Mukha kang Thailand

As I was waiting for my annual haircut before New Year so as to remove all bad luck from my body, a woman, wearing a BIG hairband with a BIG ribbon, whose face was too oily, oily enough for me to cook a sunny side up on top of her face, whose shirt screamed this was bought from DIVISORIA and whose hair can be used to remove the dust from the ceiling of our house (all i needed was a handle to make it as a broom), initiated the funniest conversation I have heard in a salon with a pretty gay guy.

Lady: "Ang ganda mo!" (You are so pretty)
Gay: "Ah talaga, Salamat." (Really? Thanks!)
Lady: "Mukha kang Thailand." (You look like Thailand)
Gay: "Ano?" (What?)
Lady: "Mukha kang Thailand." (You look like Thailand)

Si Bons biglang nag iPOD. (I suddenly turned on my iPod).

Di ko kinaya.

This year in pictures :)

February - Winter in Hong Kong, hence the ice cream!

February - Macau



March - Bulacan



April - Hugom, Batangas



April - GRADUATION!!!



May - Orlando, Florida



May - Hola Mexico!



May- The day I ate at Pink's!



June - Hollywood



June - Around L.A.



July - College loves



August- Fontana, Pampanga



August- Beijing Summer Olympics



August - The Great Wall of China



September- 3rd UP Inter Varsity League :)



October - Hong Kong









November- Macau for the C.B concert



December - The day I turned 24 (pota)


December - The day I became wicked.
Portrayed Cinderella's bitch sister for the Christmas party.


December - The view from our house last Christmas Eve :)

How was your year?

Irony

Because mum believes in all Chinese beliefs during New Year's Eve even if we are not Chinese at all, we always prepare 12 different dishes and a basket of 12 different round fruits every New Year's eve. She also puts 12 garlic bulbs in the table. Don't ask.

Off we went to Cash and Carry and do the most difficult part every New Year's Eve-shopping. Read: Finding 12 different round fruits.

So there goes Bons, running from one place to another trying to look for the roundest fruits ever.

You know the big GREEN colored oranges? It's not dalandan. It's bigger than dalandan. Green version of a Mandarin Orange. Not ponkan. I don't know how it's called so I asked Manong

Bons: "Kuya anong tawag dito?"
Manong: " Ah, ano po yan, Japanese Mandarin Orange."






Question? San nanggaling yung orange na yun? Technically it should come from Japan right? But no, the oranges I bought as stated in the box (remember kahon) came from China.

I so like the name. very international.

BTW, after they weighed the oranges and put the tag in the plastic, I read it because as usual I was puzzeld. Mind you, the tag really said JAPANESE Mandarin Orange. So Manong was not lying at all.

Yes, I have a very busy schedule

Today was a long one.

T'was the last day of my garage sale at boyfriend's place. Not as good as yesterday but almost all of the stuff were bought already. I made a relatively hefty amount of money in 2 days for the Media Noche celebration so I don't have to shell out my own money anymore. Hehe

Boyfriend was so proud of me that he treated me at Som's for dinner :). He also paid for my Swedish Massage at a nearby masseuse stall and my Moroccan Mint tea latte at Coffee Bean :) Chiqui oh....

Tomorrow will be a busy day too!

1.) Must do the laundry in the morning.
2.) Dentist appointment at lunchtime.
3.) Must go to the Grocery for New Year's Eve. I don't want to go out on the 31st kasi marami ng paputok. Even picolo (the ones being used by kids) freaks the hell out of me. I'm scared of firecrackers. bow
4.) Must pick up the red Starbucks planner in order to start the year RIGHT.
5.) Must go to the nearby salon to get my free foot spa :)

I am praying to not miss any of these things tomorrow!

The 30th and 31st will be housecleaning days!

How are you these days?

Love love,
me

ale

Off to the market to buy a box for my annual garage sale. This time, the venue is at boyfriend's garage in Villamor. This was my first day.

