Possessives

This is a rushed, very unprepared, and rather annoying (in terms of my voice) entry. I just had to post this one because I haven't been updating, and that totally sucks! :)

Oh well, here you go. Just don't hate me for this. Please?

Motherly Woes, Help Needed

Dear Everyone and Anyone Who's Reading,

It has been 3 weeks since I've come back to this quiet little town to take on the role I should really be playing: doting mother to a preschooler.

My hands have been full with work, sideline projects here and there, this blog and my attempt at Everyday English. It is overwhelming already as it is, but guess what . . . I still have to play mother. It's tiring and takes up all my time. It may seem like I own all the time in the world because I work from home; but no, I don't. I barely even have time to get my hair re-dyed, and I can't even pluck my goddeeemmm eyebrows anymore! 

Today, we went to the local department store to buy leotards and cloth for his costume. It's his school's foundation day on Monday, and they're doing a field demonstration. This is all new to me because I never was built for this sh*t. I can't cook, I can't sew, I'm not so good with organizing my clothes in the closet, and I don't really fall under the "Will Make a Great Mother and Housewife" category. So this entire mother thing feels foreign and distant. I don't fahken know what to do!

I tried making his poms-poms and other props for Monday, but I just can't. My hands are made for typing only, I guess. I can't even tie a perfect knot! I suck. I really do. I need to go to Mother Camp so I can be more effective at this.

Oh well. At least I can teach him how to pronounce right and get through Level 14 of Monster Truck Demolition. :)

If any of you have suggestions on how to become an effective mother, please let me know. I also need great merienda ideas for his everyday snacks (affordable and realistic please). Yuri also seems to have these little bumps on his arms, like chicken skin. How do I get rid of that? 

Love, 

Desperate Mother of a Four-Year-Old

P.S.

Oh, they're supposed to bring food on Monday. What's a great recipe for a group of preschoolers and their parents?

Lay versus Lie

I was not able to upload this yesterday because we had a 12-hour power outage! Sucks to live in a remote city, I know. But at least I get decent Internet connection.

Here you go.

Adjectives: Comparative and Superlative Degrees

Here's today's installment of Everyday English, the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives.

Prepositions of Time (In, On, At)

As promised, here's the video for "Prepositions of Time (In, On, At)." I've been very busy with a lot of other work-related stuff lately, so the videos are short and a little rushed. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Here you go:

Everyday English: Prepositions of Place (In, On, At)

This post was supposed to be for yesterday, but my screen recorder didn't really feel like working so it bailed out on me. I had to download another one and record this as soon as I woke up today.

Anyway, here's a post for the prepositions of place in, on, at. Hope you guys enjoy!

I am very sorry for the husky voice and the slight pauses. I did this in a rush. Also, if I missed anything, please feel free to comment so I can rectify myself. Hahah!

Sources: English Club - Prepositions of Place and University of Ottawa - Writing Centre

Everyday English: Everyday vs Every Day

Hi, everyone! Here's today's installment of Everyday English. The video below is a short discussion of the difference between the adjective everyday and the adverbial phrase every day. I feel very strongly about this one since most people do not know the difference, as evidenced by friends' Facebook status updates.

Do find time to watch the video, and I hope you enjoy! :)

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. I would love to hear what you guys think, both Aladeen and Aladeen! :)

Till the next post!

Everyday English: On Behalf of vs In Behalf Of

I am beginning this project called Everyday English. It's going to be a daily thing--made up of bits and pieces of information about grammar, spelling, punctuation, pronunciation, etc.

Let me know if you have any requests! I'd love to be of help. :)

Chicago, We Meet Again

Armed with my trusty laptop, Microsoft Word 2007, an unlimited stock of instant coffee, and a pack of Marlboro reds bag of chewing gum, I venture into the world of the Chicago Manual of Style once again. It has been ages since I last edited a full-length, migraine-inducing, sent-from-hell manuscript, so I kind of found it to be unfamiliar territory when I began copyediting again last week.

It takes a lot of work to be the pessimist behind the monitor. We're trained to look for errors and correct them. The publishing world does breed us grammar and punctuation nazis (I'd like to consider myself a dangling modifier nazi because I just hate those annoying phrases!).

Everyday scenery

I love my job, and I love what I do. I get paid for reading (although the stuff I read do not really qualify for the kind of stuff I enjoy) and for exercising my talent of pointing out the bad things *evil grin* Oh well, life is short, and I might as well take this time to enjoy what I am doing.

