New Blog Layout

Alas! I have changed the layout of my blog. I opted for red-white-black layout for a cleaner, more readable look (though it's a bit unlikely for me to choose red since I am a fan of blue color). :p Having white background for the content is simpler. :) Thanks to Jackbook.com for this wonderful template.

There are still some more improvements to make though. Since I have adjusted the template to accomodate a wider content area, the banner image must be modified as well. Notice that the right most part is just a black background. I can just do this later. Hehehe..

Also, the javascript is still hosted in jackbook that's why at times, the date will not be appearing on the calendar. It will appear once the bandwidth limit for accessing their pages is reduced. I think I should prioritize this one.

Oh well, happy that finally I have successfully applied this template. Do you like it? :)

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Pacquiao - Diaz Boxing Match

Everyone's into the much awaited fight of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and David "Dangerous" Diaz this coming June 29 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. And despite of the calamity due to Typhoon Frank and the tragedy for MV Princess of the Stars, this boxing fight is still most talked about.

Fortunately there is a way for us here in SG to watch the fight live. It will be via sopcast. :) Just have to synchronize it with our plan to go to the toy and comic convention in Suntec. :D

But just now, my friend told me that President Arroyo along with 59 congressman is on a 10-day "working" visit to the US and this trip is Philippine government initiated trip. Meaning... the government funds will be used to pay for this trip! Haayyy... It is speculated that this trip in perfect timing for the upcoming boxing match. Come June 29 and they are watching the boxing match, shame on them. :( You might want to read this opinion article in Philippine Star.

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Singapore Toy and Comic Convention

I wish my niece Katch is here with us for the weekend. This coming weekend is the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention (June 28-29) at Sunctec Convention hall 603. This will be first for Mon and I and I'm sure it will be a nice experience for us. Plus, we can take pictures and share it with Katch since she won't be with us here in SG. Hopefully there will be people dressed in blood+ anime characters so I can take pictures and send to her. Have watched one episode at animax and the characters are cute. :)

Checked their website for the event description and this is what they said:

"Fans and future-fans are welcome to attend the convention and be part of the melting pot of pop-culture. Activities include autograph signing sessions, live demonstrations and workshops with your favourite world-renowned artists and designers, a cosplay culture showcase and competitions, as well as the latest and greatest that the toy, comic, design, gaming, animation and cosplay industries have to offer!"

Too bad, the online pre-registration is already closed. With that, I am planning to go a bit early on the 29th since I am anticipating long lines in the registration area. They will be giving our passports upon registering, which the participant can use to collect stamps with allocated points. This stamp is convertible to goodies, which can be claimed at designated booths (at specific time).

For more details, visit their website at http://www.sgtoyandcomiccon.com/

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Marie Digby's Makeup Artist and her DeepRockDrive Concert

Just found the blog of Marie Digby's makeup artist when she went on tour here in Singapore.

Then I tried looking for some blogs that has entries on her DeepRockDrive concert. I wasn't able to watch it despite of having an invitation since I was in Bangkok during that time and I worked on night shift :( Oh well..

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Weekend Recap

Saturday

Mon and I just spent the whole day at our flat... Talked to a very very good friend the whole morning (*hugs*), slept the whole afternoon (while hubby played the Nintendo DS), had dinner at Koufu (since it's late and it'll take time if I'll cook), had a round 2 for dinner since Cel grilled some steak and cooked vegetable soup (no more rice this time) and watched a suspense/thriller "Return to House on Haunted Hill" (not really scary). This day's okay since we just relaxed a bit at our flat.

Sunday

I was awakened by the loud raindrops and immediately woke up Mon. It was raining quite hard and we left our clothes hanging outside. Both of us were so frustrated because before going to bed the previous night, we talked about collecting the clothes but we opted to leave it outside so it would be "completely" dry the next day. So unfortunate that it rained.

That did not stop us from going outside. After talking to my parents almost the whole afternoon, we went to Lucky Plaza in Orchard to remit some money and proceeded to Takashimaya for lunch (all Pinoy restos in Lucky Plaza is jammed). We decided to eat at Yoshinoya where I had chicken teriyaki and Mon has the beef bowl. Yummy! :)

We're so full that we just walked around the mall and then dropped by Kinokuniya. I bought my art buff niece (Katch) books on how to draw manga book and her favorite Blood+ (Volume 1). I'm sure Katch will be excited and will surely bug me on when she will be receiving it (will have to wait someone here in SG to go back to Manila for vacation -- probably July). It'll still be a few more weeks but I am sure she can wait. :)

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R4DS Setup

Mon wrote a very helpful entry about setting up the R4DS. Entry requires downloading the system files on the official site as well as the moonshell. He also found out other interesting things to make the Nintendo DS experience wonderful such as the DSOrganize and Custom themes.