Bons: Ate may tinda kayong box? yung sa Marlboro?
Ale: Ayun oh. (pointing to a very small box)
Bons: Naku, wala po ba kayong mejo malaki?
Ale: Ano ka ba hindi naman box and tawag dun eh! Kahon yun.
Bons(puzzeld): Ah ganun ba, diba box din ang tawag sa kahon?
Ale: Hindi box ang tawag dun! BIG BOX.

FYI. Seryoso siya nung kausap ko.

Highschool

I have a new crush.



Ok, I know I have graduated high school years ago but you know those teeny bopper moments where you just want to watch any feel good flick with either Amanda Bynes or Lindsay Lohan in it?

That was what my sister and I did last night.

We sat down. We ate congee (we were both not feeling well last night). We watched. I almost ended up peeing in my pajamas. I never thought that the lead guy in Sydney White was that HOTTT!

We took snapshots of him while watching the movie. Well, that's the beauty of the VLC media player. And officially, I'm a member of his fans club already.

KINIKILIG PA DIN AKO!

Matt Long, Marry me!





Ok I feel like a kid but whatevs. BFF adores Japanese boybands anyway. All is cool.

Matt White reminds me of someone. I think? I just can't remember..


Ja borrowed a pile of pirated dvds.

In the morning we watched A Very Special Love. I never thought it was that funny. Watch it!

Love love,
Me

2 hours before Christmas

It's already 10:15, and we have a street party. All the kids are dancing, everybody is having fun.

Then one man shouted (BALLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUT).

Barely 2 hours before Noche Buena and the Balut vendor still has to work to provide food for his family. While everybody is having fun, he will continue walking using his torn slippers.

He might be a Muslim but I doubt.

Merry Christmas manong :) I wish I could buy a balut from you but I don't eat balut.

:)

Merry Christmas everyone!

love,
suplada

Third World

My biggest problem in coming back here in Manila is the idea of commuting from Makati to my office . I know, I know, some of my readers commute from Paranaque or Cavite to wherever, but for somebody like me, who is apparently not used to commuting and pushing people, it really becomes a pain the ass.

You see, I studied in CSR where it was just a 5 minute ride from my house to the school but I still rode a school bus until I graduated. I studied in Makati Science which was seriously a 3 minute walk from my house and sometimes Dad had to pick me up if I had a lot of things to bring. I studied in UPLB where trying to ride a bus in EDSA on a Monday morning was HELL!. It wasn't a problem then because I only had to suffer 2 days of smog then I'll be in the province and the campus where you should and must walk through beaten path.

MANILA is not coolest place in the world, and even if Filipinos take a bath everyday, you would agree with me that there are people in the MRT who already smells even at 9 AM :) (Maasim na agad). -This is my other problem!

I just came for a country where the transportation system is ooh lala. Transferring from one train line to another is a breeze in Hong Kong. So in the advent of lower gasolines and the lifting of the 10 peso additional Taxi fare, I've been riding the taxi EVERY SINGLE DAY since I arrived.

Expensive much?

I know I can't forever do this. I am not rich and my meager salary is not enough for me to buy a car.

It just pisses me off, that when I ride the jeepney and the MRT, I see black SUVs and F150's and Jaguars with government official plates in them and drivers wearing Barongs.

Putanginang mga pulitiko yan! The people should urge them to experience riding the MRT and Jeepneys so they will know how it feels to breathe third world smog/air.

Maybe, just maybe, they're gonna do something about it.

LOOOOOOOOOOOONG day

This was a BUSY day.

- Woke up early to go to the office.
- Did some work.
- Waited for our balikbayan box from Hong Kong (We had to send some of our stuff in a balikbayan box because of the stupid baggage limit of 15kgs by Cebu Pacific. Hello! 2.5 months at 15 kgs? NO WAY!)
- Unpacked the balikbayan box.
- Arranged my stuff.
- Fixed my oh so messy desk.
- Christmas lunch with boyfriend.
- Giftgiving with boyfriend.
- Watched a movie with boyfriend.
- Shopped with boyfriend.- Drank coffee with boyfriend (my Starbucks stamp card is almost full after 1 week in Manila. Thanks Papsie and Chiqui for the extra 4 stickers. I Like the red one. How about you?)
- Bought cake for mum's birthday.
- Went to Makati for an aromatic swedish massage.
- Ate BBQ at Yoo hoo :) (Good dinner)
- Surprised mum.
- Bade goodbye to boyfriend.