I am a nurse by profession, that could never be denied; but I will never be one by heart. I lack the compassion for others, the will to serve, and the drive to become a good nurse. It saddens me that I have wasted four years of university education, but there is nothing much I can do about that anymore.

Oh well, *shrugs*

Death by Dubbing

Disclaimer: My views may not entirely meet with yours, or vice versa. If you think otherwise of my opinions, then you are more than welcome to get your arse out of my site or stay and suck my baaalllss. :)

Everyone in this country who owns a television set is no stranger to the catastrophic art of dubbing movies, television shows, cartoons, TV ads (commercials and infomercials for crying out loud!). Yes, stupid-sounding people behind the beautiful faces that we see on TV. It seems that everything on television these days is DUBBED. What the f*ck, Philippines?

Understandably, dubbing happens because majority of the Filipino population does not speak Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Mandarin, Niponggo, Italian, German, Afrikaans (just in case)---but English? You must really be screwing me all over! Where is the justice in dubbing English movies and shows and the like? Where? Sometimes I wish I had just packed my bags and joined Curiosity on Mars.

When I was a kid, I used to look forward to Saturday-morning cartoons on the local channels. I remembered them to be fun and educational. Plus, they're in English. I was taken aback when one day, I turned the television on for my son to watch TV only to see Spongebob speaking---well, what dya know---Tagalog! Holy mother of crapshit, WTF are you, Philippine networks, doing to the children of today?! I know it's important that Filipino kids should learn to love our national language. I perfectly understand that. But why dubbing? Why this? Why not make more educational, child-friendly, and airtime-worthy kid shows in Tagalog slash Filipino? Why murder foreign cartoons? WHY? Too lazy to make something worthwhile for our kids but enthusiastic enough to create crappy afternoon soap opera shows that simply make no sense AT ALL?

RIP English-speaking Powerpuff Girls.

Trivia Night: Because Your Brain Needs Exercise Too

 Trivia (noun plural but singular or plural in construction): unimportant matters : trivial facts or details; also singular in construction : a quizzing game involving obscure facts. ---Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

I recently joined a college friend for trivia nights. A couple of years back, when Trivia Night was just starting out, I had been invited by Mae Ann, one of my best friends, to join them; but I never really had time and was only able to play the game once. When I came back to Cebu in June, Rey Angelo (trivia geek extraordinaire) messaged me on Facebook and asked whether I was interested in joining them for a game of trivia. Actually, if I remember correctly, invites had been coming my way since early this year. But you know me, I can't always get my act straight, so I was messed up all over and had so much on my hands that the idea of going to trivia night slipped from my mind.

It wasn't until a month ago, when I was unhealthily busy with poker, that I realized I should be doing something that I truly enjoy. Poker is fun, yes, but it's just not my "thing." So I finally decided to text Rey that I was going to join them for Trivia Night at Alejandro's. I became part of MON-MON-MON (the etiology of the team name I have no idea of!) I learned a lot that night and made new friends: Ram Mar, Richard, Mariel, Rey Doyee, and Doms. Most of them are from Bohol; Doms is from Leyte. Maayoha man!

My first Trivia Night "guesting" with MON-MON-MON.

And then, the madness.

Why I Enjoy Facebook

It’s a mortal sin for the unconventional people of this world to be overly engrossed in social media, especially Facebook. With that said, I would like to apologize to you, unconventional people, for being too mainstream. Now, hear me out and take heed of why I and most of your beloved mainstream, conventional, and bandwagon-joining friends enjoy Facebook.

People like me who work from home and are at the brink of a decaying social life could only do what is right to keep us alive in the social sphere of things, and that is to log on to Facebook and virtually interact with the people we know, used to know, and probably have only known through the magical world of the Internet.

You see, reading my news feed is like reading the morning paper---only better. I have everything I need on my Facebook news feed: current events, amazing facts, trending articles, photos, announcements, birthday and event reminders, and most importantly, showbiz and real-life gossip. Juicy, hot, fresh gossip. As I’ve said, I don’t go out much (the only trace of social life running through my veins is Trivia Night every Monday and Wednesday, which will be discussed on next post), which means that my social life is thriving. The only people I talk to are Horace and his siblings, whom I currently live with. Other than that, nobody else. I don’t talk to my neighbors because (1) I don’t care about the things they do and (2) I don’t like them. Haha!

All in all, I think it’s great that Mark Zuckerberg was geek enough to come up with a site like this. I can keep in touch with people I haven’t seen in a long time, contact those who are very far from me, play games, be updated with the latest trends, keep track of the activities of my favorite people, and lastly, Facebook gives me the feeling of still being “part of it all.” Thank you, dear Mark.

