosterone in our team since i'm the only girl, and i've been telling him about how the guys i work with are such guys - porn surfing, mpegs, male conversations about girls and all - and didn't realize he'd feel that strongly against the environment i'm currently in.

i don't blame him though. for someone who's literally a world away, it's not easy when your wife asks you one day if men really talk about women as if they're meat (or concubines), and if men really share porn -- all because that's what she sees and hears on a daily basis.

it understandably pulls protective strings because how do you protect someone if they're a different day away?

the only way we've managed all these years is to feel angry/sad/frustrated about the situation and let the other person handle it -- and hope (and pray) that things will be alright.

and that, folks, is just one of the many facets of a long distance relationship.

best actress

philippine politicians should really have their own famas or urian awards.

... and the best actress in a let's-confuse-the-masses-by-turning-on-my-theatrical-skills role goes to Susan Roces.

she's a nut. best actress talaga.

the worst part of it is this.

the philippines' first silver lion!

congratulations david for yet another milestone - the philippines' FIRST silver cannes lion!


Category: Public Awareness Messages
Title: BUNSO
Advertiser: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF) / CONSUELO FOUNDATION
Product or Service: JUVENILE JUSTICE LAW REFORM
Advertising Agency, City:BBDO GUERRERO ORTEGA, Makati City
Country: THE PHILIPPINES
Creative Director: David Guerrero
Copywriter: David Guerrero
Art Director: David Ferrer
Agency Producer: Jeng Floresca
Production Company, City: DITSI CAROLINO, Quezon City
Country: THE PHILIPPINES
Director: Ditsi Carolino
Editor: Adrian Tecson

Synopsis:
To stress the call for support for the passage of the Juvenile Justice Law, this spot shows a minor detainee giving a walking tour through their jail quarters. It describes how the minors struggle to co-exist with adult detainees in a crowded jail.

confused

to people who have left comments on my previous post: THANK YOU HUGS TO YOU! posting that topic was cathartic, and reading your words of encouragement has been almost like a facial-massage-and-manicure session. again, a big heartfelt thank you!

but that's not what this post is about...

i have acidic skin so a few hours after my 1st trial make-up session with eddie, the foundation turned a shade darker that it was supposed to, plus the powder didn't quite work well on me.

so clarice haggled for a free re-trial with eddie.

and so i went. this time, eddie used liquid foundation and liquid concealer on me to minimize the lines on my face. he used chanel's lip corrector - great for dry lips - plus 2 shades of lipstick. and instead of a no make-up make-up look, he used a bit more color on my eyelids, plus a bit of shimmer too.

i'm not quite sure which looks best - i'm not exactly used to seeing myself in make-up pa naman, and i feel like i look different. argh. i'm not a make-up girl so bahala na si eddie!

pictures are here. didn't want to plaster my face all over this blog, unless i want you to stop visiting. hehehe.

quickies

work this week is crazy. i just realized it's friday already. ack!

**********

my sister sent me one of those forwarded chain letters that i normally don't read til the end, but this struck me:

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

hmph. how timely.

aldo's cousin is getting married 3 weekends after we are and so far we have the same: color, reception venue, junior bridesmaid, invitation design, half of the guest list, and now - officiating priest. i have no issues with referring wedding suppliers but this one (no pun intended) takes the cake. aldo's pretty puzzled why i get upset when i find out we have the same wedding suppliers and details - and he's right that i shouldn't since our wedding is ahead of theirs.

imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but i ain't flattered.

**********

sana september na.

pleasure island

i apparently did not need a honeymoon to finally visit boracay. after only 9 days with the new company, i found myself in boracay with a bunch of fun strangers. we all took Sea Air, which wasn't so bad - at least we got there in one piece. we were a pretty big group so they had to split us up in several flights, also because one of their planes had some sort of engine trouble the day before. so even if i had 8:10am on my ticket, i had to board the 11:00am flight.



of all the places i've visited, seeing boracay for the first time didn't quite give me the happy jitters... like leaving for a holiday, seeing a beautiful pair of shoes on sale, or getting on a go-kart for the first time. definitely not love at first sight, but a love affair over time.

we stayed at Hey Jude, which was right beside D'Mall (station 2). nice rooms, but the bathrooms need improvement. perfect for families or barkadas, not so much for honeymoons.

the first day's sunset drinking session was at club paraw, where we all had a round of the blue drink that comes in a plastic jug.. which is yummy but lethal because it kicks in 30 minutes after you drink it.



oh but before that we had shakes at jonah's - the chocolate shake i had was surprisingly sweet, we felt like bouncing off the walls after consuming a whole glass... but it was definitely worth it. after dinner, we had the yummiest crepes i've ever had at st. michel. the chocolate and banana crepe T and i had was warm and crunchy, with the right amount of gooey nutella and vanilla ice cream on top. that was sinful day #1.

the next day started with island hopping and snorkelling. we were too tamad to walk around crystal cave so decided to appreciate it from a distance. the banca brought us to puka beach where thankfully, everything is still quite untouched and pristine. on our way back we saw the nipa-hut inspired structure that marks the cove where shangri-la will emerge. now that is something to watch out for.



dinner that night was at Creative Demi-God's place. if we count all the beer and wine consumed, it can probably fill a swimming pool. end of sinful day #2.

the third day was much-awaited because of the water sports. we were all made to choose 2 activities out of the jet ski, parasailing, the flying fish, or the banana boat. naturally, i couldn't pass up the jet ski and parasailing. both were extremely fun - i now want a jet ski of my own. LOL. parasailing, on the other hand, is something that non-thrillseekers will love. after the rush you get from the ascent to 500 ft. above the water, the excitement pretty much dies down and feels more like being on a big swing, with the ocean beneath your feet. after capping the night with drinks at pier one (yes, i think this company draws creativity from alcohol.)



i was part of the 1st batch of people going back to manila the next day so it was a pretty early goodbye to boracay. after 4 days on the island, it was a fun fling, but not some place i'd want to go to every chance i get... but i will go back, if only for the food, nightlife, and powdery sand.



pictures are here.

bits and pieces

one of our principal sponsors has given us an early wedding gift - a week's stay at the peninsula after the wedding! it was such a sweet gesture, since she had apparently been exchanging emails with my mom and sister, so that they could give her the rates of the different hotels in makati. my mom finally croaked and told me about it because she was making me kulit about our still-magulo schedule after the wedding.