WHEW!

Tomorrow will be a LOOOOOOOOONG day too. :)

How did your day go?

karylle, dingdong and marian 101

I am not a fan of Karylle nor Dingdong nor Marian. But eversince I came back all I heard was the break up of Dingdong and Karylle.

Yes, I was aware of their relationship because Dingdong is my aunt's husband's nephew. Gets? I haven't met him but I heard he is nice.

Anyway, I also know Marian Rivera, I find her sexy but I CANNOT STAND listening to her! No offence, pero walang class kasi. She is pretty and hot. PERIOD.

I dunno but I am glued to the story. I've been watching the interview videos of all the parties concerned.

I find Karylle nice and she knows how to answer with class. :) Assumptionista kasi. But what really bugs me was her smile in the Buzz last Sunday. :)

It is as if she knows something. She knows that indeed, the Dingdong and Marian tandem is not anymore exclusive in soap operas and tv shows. I really think that Dingdong is a DADDY to be :) Well, unless Marian would abort the baby. Which I think she really would.

Btw, Marian, you have lots of money. take some serious speech lessons. You are pretty but that's it :)

I am a Jack of all trades..

..., a Master of none.

Why do I celebrate this?

I found this wonderful article online.

Specialization is not always a good thing

Are the days of Da Vinci dead? Is it possible to, at once, be a world-class painter, engineer, scientist, and more?

“No way. Those times are long gone. Nothing was discovered then. Now the best you can do is pick your field and master it.”

The devout specialist is fond of labeling the impetuous learner–Da Vinci and Ben Franklin being just two forgotten examples–”jack of all trades, master of none.” The chorus unites: In the modern world, it is he who specializes who survives and thrives. There is no place for Renaissance men or women. Starry-eyed amateurs.

Is it true? I don’t think so. Here are the top five reasons why being a “jack of all trades,” what I prefer to call a “generalist,” is making a comeback:

5) “Jack of all trades, master of none” is an artificial pairing.

It is entirely possible to be a jack of all trades, master of many. How? Specialists overestimate the time needed to “master” a skill and confuse “master” with “perfect”…

Generalists recognize that the 80/20 principle applies to skills: 20% of a language’s vocabulary will enable you to communicate and understand at least 80%, 20% of a dance like tango (lead and footwork) separates the novice from the pro, 20% of the moves in a sport account for 80% of the scoring, etc. Is this settling for mediocre?

Not at all. Generalists take the condensed study up to, but not beyond, the point of rapidly diminishing returns. There is perhaps a 5% comprehension difference between the focused generalist who studies Japanese systematically for 2 years vs. the specialist who studies Japanese for 10 with the lack of urgency typical of those who claim that something “takes a lifetime to learn.” Hogwash. Based on my experience and research, it is possible to become world-class in almost any skill within one year.

4) In a world of dogmatic specialists, it’s the generalist who ends up running the show.

Is the CEO a better accountant than the CPA? Is Steve Jobs a better programmer than the iTunes VP of Engineering? No, but he has a broad range of skills and sees the unseen interconnectedness. As technology becomes a commodity with the democratization of information, it’s the big-picture generalists who will predict, innovate, and rise to power fastest. There is a reason military “generals” are called such.

3) Boredom is failure.

In a first-world economy where we have the physical necessities covered with even low-class income, Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs drives us to need more for any measure of comparative “success.” Lack of intellectual stimulation, not superlative material wealth, is what drives us to depression and emotional bankruptcy. Generalizing and experimenting prevents this, while over-specialization guarantees it.

2) Diversity of intellectual playgrounds breeds confidence instead of fear of the unknown.