It doesn’t really matter how incredibly overrated and overpopulated and sometimes annoying Facebook is. All I care about is that I have a site to go to and see other people online. It’s fun. I know you think so too.

My Hanson Birthday

I know this is super late, but I only really got the chance to write today! Sareh na!

My 26th was on July 7, but I had to be with family at the time so my Hanson friends had to take the back seat. I knew they wanted to hang out real bad because I will be going home soon. Little did I know that all along, they had been cooking up something grand!

On July 19, I met up with Marianne, Dianne, and Eunice. These three girls, I met during the height of the Hanson hysteria that changed my life. Echoz! LOL. We went to Big Screen Entertainment (it's this new entertainment hub in the heart of Cebu; real cool place, I swear!) Marianne put her baking skills into play and made me a personalized Hanson cake and cupcakes (which were *%*$#ng delicious!)

We had pizza, Marianne's cake and cupcakes, and the yummy green apple slush from Big Screen! For two hours and a half, we watched the Middle of Nowhere Acoustic DVD and Underneath Acoustic Live. It felt so real because the screen was huuuuge! It was the happiest birthday ever! :)

*kilig*

Thank you, Hanson friends. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Life Lately: The Pros and Cons of Working from Home

Hello, friends! I just realized it's been so long since my last post. I haven't really done much these past few weeks, but I'll update you anyway because I'm rad like that! LOL

So you see, I am still in Cebu---soul-searching. Haha! Well, there are a couple of things I need to get completed before I can conveniently slip away into that quiet little town that I am not much a fan of. Haha! As I've said, I haven't really been up to anything significant in the past few weeks, hence the absence of posts here. But today, I would like to tell you a story about how I get by each and every day of this blessed life.

I am 26, and I work from home. Yes. I work on the computer, on the Internet---no stable job, no insurance, no bonuses of any sort, no Philhealth, Pag-ibig, SSS, and all that shxt people in the corporate and not-so-corporate world are entitled to. I am a step higher than a bum because I earn. Today, I will be enumerating what I love and hate about the work I am currently doing.

Breakfast Is Love

I love all meals of the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner---and all other extra meals in between. But there's something about breakfast that just gets me all excited and shhht! 

Well, this morning, I woke up extra early and tried to get my rusty kitchen skills (if they ever existed) into play and whipped up a gastronomical breakfast for me and Horace: sunny-side-up eggs, tuna flakes in oil cooked with onions, danggit (it's a type of fish that's popular here in Cebu, and it has been sun-dried). Oh, onions. I love the smell of onions.

Forgive me, gall bladder, for I have sinned.

I know the sides of the eggs are a bit overcooked, but that's just the way I like 'em! :) I am not supposed to eat oily food anymore, but hey, just this once can't hurt, right? RIIIIIGHT?! :p 

What did you have for breakfast today? :)

A Hansonified Party

Marianne, who turned 27 last June 11, delighted us with a Hanson-themed party at her house somewhere in the city of Mandaue, Cebu. I wish I had more words for the fun I had that night, but I am too overwhelmed to dig my gray matter up for more adjectives.

I arrived late (gracefully) because the stupid taxi driver had the cab going around in circles. I had been to her place once, during that Hanson weekend, but I could no longer remember where it exactly was due to the fact that I was groggy all the while. I finally got off the cab and took a trisikad. Mel and Eunice met me at the intersection because I was clueless as to where I was headed.

We had barbecue and hamonada and grilled fish and soda and candies and stuff. But the highlight of the party? The Hanson-themed cake and cupcakes. Overly cute, I tell you.

Cutest cake evarrr!

It took us quite a while to finally eat the cake! It was too beautiful to touch, let alone eat!

Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner : A Review

Stiff, dry, dull, brittle---that's how my hair is without conditioner. I have grown accustomed to using hair conditioners after each shampoo. Actually, I have been advised to not shampoo every day (twice or thrice a week, perhaps), but I can't help it. I just feel that something is missing if I don't shampoo.

Over the last 8-9 years, I have used Cream Silk (pink, and then green) as my main hair conditioner. No matter what shampoo I used, I always conditioned with Cream Silk. Just recently, my friend Mayzette (again) introduced me to Dove Intensive Repair Conditioner. She endorsed the pink one, claiming that it smelled really good.

