What's UP???

I’ve been very busy lately and haven’t got any time to update my so-called “online journal”. This April and May I am swamped with lots of activities. It could vary from office, personal, friends and family. Though I am tired sometimes I really enjoy spending more time with people I really care about.

Things I did while I was “out” on this blog:

1. Attend my sister’s graduation - I am one proud ATE!



2. Went to Iloilo for vacation with my HS friends – our annual planned out of
town trips.




3. Join our company outing – first time I participated



4. Found new friends and group in the office – I was a loner for 1 and a half
years.



5. Start jogging again with my family



6. Visit Pink sisters and Poor Claire chapel – it’s been a while since I
visited my favorite chapel
7. Bonding with my family
8. Been hooked on Glee series – kinda late to join the bandwagon but I really
enjoyed watching and listening to their catchy songs



9. Meet up with my friends – I did have fun because after six long years,
was able to come back again to Padis. Dance, drink and sing like there’s no
tomorrow
10. Been able to meet my BF’s ex (finally!) – promise no blood-gushing boo-boos
or any violent stuff. Just plain simple “nice meeting”
11. My unnerving shopping expedition :P – (Uh oh, here we go again)



12. Created my personal twitter like diary – as in a hard copy journal of my own
13. Created my bucket list – which I will post it here (sooner or later)



14. I cast my vote during May 10, 2010 National Elections



15. Got my yearly flu vaccine



16. Process reviews of our projects in the office
17. Laugh a lot since meeting new friends
18. Found a nice “resto” somewhere in Circle, Mandaluyong. Me and significant
other enjoyed dining there when we have budgets



19. Will attend my friend’s wedding this weekend



20. Will attend baptism of my second cousin’s child – Again, chosen as the
godmother (and the list of kids under my care grew longer and longer…)


Plans this mid-year

1. Renew my passport – so I can try travelling outside the country
2. Enroll again on graduate school – just like in my previous post, this is the
final straw!
3. Create a proposed dissertation and prepare for the comprehensive exam
4. Create a massive photo album for all my recent trips!
5. Buy a storage media as a backup for the humungous data and files (that is
worth 2-3years of information)

Things I've Done this Long Weekend...

Last year, I went to our province for a long-anticipated vacation, since I wasn't able to plan any getaway this Holy Week, I just stayed at the house watching DVD with my family, read books and cook food. Recently, while browsing at National Bookstore and Booksale, I noticed that most magazine back issues are on sale. For a short period of time I already acquired at least 10 copies of magazine. To be honest, I already enjoyed reading magazines since I like to look at clothes, beauty products and career tips. I didn't even notice the time while reading magazines at my room.



Another activity I've done this long weekend is cleaning my room. I've been too busy to clear out the mess in my room. It was months ago since the last time I organized my stuff. Out of nowhere I discovered that I had stashed some of my favorite letters in worn boxes along with my personal diary / journal and poetry journal. It brought back all the memories (good and bad). I used to dream before that I would like to be a writer or a psychologist and even a journalist. The worn letters reminded me of the days when life was too simple back then and I'm thankful to have such a wonderful and caring friends who wrote me letters full of advice, warmth and love. I can't believe that discovering these tiny stuff would help me reflect on what I want on my life and how to value friends.

Who Says Being a Fashionista Can Be Expensive???

Since I started working I love to shop for clothes, accessories, shoes and books. I always go to sales and bazaars since that's the time I can purchase clothes and shoes for less. Then came the ukay-ukay craze, who wouldn't love them? You can find nice tops, dresses and pants way cheaper than those sold at the malls and best of all, you can be fashionista. Just like what my mom always says, "It's not on the brand or the prices, but how you carry yourself in clothes".

Here are some of the cheap finds I found in my ukay-ukay escapade:

A brown floral dress that can be worn with jeans, shorts and brown leggings. I bought it for P50.00 only




United Colors of Benetton boatneck shirt. I found this at Iloilo Market sold at P10.00 :)




U2 Women Green Cardigan Sweater. I bought it in Laguna for P20.00 only.




Soon: I will post my other stuffs I hauled for a cheaper price in this blog :)

If you have questions or comments, just leave it below

Fashion-Loving Me!

It's hard to admit that even I belong on the IT industry, my interest varies a lot. I love history and geography, I like reading magazines because of new styles and trends and love to dress up especially on momentous occasions, I like watching feel-good movies and listening to all different genres of music.

One of my favorite things to do is shopping and dressing up! If you know me personally, my closet is filled with tons of clothes, accessories and shoes (my personal room and in my apartment closet). I think this is every woman's vice. Last year my sister told me about this creative site called, Looklet.com. The site can squeeze up all your juicy ideas into mixing and matching clothes and accessories on the models. It's like an online paper doll dressing up during girl's childhood days.

For quite some time I became addictive on visiting this site, especially on weekends. Here are some of my sample creations I've done last year :)

The Amazing Coron - Day 2 to Paradise!