For more information, click the link to his entry here.

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Fifty Random Things That I Like

Was bloghopping and I saw this.. Gaya-gaya hehehe.. :)

1. House, M.D.
2. FIC Pistachio Ice Cream
3. Granny Goose Tortillos (Barbecue)
4. Marie Digby (of course)
5. Watermelon shake
6. Salmon (Raw or Cooked)
7. Nintendo DS and games like Cooking Mama, Ouendan & Brain Academy
8. Starbucks' Javachip and Green Tea Frapuccino
9. My gladiator sandals
10. Perfumes like CK1, Green Tea, DKNY Be Delicious, L'occitane Cherry Blossom
11. The color blue
12. Ellen de Generes Show
13. KXP Restaurant in Robplace, Manila
14. Cooking
15. Carebears stuffed toys
16. Aussino bedsheets and bath accessories
17. Smell of newly washed clothes
18. Starbucks 2008 Planner given by my ISI Barkada
19. Yummy Magazine
20. Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
21. Boots Tomato and Tangerine Hand and Nail Cream
22. MK Restaurant in Bangkok
23. Seeing my husband first thing in the morning
24. The Corrs (what happened to them?)
25. Blogging
26. Videoke Sessions with the gang
27. Maxims Yum Cha in HongKong
28. TheFaceShop Almond Oil Hand and Nail Cream
29. Ella Enchanted Movie
30. Hearing our inaanak (godson) David call me and Mon his Nana and Nono
31. Din Tai Fung Chinese Resto in Singapore
32. White Chicks movie
33. Chillin' at home with Mon
34. Hokkien Mee at Koufu near our flat
35. Celebrations
36. Our Sony Cybershot T2
37. Freakonomics book
38. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
39. Wheat bread
40. Lays Nori Seaweed
41. Bags
42. E! Channel
43. Chatuchak Market
44. Mango Pudding in HongKong
45. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
46. Shiatsu Massage
47. Lily's Peanut butter and Guava Jelly
48. Washing the dishes hehehe
49. Gmail :)
50. Boggle

What's yours????

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Bangkok Trip Again

Currently here at Bangkok just to introduce the new support that will be there locally. :) Will be back in Singapore tomorrow afternoon but would still drop by the office.

Me and my colleague is on standby since tonight is the client's maintenance day (or night in this case). It shouldn't have anything to do with our apps just that we requested them to restart one of our apps since the magic disappearance of some log files. Client is admitted that this might be due to someone from them accidentally deleted the files.

Oh well... I am still hoping they won't call so we can just have some rest. :)

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Blood+ Anime

My niece Katch is currently into anime and this interest of hers have helped her improve her drawing skills. She watches Blood+ on animax and this inspired her to draw her fave character, Haji. Here it is:

She even joined the nickelodeon drawing contest which requires drawing her favorite avatar character. And of course I am a proud tita! :D I am sure her entry gets noticed. Hopefully she wins! :) Ayan namiss ko tuloy sya (our pic below) hehehe.. :)

(Gnet, if you're reading this maybe you can show this entry to Ronnie. hehehe.. Thanks!)

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On Lacking Sleep

These past few weeks I have difficulty sleeping. Dunno why.. Probably I think a lot about things right after lying on the bed. I would lie awake for 1.5 to 2hrs and what usually keeps me company is my good old NDS. Mon, on the other hand, can start snoring soon after he gives me his usual good night kiss :p

I know that I have to stop thinking about my concerns before sleeping. It's really dragging and the concerns are often translated in my dreams. And once I wake up, it is the first thing that comes into my mind. Stressful and frustrating!

Since I have acknowledge this, I am now trying to find ways to just relax and be worry-free before sleeping. This has allowed me to have one step forward in achieving my goal...

Free from frustration

You choose your frustrations. And you can just as easily choose to be free of frustration.
What is it that makes you frustrated? What kinds of things bring on so much frustration that you can't get anything accomplished?