I purchased a small tube of Dove Intensive Repair conditioner and paired it with my usual L'oreal Total Repair 5 shampoo, the one in orange---for frizzy hair. The first time I used it, I had found myself to be totally sold. The scent was beautiful---not too stingy nor too (for lack of a better word) stale. I then decided to try their shampoo, and it worked wonderfully with my hair as well. Unlike other shampoos, Dove Intensive Repair makes hair really soft, like the shampoo has been mixed with conditioner already! 

Works wonders, I tell you!

Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner has been formulated with micro-moisture serum and fiber actives. It gives hair superior moisturization and internal repair. This tandem also reduces split ends up to 9 times in just 3 washes.

I love Dove because it is great for everyday use and for people like me who have chemically treated hair.

With my old conditioner, the softness lasts for about half the day and the scent goes away fast. With Dove, you can totally feel your hair in all its soft and bouncing glory the whole day! Even when I wake up in the morning, I can still feel the softness. I had my sister-in-law try it, and she immediately fell in love.

Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner are available in supermarkets nationwide. The 180 ml shampoo bottle costs approximately Php120.00 and the conditioner is sold for around Php110.00 (also 180ml). Go grab one today!

Churpchurp :)

Let's hang out on PH.CHURPCHURP! It's the newest social community! Click here.

Wacoal: Body Beautiful at Any Age

I gave birth at a relatively young age: 21. At this age, one would not imagine to have real physical problems. While I was never the slim type, I neither was the type who needed help with "hiding" bulky body parts. But yes, pregnancy and motherhood did take its toll on me---like most women who have gotten pregnant and given birth.

That bump.
Photo credits: Getty Images

Vanilla-Flavored Emo

It has been weeks since I left my last job at Vanilla. 

It has been weeks of beautiful sleep at night. 

It has been weeks of convenient working from home. 

It has been weeks of no secondary smoke in my lungs. 

It has been weeks of no high-speed Internet connection. 

It has been weeks of no chika. 

It has been weeks of no Sugbahan. 

It has been weeks of no ambush parties at VN-Mandaue (Kim's place).

It has been weeks of no Tiya Sabel.

It has been weeks of no IT Park.

It has been weeks of no KFC.

It has been weeks of no unlimited online streaming.

It has been weeks of BOREDOM.

LiLo Is Liz

It has been quite some time since I last saw my favorite Hollywood wild child, Lindsay Lohan, on the big screen (and even on small ones; I miss seeing her sober and well-groomed, unlike all the paparazzi photos of her either drunk or stoned). And I've never really investigated or looked around as to what she was up to. Just recently, I received an assignment requiring me to write a 500-word article on Lindsay Lohan and her efforts to do a comeback in 2012. We are all well-aware of her ins and outs of rehab, occasional nightclub brawls, DUI, social drugs, and all those stuff that merited her to become the new poster child for "Hollywood kid stars gone astray." But hey, life's all good for LiLo---I think.

While doing routine research, I bumped into a lot of things, among which are the following: her recent addiction to facial fillers (I didn't even know there was such a thing; Lohan filler story here), the trouble LiLo has with a Las Vegas tanning salon (apparently, she owes $40,000 worth of sunkissed-skin tanning sessions; please note that a judge has ordered her to pay up 9 months ago!), and this thing about Lindsay finding her "dick."

Little Miss Plump Face in NYC (Feb 2012)
Photo credits: www.usmagazine.com

Suelas Shoes: A Review

A year ago, I was introduced to a line of shoes by my fashionista and model-in-training friend Mayzette. The shoe brand was Suelas. At that time, the only store which sold them was What a Girl Wants in Ayala Center Cebu. I had checked them out a couple of times but was pretty hesitant in actually getting a pair. Well, I was never one for shoes or clothes or any of that stuff. But alas, the time came when the situation has called for me to buy a new pair of shoes.

I was told about its material, how comfy it is, and how it is foldable! I checked for a couple of reviews online, and most were good stuff. So when it was announced that Suelas would be opening a branch in Cebu last December, I immediately dragged myself to The Maze (Ayala Center Cebu) to get a pair.

It took me quite some time to choose. Initially, I had wanted the Brillo, but then again it did not make sense to me because I never dressed edgy and I never went any place else other than the office, JY Square, church, around IT Park, and home. My partner suggested I go for the gumental Llanura with chain since it was more of the "everyday wear" kind. I wear a size 7.5, and it was the last pair they had. My partner said that it was meant for me.

