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FUNctional stuff in Mall of Asia!

It was an impromptu Tuesday date for me & Jon... I was actually kind of rushing since we had to go to Toby's and then eat dinner... On our way to Toby's, I suddenly came across this newly-opened stall with a catchy name: FUNctional

I hurriedly pulled Jon and told him that I won't take long, just around 5 minutes, because I was curious about this store.

But when I stepped inside, all sense of time disappeared.

The place was full of thingamajigs in pink, purple, orange, blue & black!!! It was heaven for me, who likes little things that tend to clutter my desk. The center table contains various items at cheap prices.

The walls were lined with notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and other school/office supplies in cute, bright colors!

The other wall is full of knick-knacks to brighten up the dullest of tabletops. And they're cheap, too!

So.... what was supposed to be a 5-minute window shopping became a 20-minute shopping trip -- I ended up buying a notebook (which I don't really need) and 2 sets of markers for me & Jon's sister.

The stuff here are not just kikay, they're practical and useful too!

Everything is indeed, FUNctional!

Hair Before, Hair After

I had 2 haircuts in 2 weeks. For the first time in my life.

The first one was done in a salon with a name that I prefer not to name (pun intended). However, the style was uber simple -- something I could have gotten with a haircut that is 6 times cheaper than theirs. So with the help of my straightening iron (which I turned into a curling iron), it came out like this:



...which wasn't really so bad, except that I'm the type who can't stand the same hairdo for more than a year. With the supposedly "new" hairdo just a wee bit different from my old one, I decided to have another haircut plus a cellophane treatment in a nearby salon (the one who charges 6 times lower than those upscale ones)...

I just told them I wanted the korean/anime look with lots of layers but with the same length of my hair. After a little over an hour (with the cellophane treatement too), viola!






I look like I just stepped out of an anime cartoon.
...So, can you see the difference? (The similarity in the angles is actually just a coincidence -- I didn't mean to give an exact before-and-after picture.)

So there, it only goes to show that one does not need an upscale salon just to look good...

Of course, after I took a bath, I couldn't get to keep my hair this manageable anymore. This can only be achieved if I have another re-bond (which I don't intend to do) or use a straightening iron (which I don't have time for each morning). So in the end, my hair had body, with parts sticking out from it.

Hey, who says you can have everything? =D

My Maundy Thursday: "Fast-eating"

In the previous years, my Maundy Thursdays were always boring and sad, with the exception of last year's bora holy-week holiday. Since I'm not in Bora now, I thought it would be another one of those sleep-all-day days. Good thing I was wrong. If I can't be in bora now, at least, I'd eat as if I was in bora. Ha!

And so we scoured Makati for places to eat. And thanks to my Tito & Tita, we ended up in Bonifacio High Street, whose resturants were thankfully open to the hungry public. But the place, usually brimming with people, was experiencing scarcity in patronization.



Clawdaddy's had the most appeal to us. It had seafood, since we were trying to avoid meat. We had no idea of the serving size, so we just ordered 1 serving of each. There was Creole Razor Clams with Fettucine (minus half the fettucine -- the pictures was taken a bit too late)



And this chicken burger with a mound of fries and a LOT of other stuff in it



And this Opaka-sumthing fish that the waiter said was cooked Hawaiian style (ooops, not much left there I guess...)




oh, we also had this pink salmon salad that sadly wasn't able to survive long enough for me to take a picture of it...

And lastly, there was this tuna ribs thingie who's supposed to be for 1 person only. "Supposed to be" is pretty accurate, coz we had no idea where they got the idea that an average Filipino person could eat all of this by his lonesome.



To say that we kinda "over-estimated" is an understatement. We were drowned by the food, and we were supposed to be "fasting". Well, "fast-eating" is more appropriate!




We didn't even get to touch the chicken burger (except for half the fries).

But if you think it ends there, think again. All those major courses made us crave for some dessert. And the first thing that came to mind was...



Hey, I'm just human. Their dark chocolate doughnut always drives me nuts. And this was taken by my Tito who caught me enjoying my doughnut.