For the continuation of our Amazing Trip to Coron, here is our Day 2 Trip :)

We were soooo tired the night before due to our first day activities. On our Day 2 in Coron, we went to Malcapuya and Banana Island. I must admit these two islands can beat Boracay for its serenity, beauty and white sand. Going there is not easy since we have to ride an hour and a half boat ride with big waves. According to our tour guide, Malcapuya's waves are really choppy and big, even on summer days. I really have to keep calm on our boat ride since I was really scared of the waves and might cause panic to other passengers. My boyfriend is already panicking and trying to be calm since this is the crucial two hours boat ride of our lives. Thank God, we were able to reach this private island and enjoy ourselves to its enchanting beauty.

Upon arriving to Malcapuya island, you will be amazed on this strip of land that boasts fine white sand and paradise-like scenery. This is where we laze around the sun and enjoy our lunch courtesy of our tour guide, Ate Rea. :)

Here is our snapshots (taken from our friend's DSLR cam)





I must say the place is very beautiful and feels like you're in a paradise. Too bad we won't be staying overnight and we need to get back to Coron town proper before sunset. We left Banana Island around quarter to four in the afternoon. After reaching the port of Coron, me and my friend hired tricycle going to Maquinit Hotspring for a refreshing dip. We went back to the hotel at around 8:00 PM in the evening. Tired, but really enjoyed our Day 2 trip :)

The Amazing Coron - Day 1 to Paradise!

Last March 18-20, 2010, I was able to visit one of the most enchanting places on the Philippines, the island of Coron, Palawan. I keep reminding myself that I passed up on an opportunity to join my college friend on her birthday trip to Singapore since we were booked one month in advance last year before my friend invited me to join her (bummer, but I believe there are reasons :) for it).

On our way, I am really nervous on riding Cebu Pacific small plane that carries at least 60 passengers (I'm not so sure, but that's how I observed it while boarding the plane). It was a nerve-racking 45 minutes up in the sky and during the first 15 minutes of our ride I can't help but clutch my rosary and pray. But afterwards, I began to ease up and became accustomed to the whizzing sound and the deafening roar of plane's engine and propeller. :)

We arrived at Francisco Reyes Busuanga Airport around 10:30am and been picked up by the hotel's van and went to Mt. Tapyas Hotel. For a few minutes, we changed for beach outfits and made sure that we brought along our camera and other stuff and met our other friends from the Coron port for the start of our tour.

Here is our itenerary for Day 1:

Our first stop is our welcome lunch and our trip to Kayangan Lake. I must admit when we reach the top part of jagged cliff, I am really amazed at the scene right in front of my eyes. Kayangan Lake is the famous picture of Coron since it features the brackish and serene waters of Coron. Then we proceed to the other side of the lake where one of the deepest and most clean lakes in the Philippines is found.




Then we went to the Barracuda Lake, which is deeper than the Kayangan Lake and its kinda scary trekking the cliff going to the lake, since it's too steep and the rocks are sharp. The foreigners who were snorkeling before us, told that the water in Barracuda lake is scary deep since you can only see the bluish dark waters below. I was too chicken to go far since I am not that confident with my lifevest and I always get muscle cramps in my legs even trying to swim for a while.

Our next stop is another famous Twin Lagoon, where during low tide you can swim under the rock and go to the other side. During high tides, you can cross the other side by using the ladder found on the top of the rock. Good thing, that when we arrived at the lagoon, it was already low tide and I've been able to cross to the other side since our boatman, borrow a "balsa" or floater that is made of bamboo tree. Kinda fun riding the balsa and see the other side of the lagoon. It was clean, eerily silent and enchanting. But one should be careful snorkeling along Twin Lagoon since there are sea urchins underneath which can sting you (my bf was one of the poor victims of the sea urchin).




(the sea urchin)

After our Twin Lagoon trip, we proceed to Skeleton Wreck where the famous Japanese Galleon is located. Even you don't use the snorkeling gear you can still see the shadowy outline of the centuries old galleon which is also a home to corals. Pretty colored fishes can be found also on the Skeleton Wreck and of course the sea urchins that are visible during low tide.

Here are the things you will find under the Skeleton Wreck Beach :)




Our last itenerary for the day is the CYC beach which used to be big and pristine. But since some evil people stole the white sand of the beach, it looked like abused part of land, but you will get to witness one of the beautiful sunsets here.



After our very tiring day, we went to Bistro Coron for dinner. From our hotel, it was few blocks away and we did a short cut after asking for directions. The food is nice (we were too starved to take pictures so we dig in right after our waitress served our orders).

There will continuation on our Day 2 and Day 3 trips :)

Thoughts for the Whole Year

Someone just gave this very meaningful list of things to do to start the year right. Although first quarter of the year will pass, I just want to share this very insightful thoughts...




Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.