Actually, nothing makes you frustrated. Frustration is just the way you respond to certain situations.

Frustration is useful when you first feel it, because it calls your attention to the conflict between your inner values and your outer situation. But once it has your attention, frustration has done its job, and it is then time to let it go.

As soon as you feel frustration, ask yourself what that frustration is attempting to tell you, and listen carefully to the answer. Once you truly get the message, the frustration has done its job and it falls naturally and easily away.

By immediately understanding and appreciating what your frustration has to say, you can quickly get beyond it. Then, with a new sense of purpose and positive direction, you'll be even more effective than before.

-- Ralph Marston

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Marie Digby - Say It Again Official Video

A very simple, feel good video for a wonderful song. :)

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Back to Pinas, The Second Time Around

The first one was last February, when we took advantage of the long weekend in Singapore due to Chinese New Year.


Singapore Changi airport is really nice. They really make the waiting on airports worth it. Lots of shops, scenic areas like Koi pond, Ferrari display, restos and U-Squeeze massager :D

We went back last May 24-June 1. As always, the 9days vacation (including travel) is not enough. Though Mon and I had some days to relax but we are mostly ironing out things. So little time that we only met a few friends during our vacation. Going back to Manila also means satisfying our cravings!

Cravings List:

1) My Nanay's Ginisang Upo, Sinigang na Baka, Menudo, Beef Broccoli, Kare-kare - She's the best! :)
2) Jollibee Chicken Joy and breakfast meals
3) FIC Pistachio Ice Cream (2 scoops! takaw)
4) Mexicali's soft taco
5) Dulcinea's garlic mushroom and churros! :D
6) Tapa King's tapa queen - spicy and sweet! Yum!
7) Quickly Taro Ice - with additional nago! ;)

New found fave is the KXP Restaurant at Robinson's Place Manila - our ISI barkada introduced us to this place. Yummy! Everything is really nice. But what I like best are the appetizer dip that has pesto oil in it and the Pistachio Silvana! You should try it. *Now I'm craving!*

Puro food lang ba? hahaha.. Nah, We have managed to do some other things since we don't know if we will have a good chance of going back to Manila within this year. :-s

1) Visit the townhouse that we bought in Cavite. This is quite a disappointment as they still haven't renovated our place based on the details that we have told them. Good thing my nanay will be helping us to follow up with the developer. Hopefully it will be okay within next month.
2) Meet up with friends - Mon and I had dinner with my high school barkada at Dulcinea. We also sort of surprised my ISI barkada at KXP (still can imagine how Ronnie looked when he saw me hahaha! peace!)

3) Attend to my niece's christening - babies really grow fast! The latest addition to our family, Keisha got baptized the day we arrived in Manila. She's lovely! Just noticed that she doesn't look much like her sisters when they were that age. She looks more like my in-law's mother. hehehe.. It's also an opportunity to meet relatives. :) In addition, I'm also happy that our Kiara is doing well. She's a lot bigger now. :)

4) Visited Mon's mom - we see to it that we visit her at Manila Memorial each time we're in Manila.
5) Relax at home - we had two full days to just stay at our home.
6) Bonding time with Mon's family and relatives - fortunately, they visited Mon's dad that we had the chance to hang out with them. Spent the whole day with them.
7) Grocery - we bought a lot of things in preparation for our return to Singapore -> from spreads (cheezwhiz, lily's peanut butter, guava jelly) to ufc ketchup, purefoods corned beef, century tuna, itlog na maalat, tuyo, danggit, daing and a lot more! hehehe..
8) Celebrity encounters - saw Carmina Villaroel and Pekto at Auntie Anne's RobPlace and Kim Chiu on SM MOA. :)

9) Photo-video settlement - i know, i know.. sobrang hindi naasikaso. Good thing we were able to squeeze it in this vacation. :)
10) Hair treatment and haircut - alas! :) Mon and I still prefer to have our hair done in Pinas. Mon can tell the reasons why. Hehehe.. (Be, you have a blog assignment)
11) Body massage - this is also another thing that we prefer in Pinas. Not only that it is expensive here in Singapore but I have heard a lot of feedback that massage services here is not that good. We had the massage at relaksasi (sister company of let's face it). It's located in front of Dusit Hotel in Makati. very very nice! We had the combination massage (Shiatsu and Swedish). I think I like Shiatsu than swedish. I had availed of the foot spa service too hehehe.. :)

Haayy, Mon and I are looking forward to another Pinas vacation. Hopefully our next trip will be two or more weeks as I plan for Mon and I to go out of town (probably Boracay along with a bit near escapade like Tagaytay). :) By the way, Mon's version here.