So there. We pretty much headed back to the condo after that. The day was tiring, but fun nonetheless. My stomach was severely satisfied, despite having to shed some inches.


Tip: Clawdaddy's servings for 1 person may also mean either 1 American or 2 Average-sized Filipinos. Trust me.

Smitten... and I thought i don't swoon...

I have never really "swooned" over a local artist, much less have my picture taken with them... except maybe for the Streetboys during their heyday (but that's a different story already). Usually I'm just content with observing from the sidelines... if the famous person happened to glance my way, i feel like it's just TV, where the made-up faces of the celebrities seem to stare right at your eyes...

So what happened last Sunday was the absolute last thing on my mind...

Jon and I came from watching 10,000 B.C. and went to do a little shopping. We went to Penshoppe, and I picked out a nice shirt for him, and a wallet too... he was still looking at some pants but since my legs were tired with my 3-inch platforms (they were comfy but gravity is still real, it seems), so i decided to sit down on the couch in the middle of the store....

And then it happened.

I saw this guy smiling around, and people were approaching him... some wanting to take pictures of him, some even with him... I muttered a short expletive under my breath and realized it was Jericho Rosales.

Suddenly, I was struggling to get up from the couch when i suddenly stopped and said to myself,

"Teka, bakit nga ba ako nagkakandarapa. Eh ayaw ko nmn sa knya?"

You see, I'm not a swooning, shrieking and super fan of local artists. I find Jericho to be a good actor, but as a singer, I have yet to be convinced. Let's just say he can do a mall show in the background and I can get by without watching it, just continuing my shopping and walking. I had that attitude.

So imagine my utter amazement when I suddenly realized someone from my direction was rushing over to see him closer. What was more incredulous was -- it was me. I don't know, it was either my feet were not connected to my brain (brain: "i'm not even his fan!" vs. feet "outta my way! i'm gonna get there!"), or i just didn't want to be the odd person out na parang walang pakialam... coz even Jon was near the crowd, looking at the commotion hehehe!

I had my camera with me, and by a sudden inspiration brought about by the thought of this blog, I whipped out my camera...

And then i started taking pictures of his back...

And then I moved to his side...

Elbowed my way up to the front...

And, well, with the help of my loving fiance, I became a part of this echo-perfect view.

So there, I gave in. I actually have a picture with a celebrity whom I thought I didn't like. Haha. "It's for my blogs...", I thought. But actully, it was for me too. It was a different experience for me, since I don't do it often, if not at all. I'm usually the "paparazzi"... not the "paparazzied".

In all fairness to him, I honestly think he's nice. It's hard to pretend to be nice up close coz it won't show up in the eyes... but he seemed sincere, especially when he looked me in the eye as he said thank you for taking a picture with him. And damn he had good skin. I'd kill for that skin, and that complexion too. What's with that? he's nice, and he has good skin. Hmph. The world ain't fair. Hahaha!

Although I know this won't reach him, I just want to say thanks to him. I hope he will always be that nice especially to his swooning, shrieking fans, as he was nice to someone who just wanted to experience being in the same picture as a famous person. (Him being a hunk don't hurt either, hehehe.)

Wedding Expo Philippines Day 2: Free Creative Shot

In my previous post about the first day of the Wedding Expo, I mentioned winning a prenup thingie from My Portrait Box. It's actually a free Prenup/Creative Shot (just 1 pose) done on the spot. Yes, right there beside their stall, in full view of everyone. But since Jon wasn't with me at that time, I had all the more reason to go back on the second day. (Hehehe.)

So there, I dragged Jon to the second day of the fair last Sunday, and we made sure to claim our free creative shot/prenup thingie from My Portrait Box. I stared incredously at the tiny backdrop and faux frame that was placed on the side. I asked jokingly,

"Ay, hahawakan ba namin ung frame?"
"Opo mam." Whaaaat?!?