It also breeds empathy with the broadest range of human conditions and appreciation of the broadest range of human accomplishments. The alternative is the defensive xenophobia and smugness uniquely common to those whose identities are defined by their job title or single skill, which they pursue out of obligation and not enjoyment.

1) It’s more fun, in the most serious existential sense.

The jack of all trades maximizes his number of peak experiences in life and learns to enjoy the pursuit of excellence unrelated to material gain, all while finding the few things he is truly uniquely suited to dominate.

The specialist who imprisons himself in self-inflicted one-dimensionality — pursuing and impossible perfection — spends decades stagnant or making imperceptible incremental improvements while the curious generalist consistently measures improvement in quantum leaps. It is only the latter who enjoys the process of pursuing excellence.

—

Don’t put on experiential blinders in the name of specializing. It’s both unnecessary and crippling. Those who label you a “jack of all trades, master of none” are seldom satisfied with themselves.

Why take their advice?

Here is a description of the incredible Alfred Lee Loomis, a generalist of the highest order who changed the course of World War II with his private science experiments, here taken from the incredible portrait of his life, Tuxedo Park:

Loomis did not conform to the conventional measure of a great scientist. He was too complex to categorize — financier, philanthropist, society figure, physicist, inventor, amateur, dilettante — a contradiction in terms.

Be too complex to categorize.

Look far and wide. There are worlds to conquer.

Source: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/14/the-top-5-reasons-to-be-a-jack-of-all-trades/

:)

I promise to be nicer. lol!

This coming year I promise to be nicer.

There are comments that I say everyday. And these are not so nice ones. I promise that I'll change. :)

1.) When a driver is driving fast even if he's supposed to halt or slow down because it's the ped xing.....

I usually say:
This is the pedestrian lane asshole!

I should say:
Crap. (Then I SHOULD shut up.)

2.) When somebody wouldn't fall in line, whether in the train, counter or wherever...

I usually say:
Gee. Ang tanda mo na pumila ka nga (You are already old, fall in line!)
OR
Ano ba! ang aga aga singit ng singit! (It's so early, fall in line!)
OR
May kasama ka pa man ding bata, turuan mo nga yang anak mong pumila! (Teach your kid to fall in line!)

I should say:
Whoops I shouldn't say anything anymore, Hayaan ko nalang. (this is hard!)

3.) When somebody stares at me like I am somewhat a superstar.

I usually say:
What are you looking at?

I should say:
Gee, you are complimenting me.

:D

.................

Are you done with your Christmas shopping already?

Happy :)

:)

I never thought that I have touched so many people's hearts. I have the best group of friends in the world and I love them so dearly. :)

My BFF back in highschool called me up on my birthday to greet me. We parted ways because she now has a family on her own and she had to be a mum :) But then again, we still can talk things like what we did before. We ARE still bitches :)

My SSEAYP friends went out of their way and greeted me in my all my online social networking churva. If you will notice, I have friends from all over the world who had greeted me on my birthday. I was touched :) Thank you very much.

2 of my good friends gave me a DSLR and a Neverfull LV bag! Sushal right? Hindi ko ata kayang panindigan ang LV bag!!

My college COMSCI friends greeted me as well and told me that they miss me :) I miss you too guys.

My debate friends greeted me and it was more of a requirement to visit them in LB asap to talk to newbies. I miss my bitch friends :)

My office friends are also the best. I don't like all of them, but I have my friends here in the office worth mentioning :) Thanks a lot guys. Zoe, made a lemon cheesecake for my birthday before I left Hong Kong :) I was really touched.

My boyfriend surprised me like he had never done before. I really appreciate the effort in pulling the surprise off :) Thank you Fred.

Mum, Ja and I had eat all you can sushi on my birthday and they gave me a pair of Swarovski earrings. Remember those were in my FIRST wishlist? I also bought myself Snyder's of Hanover pretzels which I got from Duty Free (Also included in my FIRST wishlist.)