Llanura with chain (gunmetal) - Php899
Photo courtesy of www.suelasonline.com

SkinWhite and Nuffnang Bring You Snow White and the Huntsman

Once upon  a time, in a faraway land, there was a girl named Lean who was mocked among her peers because of her dark complexion. She was belittled, judged, and shun upon because she was not "white" like all her other cousins and friends. She was different, and so she decided to make a change.

Senior year college, 2006. During this time, Lean had vowed never to go out of the house without sunscreen. She vowed never to expose her face, arms, or legs to the sun. "The sun is evil," she would say. She used different skin-whitening products---lotions, sunscreen, soap, night creams, facial cleansers and washes, and the list goes on. She was never satisfied.

Between September 2007 to May 2008. She gave birth and suffered even more because her skin became dry and the color (especially on her face) became uneven. It was devastating! One day, while sorrowfully walking along the aisles and aisles of beauty products at a local pharmacy (slash toiletries) store, she stumbled upon an amazing, eye-catching product: SkinWhite Face Cream Powder. Why, of course! Like a hopeless romantic finding a love potion in the depths of a tropical jungle, Lean grabbed the product and immediately applied it all over her face. And yey, mirror, mirror on the wall, she became the fairest one of all.

Pardon the lack of artistry. Too lazy to fix myself or get into something nice. :D

Strong Enough to Break DVD + CD

I know what I want for my birthday: the Strong Enough to Break DVD + CD. This is Hanson's documentary on their struggle toward independence and how they had to deal with giant recording companies who were pulling them down and sucking them of their inspiration and music. Strong Enough to Break also happens to be my favorite Hanson song. Why? The lyrics, yo. It's so . . . me.

Here, listen to the song:

Gotta Love 'Em Lashes

About a month ago, my sister-in-law dragged me to this eyelash salon in SM City Cebu. We had our eyelashes extended. It was cool because the difference is quite catchy and noticeable, but not the scary type though. The lashes we got weren't Lady Gaga-ish or something like that.

The salon's name is iLash Eyelashes Salon. It is located at the SM North Wing. If you know where Salon de Rose is or Paint It! (I think that's what it's called; it's where you buy those little figurines and paint them, blah), all you have to do is turn left (given that you're facing the North Wing) and look for that small boutique right across the lounge chairs/waiting area.

They have a wide range of eyelash thickness and fullness options available on their catalog. They assess your natural lashes and decide what type of synthetic lashes would be best for you. What I got was the Small Fine lashes, just to enhance mine a little bit. I have no plans of scaring anyone with peacock eyes.

Internet Withdrawal

I am going through a really bad case of Internet withdrawal. I have been accustomed to having Internet connection 24/7, but since personal matters have called for me to haul my ass from the city to this small town (which they claim to be a city), I had to go through the agony of having no Internet connection in the house I currently live in.

Such a depressing sight!

I tried contacting the local telephone company to see whether they would be able to install DSL ASAP, but noooooooooo, they couldn't. Something about bandwidth and stuff! Oh crap! Life is good, you know, but having no Internet connection kills me. I work on the net, my social life is on the net, my friends are people who are online ALL THE TIME, and I get paid through Paypal (which loads freakishly slooooow in this town!) 

How am I supposed to live and function normally if I can't get my daily dose of Facebook thread-commenting, Hanson forums, tv-links.com, blogs, and what-not. I need my YouTube videos. I need the "Heavy Rains on Metal Roofs" YouTube video before I go to sleep! Oh FML.

If I puke blood (or any bodily fluid for that matter) or have chills and other signs of withdrawal, then someone has got to get me Internet connection or I will soon die. 

On my tombstone: "The cyberjunkie who couldn't find a dealer in loserville."

I wonder if there's Internet in heaven. *crossing fingers*

Monea Curl Defining Milk Hair Lotion: A Review

In December, after much contemplation and debate with my inner self, I decided to get my hair permed. With this, I thought that I would save up on time preparing and getting my hair fixed because permed hair should just be---you know---whatever!

I was wrong.

Having permed hair is a lot of work! If you don't set it, your hair will be all over the place, all ugly and without form. If you set it, you have to make sure you do it right: hair should not be totally wet, just damp (the right kind of damp, if I may add); and hair should not be entirely dry as well. At first, I tried using mousse, as advised on beauty vlogs on YouTube. But mousse just made my hair dry and more brittle. I noticed that I couldn't manage it effectively. So I switched to using hair polish and setting gel---both failures too.