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Marie Digby Encounter - Part II

This a a super overdue post already. Anyways the day after Marie Digby's mini-concert, I met with my Batswan buddies for a lunch at Wisma Atria. They are so kind of setting the venue at Wisma 'cause Marie's autograph signing is also there! We had lunch at Din Tai Fung (yum yum!) It was really nice to meet up with batchmates again. Too bad I came quite late.

Afterwards I told them that I will be heading to The Gap store for the autograph signing. I was so touched that they joined me at The Gap for moral support hahahaha.. Lukaret nga sila 'cause they are taking pictures of me while waiting. Hahaha.. I was standing near the so-called stage with Tin, Yong and Weng while Mon lined up outside for the auto-signing queue (loves talaga ako ng hubby ko ;D). What is really good in any event in Singapore is you can be really close to the "stage", making it really possible to have better view and photos of course. :D

And then she arrived (breathless)... She sang shortcut versions of Say it Again and Umbrella then autograph signing began. I joined Mon on the queue and just chitchat for a while. I was really determined to tell her that I am the one who have been exchanging emails with her at myspace.

My friends waiting for us in front sent us text messages about how the Gap people are handling the autograph signing. They said that at some point, they shorten the time per person having their cd's signed. No more personalized message, no more photo session. Hah! I'm still determined no matter what. :D

When it was our turn, I did not mind the Gap staffs surrounding us. I barely remember them telling me no notebook (I was holding a notebook to show my name). Still determined to have more time with her, I kept on talking to Marie to remind her while she was signing the CD, then she remembered! Yey! She stood up and hugged me! I actually heard people cheering and clapping when whe stood up. And the best was we had a picture together! :D After that I gave her a gift and she was so touched. I hope she liked it.

I am so so happy about this encounter. I had the time of my life! :D Two days in the life of a die-hard fan! Hahaha.. I don't care if some thinks of it as jologs. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet someone you admire so I have to make the most out of it. :D hehehehe.. Here are some pics. :)

panalo! ;)

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High School Memories

Again, I have quite a long absence on the blogsphere. Have to update a lot of things but needs to recall as many details as much as I can. Anyway, a good warm up to recall things is actually reminisce my high school life. I happen to pass by a blog with this entry so here goes:

THINK BACK TO 4th year high school… Let’s see how much you remember and how much you regret..

What section were you? Amber (Star Section naks! haha.. feeling)

Who were your seatmates? We change seats every quarter. I remember well my seatmates on 1st quarter since we are seated alphabetically: Right - Marilou Adao, Left - Loida Afable

Still remember your English teacher? Ms. Reyes (forgot her first name), she's petite, has white complexion and very soft spoken.

What was your first class? Arrgghhh! Can't remember. Although I remember that at the start of the day, the class secretary checks the attendance and logs it in the beadle. :)

Made friends to the lower years? Had a few.

How was your class schedule? 7:00am to 5:20

Made any enemies? none that I can think of. :) Good girl ako eh hahaha..

Who was your favorite teacher? Hmmm.. During that time, I have no fave teacher. Pero recalling 4th yr, I'd say fave ko si Mr. Creme dela Creme (Mr. dela Cruz) hindi dahil sa fave ko ang math pero dahil we had several doses of his katarayan.

What sport did you play? I'm not the athletic type. So I am more into dance and singing activities. :)

Were you a party animal? No, good girl nga eh.

Were you well known in your school? I don't think so. I usually participate on some school programs pero backgrounder lang hahaha.

SKIP CLASSES? have done previously pero not on my 4th year.

Did you get suspended/expelled? Never.

Can you sing the alma mater? I still remember a few lines (including the voicing part hahaha).

What was your favorite subject? Statistics yata (alang maisip).

Did you go to the dances? yes. JS Prom at our school, Senior Gradball at New World Hotel.

Where did you go most often during breaks? minsan sa gym, minsan sa rotonda (circular mini-park at school)

What did you do on the last day of school? Gave letters to friends, hingi ng souvenir pics , chikahan with classmates

Feel like reminiscin' too? Then you're tagged! :)

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