*********

i finally found an editor for our wedding avp! found him on the weddings@work classifieds and met up with him, was impressed by his samples since it's not the usual ho-hum photo album set with dissolve and fade effects. i'll be giving him all the files and storyboard by july - yikes, i hope i meet my own deadline! funny enough, his day job is in marketing so he's pretty familiar with advertising terms AND knows how to follow a creative brief - definite plus points in my book!

*********

our invitations are finally being printed, folded, and assembled. it takes a relatively longer time for us to approve fonts and layouts thanks to the time difference - but we're finally done with it. now on with the gruesome task of finalizing our ballooning guest list.

kainis, i feel like a ditz with Excel pa naman. i think in MS Word, not in columns, rows, and sort.

*********

i've been having a great time at my new job, thank you very much. last tuesday was my first official function as part of the team - found myself in their part of the gallery during the Creative Guild awards ceremony. best of all, i came in at a perfect time - this weekend is their company outing and i'm on the list to bora!

i just have to say - the Creative Guild show was entertaining, save for Phoemela Baranda - she really should just be a print or ramp model and stop embarassing herself by being a host.

hmm, the wedding-related part of this tidbit is that it actually makes me sad when i realize that i won't be counting years or awards with them, as i'll be moving to vancouver to be with aldo pretty soon - depending on when my visa comes out of course. meantime, i'm having a blast and enjoying every JO, creative brief, and brainstorming session that comes my way!

7 years worth of research

10 things i've learned about my husband over the years (in no particular order):

1. he can give up a heated room for me during winter, but will be hesitant about giving up the last piece of chocolate in the box.

2. he's tamad to reply to friendster messages - heck, he's even tamad to check his friendster account.

3. he snores.

4. he gets irritated when asked twice why he's masungit.

5. at 27, his memory is quite faulty. he forgets my blog URL, and gets confused when my bday is (his excuse being our bdays are only a day apart so he gets confused if it's a day before or after his bday.)... add to that the fact that he now has to remember 2 wedding anniversaries (he never had that problem before because we don't have a gf/bf anniv).

6. after one night in a single-sized bed in our house, he wakes up and says: "remind me that we should get at least a king-sized bed when you get to vancouver."

7. an ideal date for him when he's in manila is to go to the nearest Hen Lin outlet and eat braised beef, wanton mami, and hong-kong style siopao.

8. he adores Duran Duran... wild boys!!!

9. what he lacks in the letter-writing and phone call department, he makes up for in airline miles, beach trips, and MNG shopping sprees.

10. he apparently listens when i say i love pablo neruda's poetry, and bought me a great big book last christmas. (i'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's listening to my current parinig for a laptop and an iPod.)

*********

the reason for this post? after spending an afternoon with J who got married last december, i realized that it's been a little over 6 months since we exchanged yes-your-honours at the makati city hall. a lot of things have happened in between november and june, and i'm pretty happy to learn that although the journey is not one without tears, it has been worthwhile. and, more than ever, the discovery that comes with the relationship now is more fun, interesting, and mature.

who says relationships are doomed when you cross the international date line?

pre-pre-cana woes

going to Mary The Queen's pre-cana seminar alone must be the apex of enduring a long distance relationship. however nutty it may seem, that was the only choice we had, given the fact that the Catholic Engaged Encounter we were supposed to go to last November was cancelled. the sad part is, aldo has to attend 8 weeks of it while i only have to endure a full weekend.

but then maybe - just maybe - God felt that the past 7 years have been long enough for us to do things separately.

upon Jojo's (the MTQ coordinator) suggestion and utter desperation, i called the Center for Family Ministries, and asked nicely if there was any way that they could arrange a special pre-cana seminar for us because aldo's travel schedule doesn't quite synch in with the pre-cana seminars every month. the secretary was quite pessimistic about it, since she said that our case will still be reviewed by the
center's head. i had heard the same thing when i called them last november, and my call never got returned - so i pretty much figured that maybe all they needed were a dozen more calls from me so that they would finally give in to my request.

not a dozen calls later though - in fact 2 days later - Mrs. CEFAM (sorry, i forgot her name) gave me a call. i left my mom's office number so she was the one who talked to Mrs. CEFAM.

and whadayaknow - we have an appointment with a facilitator on Sept. 5!

THANK YOU GOD!


p.s.
apparently, CEFAM entertains one-on-one pre-cana seminars - you just have to get past Pessimistic Secretary!

back on track

Bridesmaid T's dress fits her perfectly - she can practically walk out of the store and wear the dress home! i am amazed at how lya's sewers and pattern-makers do it - all we needed was one fitting and we're all good to go!

Secondary Sponsor A has been replaced with good friend J - and A's dress will be altered slightly to fit J better. whew!

now we all can't gain or lose weight - lya might kill us. LOL.