Then the Lord must have heard my prayers and sent me the answer one fine afternoon. I was at Watsons in JY Square, looking for the usual mousse that I used (I decided to go back to mousse). I couldn't find it so I approached the saleslady and asked where I could find the product I was looking for. She said they were out of stock and that I might be interested in another product. She held up that plastic bottle of white and pink and told me that it was their best-seller for those with permed hair or those who had curls: Monea Curl Defining Milk.

Best for curlies!

A Letter for Yuri

Dear Yuri,

At the time I am writing this, you are 3 days shy of being four years old. I am sitting in front of a beat-up PC and listening to Hanson, which you would hate if you were here. Don't worry, even if your father has not sent them to prison for no particular reason, I promise not to play any of their songs whenever we're together. That's a deal. 

I promise to not listen to Hanson as long as you promise to make this face more often.

So anyway, your birthday is coming up. And my heart is breaking because I'm broke. Well, as usual. I just hope that by the time you're old enough to know how to read and actually go through this post, you would have had several fantastic birthdays---birthdays that I actually paid for myself. But if not, please don't hate me. I promise to work harder and manage to throw you a grand one soon.

I'm talking about your upcoming birthday, but why don't I talk about the actual day you were born? Well, after 11 hours of labor and a million IE's that almost killed me of pain, I managed to cough you right out on May 14, 2008, 1:18 PM---oh yes I did! All 7 pounds and 6 ounces of you, baby boy!

What's in a Name?

I was supposed to write about my name, but I realized how disgustingly boring that would be. I decided to do Yuri's instead.

So I named my kid Yuri Kristof. Well, actually, we did. Everyone in the family was expecting me to name my son after a deceased grandfather, whom I was never close to. We rarely talked because the moment we did, he ended up criticizing me from root to tip, head to toe, A to Z, and blah. Ergo, I did not name my beautiful son after him because---I don't know---I'm mean and ungrateful?

Initially, I was tempted to name him Mark Anthony or Peter Paul Joseph or any of the Beatles (or combined) or any of the Hanson brothers; but this was against my better judgment. Being one who is named so lousily (add lazily and cheesily to that---LeAn is actually Leah and Antonio put together. Rolling my eyes a million times here. My name is a testimony of my parents' naivety at the time of my birth), I promised to do better than my mother and father.

I have a thing for drummers. Would it have been a better idea if I had named my kid Ringo Starr?

Growing Up in the '90s

Back in the day when YouTube was nonexistent, I remember waiting all day for Hanson videos to be played on MTV. My mother, father, and uncles were in on the whole Hanson thing as well. Whenever they saw anything Hanson-related on TV, they would call me (frantically). I even remember falling down a flight of stairs because I was in such a hurry to catch them. 

Bruised knees and sprained ankles---this is the culprit!

Hanson 2012 Fan Club Membership

2012 Hanson.net Fan Club Members Card --- Suhweeet!

I want this year's No Sleep for Banditos EP and fan club membership so bad, I could just rob a bank! I need $50---pronto! It sucks to be broke, ya know.

I already spent my son's birthday money on hotel room expenses, DVDs and CDs, and a pair of TOMS shoes. I could not possibly sacrifice any more, lest I want to be disowned by my own offspring! :|

Oh well, I might just be able to raise enough money to get this year's membership. Till then, Hanson.

Yes, my heart is breaking right now. I can hear it.

Together Again

After two long years of not seeing each other, here I am with one of my bestest best friends ever! KIKAI!

Kikai & Me tonight.

She just got back from Saudi. I have a new bag, a PSP for Yuri, and chocolates! Weee!! I love you, Kikai!

HAPPY HANSON DAY!

Hanson Day, it is! 20 years in the business, 15 years of MMMBop!

In honor of Hanson Day, I will only be listening to the Middle of Nowhere record until 6 May 2012, 11:59 PM. Even while I sleep, I am playing that badass record!

First-ever record I bought. I was only 11 when I got my hands on an MON album.

Hanson Hangover IV

I know this has gotten old, but I am just not done yet. This is the 4th part of my Hanson Hangover series. If you've missed the first three parts, click on the following links to be redirected:

Hanson Hangover I
Hanson Hangover II
Hanson Hangover III

March 31, 2012
~11:00 PM

After the concert, my friends and I lurked around the Pacific Grand Ballroom, in hopes that we could meet the band again. Apparently, we did not. It was funny because we had retired back to our rooms but Diego (from Dayly Entertainment) looked for Mel, and we thought we were finally going to get exclusive access to their rooms or whatever (wishful thinking). We then realized that he wanted to see only Mel so he could give her one of Zac's drumsticks. Well, I did not get one, but as Laarni of Hanson Philippines said, "At least you made love to it muna."