What I got for my birthday are the following:

1. Lemon Cheesecake
2. Neverfull LV Bag
3. Nikon D60 DSLR camera
4. Snyder's of Hanover Pretzels
5. Eat all you can sushi
6. Big puffy Pillow
7. Camera thingamajigs
8. Wallet from Korea
9. Swarovski Earrings
10. Surprise Birthday Bash :)
11. LOVE from my friends :)

Kisses to you guys,
Me

WHY????

MY LIFE SUCKS!!

I just learned that STING performed in Hong Kong last week (December 10). I left HK on the 11th! Should have I known that he's gonna be there, I could have ditched Chris Brown and Macau!!! I could've eaten at Mc Donald's instead of Mo's!!

I HATE IT!!!

I want to cry!!!

On the brighter side, even if I knew that Sting is gonna be there, I won't be able to afford the ticket anyway, and I'm sure Allan won't accompany me. He's the Hari of being Kuripot like my cousin KING.

Tickets will be sold at 6,224.4 /11,844.4/18,194.4 PESOSES!!!

Oh well, you have all the perks in the world (including watching STING live) if you have money.

Hate to break it to you Bons, YOU DON'T!

I'M back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M BACK!

My birthday this year was so wonderful! My wishllist is almost gone now except for the books and DKNY perfume! Nontheless, I got myself an Incanto Shine from Hong Kong (thanks to Chie for the Incanto introduction) so all is well!

I have so much kwento but as of now, I'm catching up with work plus I have to attend to several Christams Parties in the days to come! I have to do my Christmas shopping ASAP!!

BTW I have a lot of questions........ Please read!!!

1.) Why does the TIANGGE IN ROCKWELL charge people 100 bucks per head for entrance?????? So if there'd be 5 of you going inside that will be 500 pesos. 500 pesoses in TIANGGE is a big amount no? Rockwell Tiangge is for sosy people so kaya ganun. Whatevs.

2.) What happened to the taxi drivers in MANILA why all of a sudden they give exact change to passengers? This morning, my fare was 62.50 but manong driver gave me 40 peso change for my 100 bucks? Yesterday, there was a 5 peso extra change.

3.) Riding the jeep is a different thing. IT IS ALREADY 8 pesos! How come nobody updated me????

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE WORLD?

4.) There was this lady at Landmark last SATURDAY, asking why there were a lot of people in the mall and why there were LONG QUEUES in ALL counters. She even told me, why didn't I get a PO from the sales lady so I wouldn't let her wait in line.

DUH! IT'S CHRISTMAS! Maghanap ka ng mall na walang PILA!!!!!! BOBO!

yun lang! :)

Have a good evening everyone!!

Kisses!
Me

What have I been wearing?

It's cold in Hong Kong the past weeks. And these are what I have been wearing to combat the cold weather during weekends.

Aviators: Ray Ban
Coat: Ladies' Market (Mongkok) - super mura lang :)
Button Down Shirt: Silk Market (Beijing) - tiangge
Bag: Nike
Shoes: Chucks
Stockings: H&M

Coat: Esprit (On sale last year)
Turtleneck Top: Zara
Shorts: Landmark
Shoes: Chucks
Stockings: H&M


All stuff were on sale when I bought them. Lucky me :)

What have you been wearing lately? It's so hard to wear stuff in Manila. T-shirt weather. right? :)

I choose to be happy :)

I choose to be happy despite everything. Nobody can take me down.

--Bons

Crossing out my Wishlist :)

I'm crossing out my wishlist so I will not receive the same gifts on my birthday. Hehe...

1.) Bed tray



2.) Book: Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger



3.) A new non-sporty watch. All my watches are sporty. Bought this for myself last Sunday. I had a good deal at Tung Chung Factory Outlet. Got my Anne Klein watch for a really good price :) Chie was envious.


4.) Pink DSLR camera case. (Big enough for a Nikon D60)



5.) BIG puffy pillow


6.) Shu Uemura eyelash curler





7.) Book: The Tao of Pooh (I have read this but I want my own book)




8.) Mac Concealer





9.) DKNY Be Delicious


Thank you!!!! :) My birthday is 2 weeks from now and Christmas is 3.5 weeks from now :) weee...