Ok. Their location was in the middle of a cramped row of different photographers/suppliers, with no dividers to give privacy to each of their spaces. I've been to my share of cramped stalls, my parent's being in the bazaar business and all, so the setup was not entirely alien to me. But we had our own "wall", or at least a divider to -- well -- divide the space between us and the vendors next to us. But this here is a (not so) wide open space, with a backdrop and a single lighting on one side. Jon and I was supposed to stand there, amidst wires, chairs and boxes, and have our "creative shot" taken, in full view of people passing by. It was so weird I swear I could feel the movements of the people from the next stall behind our backdrop. But the "hawak-frame" effect was actually nice, and in all fairness to them, the outcome was really nice too. It was just so unreal to me because the shot looks like it was done in a dark studio. Who would have thought it was actually done in a cramped but well-lighted area in the middle of a crowd? It made me feel that pictures really do have a story behind them...

So while waiting for the pictures to be printed, we decided to disturb our videographer's peace. We really had fun hanging out with Buddy and Cathy Gancenia of Reality Wedding Videos. And by a wonderful coincidence, our photographer Jomel Gregorio and his wife Nanette (they weren't able to join the fair coz they ran out of slots) suddenly popped up! They were going around the venue and happened to pass by Buddy's stall while Jon & I were there. It was actually a very happy impromptu meeting that had me realizing: I'm really getting married, and it's happening soon, and there are loads of stuff to do and pay for!!!

This realization was brought about by Jomel, who bombarded us with very creative ideas about our pre-nup shots. My mind was reeling with thoughts on how to make his vision possible, coz we really like his ideas. Which brought me to think of my worst fear: going over-budget. I am presently wrestling my brain not to think along that lines just yet.

Having maximized our time there, we felt the gravitational pull of our stomachs heading towards Mall of Asia. So we went to MoA to spend quality time...eating. Yeah yeah, I have to head back to ringside soon.

of Boxing & Bridal Fairs, Thanks to Marge & RG

Yep. Boxing. And Bridal Fairs. Two activities that have nothing in common except for their first letters.
Highschool friends Marge & RG are heaven sent -- I had a blast last Saturday.

First up they brought me to the wonderful (and now painful) world of Boxing yesterday (saturday) morning. I swear I almost passed out after doing 6 minutes of skipping rope. Damn skipping ropes! hahaha! I asked for a break and headed for water. Turns out I was dehydrated, coz after I chugged almost half of the bottle, the little blue dots slowly disappeared. Then I was back in my sluggish fighting form. Then kuya asked me what my fighting stance was. So I showed him. He asked me if I was right-handed or left-handed. I said I write with my right hand but I often do things the other way around. He said ok, coz with my preferred stance I was South Paw. Huh? I was left-handed in boxing?!? Interesting!

So I did the boxing thing with him, then with this huge punching bag, then with this ball tied up floor-to-ceiling, then with this pear-shaped one that's hanging from my head... the small one that I often see Pacquiao punching very fast... I pathetically attempted to punch it fast and almost hit my head with it. That damn thing was sneaky! You have to have a certain rhythm going there, so you can punch it continuously without it recoiling in your face. Haha. So I started counting.

"Punch, 1, 2, 3. Punch, 1, 2, 3. Punch.... oooops..." Ok. There goes my combo. Pathetic.

Then they made us do the ab thing. Crunches and the works. Jeez, I thought I'd given birth. In the middle of leg-raises I told Marge I can't go with them to the bridal fair later on, coz at the rate I was going I'd be unconscious by then.

So then RG picked Marge & me up, they dropped me off at home, and despite my excuses of being uncounscious and bed-ridden due to the sudden workout, RG said they'll pick me up in the afternoon so we can go to the Wedding Expo.

So I struggled to keep myself alive at least for the rest of the day. And am I glad I did. Marge & I had fun going around the huuuge venue, talking wedding... while RG was on his own, prowling for food (hehe) and rings for Marge (how sweet!). We were there for 3 hours, I think, and I think we pretty much covered everything. I booked our florist there already, and even won a Pre-nup thingie with My Portrait Box. Haha.

Muchas Gracias to my sweet friends, Marge & RG, for the wonderful day. Til next boxing session, ate Marge! ( i have to recover first haha)