So here I am making the most out of our time together:

I raped and robbed it of its innocence.

We had a picture taken with "Lenny" from the back-up band after the concert.

I finally decided I could not take the exhaustion any longer and went back to our hotel room. I took a quick bath and and made peace with the bed.

Do the Aioli

I'm not exactly a foodie or whatever, but I do know one thing: I love food. I am more of the street food type of person though. But this---THIS has changed how I viewed the world of fancy cuisine (or not). Well, it's fancy enough when placed against my usual ginabot, balut, ngohiong, and 3-peso siomai.

Check this blog out by two of my friends who have been successful in putting their love for food into action. Meet Mitchelle and Glaiza, proprietors of Bistro Aioli.

They've been together for 12 years. :) Oh, all the magic love can do, huh?

Bistro Aioli is located along Osmena St. in Tandag, Surigao del Sur. They serve amazing food, ranging from full meals of baby back ribs to amazing desserts like their heavenly crepes. Visit them one day, and sure enough you can say that it doesn't take much moolah to enjoy delicious food!

Hanson Hangover III

Hi there! You've reached the 3rd installation of my Hanson Hangover series. If you've missed the first two, click here to go to Hanson Hangover and here to go to Hanson Hangover II. It's fun! There's a lot of photos too!

March 31, 2012
~5:00 PM

I was in the hotel room with my Hanson friends, all fresh and ready to jiggle, when one of the promoters called us and said that we had to go down to the lobby ASAP. The Hanson.net fan club members were about to have their exclusive meet and greet sessions with the band. Me and my other friends were not FC members, so basically we were at the mercy of the producer (who was very much merciful toward us, by the way.) Eagerly, we waited at the hotel lobby. And then the signal was called. Cyril (the fourth Hanson brother, as we called him) had us list down our names for the M&G IDs. THIS WAS IT---again! I was going to get up-close with Isaac, Taylor, and Zachary AGAIN. To say that I had butterflies in my stomach would be an understatement.

Cyril had us form a line outside the conference room where the brothers were and called out our names one by one. He handed us the IDs, and I saw my life flash right before me. Nah, kidding.

So here I am all smiles and feeling like I was going to shhht my pants any time soon:

Behold the happy hippo!

I was in the mood for more Zac love. During this time, Joanna of Hanson Philippines had already handed me the Zac Hanson shirt they printed out for me. It was an honor to have received such a wonderful gift from a wonderful bunch of people, especially since the hPH shirts were not for sale. They were exclusive. 

We were informed that personal cameras were not allowed inside the room and that Kris Rocha, Dayly Entertainment's official photographer, would be the one to take the M&G photos. It was a good thing because Kris took the most badass pictures evaaarr! I also wanted to have my Zac shirt signed, but Hanson's road manager did not allow any autograph signing, so I cried. NOT. 

I had practiced my smile, the angle, how I would hold Zac, and everything else for the past two months. But epic fail queen as I always am, this is what my face turned out to look like:

Look, Ma, double triple chin!

But look at how Zac's hands are placed on my shoulder. I literally could not feel my arms at this time. I SWEAR! I even forgot I was holding Melanie. I was planning on Christian side-hugging Zac, but I felt ashamed of myself so I just went with the demure pose. And I had to hold my breath, hence the fatty layers on my face.

Hanson Hangover II

Why, hello there! You're in the 2nd installment of my Hanson Hangover series. If you've missed the first one, be a doll and click here to read the first part. I tell you, it's sick (but fun)! 

March 31, 2012
10:00 AM

There we were at the Mactan Cebu International Airport, waiting for Hanson to finally arrive. We were informed by the promoters (whom we have gotten relatively "close" with due to the full-force Street Teaming activities we had successfully carried out) that the boys' flight was delayed. Instead of arriving at 10:20 AM, they were rescheduled to land in Cebu at approximately 11:15 AM. We waited patiently. The pick-up trucks that carried the drum and bugle corps (for the motorcade around Cebu) were ready and waiting at the parking lot, and we were anxiously and patiently lurking around the domestic arrival gates. During that span of time, we had already made friends with the guards, airport personnel, and some of the Waterfront Hotel staff that were tasked to bring Hanson from the airport to the hotel. During that time as well, we met several other Hanson fans who were waiting for them to arrive. The group at the hotel were also ready to meet the band. I was growing impatient, but I had to wait. After all, I waited 15 years. I could wait some minutes more. (A lot of the word wait huh?)

Only in Cebu, haha! Balloon colors were inspired by the Shout It Out theme.

Then it happened. Chezsa was waving at us, signaling that they finally arrived. I felt giddy and ran toward the arrival area. I promised myself I wouldn't scream or faint or just plain die when they came out. 

Then this came into sight:

I was dying when I took this photo.

Hanson Hangover

OK, so it has been more than a month now, and I still find myself overly excited whenever I see Hanson and the photos I took of their March 31 concert here at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino - Cebu. It took me this long to get a post started basically because I struggled so hard to remember all the details of that day's activities. It was a loooong day, and you could probably say that it was one of the most tiring weekends of my life. I wanted to recount the events exactly as they happened, so that when I look back and read this post, I could remember how it really happened, and so that my children would learn how much of a badass fangirl their mother used to be.

I am not going to get into details of my fangirl life, but please let me tell you how it all started. [insert flashback musical score here]

It was the summer of 1997, and I just got off fourth grade. By this time, I had declared myself to have been in love with Devon Sawa, due to his blink-of-an-eye appearance on Casper, of course along with Christina Ricci's forehead. I was getting tired of Devon because all the girls at my school were carrying around notebooks with his pin-up as covers. It was sickening. And then, I saw it: "MMMBop" on MTV. This is the part where I die of nostalgia, but for your sake, I will try to be alive until the end of this post.

So there. It was love at first sight. Three blond boys, playing instruments, singing, and for the love of God---roller-skating! I was in heaven. I felt the world melt around me. I was alone in the room, with my television set and that fangirl dreamy stare. My mother had to snap me out of the trance. 

Tell me, who can resist this?

I could have sworn that this song was written for me. MMMBop it, or I'll shoot.

From that moment on, I vowed to love Hanson, to give them the kind of attention any stalker fan would give their idols. That was my moment of truth.

[end of flashback]

WOOOOORRRD . . . press! Haha!

Yeah, so I know I've made it clear that my home is on this blog platform, but blogspot is a better field for ads and stuff. Plus, it's more customizable. I think I am going to love it here. :)

Check out my other stuff here:

WordPress
Tumblr

They Just Want to Make the Kids Dance

There's this new band that I am infatuated with. Well, I first heard of their music last year while I was browsing through the "Related" links on my YouTube Favorites page. If there's "love at first sight," you could say that what happened between me and these guys was "love at first, uhmm, hear?!" The band is called The Glorious Veins. They are based in New York, but all four guys are from different parts of the world (the drummer is Cebuano!) Click here to go to their MySpace page.

Photo credits: www.myspace.com/thegloriousveins

It's Time to Move It, Move It

As mentioned in my previous post, I will be moving from my previous blog home to blogger slash blogspot. So basically, the posts that I have grown to love will be posted here. I'm not quite sure though whether backdating is available here. Any ideas?

If you wanna know where I kept my previous blog, click here.

Help me out, yo! :)

Packing Up and Moving In

Hello, blogspot!

Wordpress and I had a little argument. One thing led to another, and he got my heart broken. So I packed up, went out the door, and left him for good!

Surprise! I'm moving in with you!

What Makes You Happy?

I was meaning to write this post about two days ago when I had witnessed something that was quite---I don't know---revolting (?). I was itching to get this done when I got to work, but lo and behold, my boss decided to be a total ass and watched my every move---virtually, that is. It sucks when you're not in the same office as your dictator and still he manages to squeeze the shhh out of you.

Now back to the topic: What makes you happy? For some people it's intangible things, things that are neither seen or touched, but felt. It may be the feeling of achievement after reaching the nth level of Tetris Battle or the satisfaction felt after defecating (SO SUE ME! Some people do feel relieved and satisfied after dumping the shhhht. Literally.)

Fifteen Years

When I was eleven, I was positive of one thing: I was going to marry Zac Hanson. Everyone thought it was cute. I thought it was inevitable and I had the perfect plan. I was going to get myself a college degree, land a decent high-paying job, haul my a** out of the Philippines and into America, and hunt for Zac Hanson. Unfortunately, somewhere between getting a college degree and landing a goldmine of a job, I got lost. Yes, my life's GPS batteries died, and I caught a really bad case of the sickness called "fun." I had waaaaaaay too much fun. I  grew up too uptight and straight that I just had to break out of my shell and lose myself.

My favorite band. DUH.