The Weekend That Was: November 27-29, 2010

November 27, 2009

Saturday

Agenda: Buy Christmas Party stuffs (heeled black shoes + stockings + cycling shorts)

I went to a place to buy a heeled black shoes. I will not buy an expensive one since I'm not a "high-heeled-shoes" girl (though I wanted to be one.. hehehehe!) The other Black Girls said boots are okay but then I am not a "these-boots-are-made-for-walking" girl as well. Why didn't I suggest to wear black rubber shoes instead? Hahahaha! Oh well, maybe it will not fit the costume that we have "collaborated" and "battled" for. :) Back again to the shoes... Well, I got to the place the Ate Luz told me and "bargained" with the salesladies.. I didn't get the shoes for the price that was initially "negotiated" by Ate Luz, however, I got no other choice since I knew that I cannot get a pair for lower than Php500 when I search the mall, so I purchased it anyway. I won't be posting the picture since it would be a spoiler. :) Shoes check! I need to hunt for the other two items in my agenda list. 

Batman Adventures: Halimaw sa Banga

Minsan sa pagpunta namin sa cubicle ni Chubi...

Bahala na si Batman!

I was entrusted to be the "keeper" of Batman - a tiny, black-all-over plastic action figure that also has a mole on top of his red lips similar to Angel Locsin.

Meet Batman!

All I Want For Christmas Is You!

I was ecstatic this morning when I checked Google and saw Amazon Kindle! Pure adrenaline rush! I talked to my cubee Ahjussie Rey, all dreamy-eyed, looking at my extended monitor, telling him.... "Ahhh Kuya Rey! Ang ganda 'di ba?" I felt myself drooling all over... I thought of getting this for Christmas as a "gift" to myself. However, being the practical gal that I am... I felt like I'm going to spend too much for this e-book reader for USD189...  So that's it! To all the fellas out there, I am giving you a free Christmas kiss and Christmas hug if you are kind enough to give it to me... Hehehehe... If you want, I can also give you a kiss for Valentines and any holiday marked in the calendar... All for free! Hehehe...

Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, 6" Display - with New E Ink (Pearl) Technology

The Tale of the Mystic Mung Bean

After our group dance practice last Friday, we went to the cafeteria for our normal lunch. I peeked at the display window of food and noticed the brown soup-like dish. Yeah! It's Friday and it's "ginisang munggo" day! For some odd reason, our canteen normally serves ginisang munggo (sauteed mongo) every Friday. We ordered for a meal and settled for a table and started to eat. While tasting a spoonful of the soup from Alex's soup bowl, I asked them, "Saan ba nanggagaling ang munggo?" (Where does mung bean came from?) And I got several responses:

"San nga ba?" (Yah! Where does it come from?)

"Uhmm... Sa toge?" (Uhmmm... in beansprouts?)

"Para ata ung green peas... parang pod.. tapos bubuksan mo!" (I think it's similar to green peas.. it's like a pod and you need to open it to get the seeds.)

And then today, I remember having this mung bean conversation. So I opened google.com and typed mung bean, and I got the list of some mung bean definitions but not I wasn't able to find the answer to my question. I turned around to find my cubemates Tina and Rey and asked them..

Melai: Saan ba nanggaling ang munggo? (Where does mung bean come from?)

Rey/Tina: Sa toge? (From beansprouts?)

Melai: Eh san nanggaling ang toge? (Where does beansprouts come from?)

Rey.Tina: Ah... Sa munggo? (From mung beans?)

Tina: Para yang chicken and egg... Hahahaha! (It's like the chicken and egg logic...Hahahahha!)

Then Ahjussi Rey got serious and told me to try checking "mongo vine" in Google. And so I did try to check and was able to find this from this website.

"Mung beans are tropical (or sub-tropical) crops, and require warm temperatures (optimally around 30-35°C).  They are warm season annuals, highly branched and having trifoliate leaves like the other legumes. Both upright and vine types of growth habit occur in mungbean, with plants varying from one to five feet in length. The pale yellow flowers are borne in clusters of 12–15 near the top of the plant. Mature pods are variable in color (yellowish-brown to black), about five inches long, and contain 10 to 15 seeds.  Self pollination occurs so insect and wind are not required. Mature seed colors can be yellow, brown, mottled black or green, depending upon variety. These round to oblong seeds vary in size from 6,000 to over 12,000 per pound, depending upon variety."

So there you go ladies and gentlemen, there is such a thing as "Mongo Vine" and mung beans came from pods!

And that ends the tale of the "mystic mung bean". Bow! Bow! :)

Meet Rumi and Bryanboy

I was 'exploring' Blogger's Blog of Notes when I decided to click the Dec 2009 list of "chosen" blogs. The name fashiontoast caught my attention due to the word "fashion" and since I'm curious about it decided to click it. And as I expected it was really about fashion, a lady named Rumi is running this blog displaying her fashion sense, projecting her mink coats and lovely shoes (I am drooling by this time...), Lanvin outfits and Belenciaga bags. Since I kind of like her site, I decided to add it to my "Blogs to Love" list.

While I'm checking on how I can "follow" her site, I got a glimpse of a twit from someone named "Bryanboy". I thought the name sounds familiar and when I tried to remember the name using one of my "memory" bottles, I knew that he was popular because of having 'friends" and "followers" all over the world, giving him gifts and having their pictures taken while holding a paper with "I love Bryanboy" - all of these because of bloggin'. Still out of curiosity on what he looks like, I clicked his name and I was lead to his website. And yeah! It's really him. I think. His blog is all about fashion and bags and shoes and Paris Hilton and Chanel and Lanvin and many other fashion stuffs... Again, I'm drooling... Wehehehe... He said in his blog that he's currently in California... and a question hit my mind? Is he that rich? You know, travelling around and doing shoppings and all... And I went to see his site again, oh well! I guess he is! His site is full of high level ads like Mastercard, Vogue and many other "known" accounts... Oh well! They said there's money in bloggin", I guess that applies if you have thousands of followers and readers! I wish I can make money out of it myself, but for now, I have 3 followers - that is my bestfriend Jake, my good friend Addie and Alex another friend of mine. I am tempted to ask all of my friends to follow me and make a blogger account and read my blog at least 5 times a day for each entry to make some money... Hehehehe... :)

Here's a pic of Rumi and Bryanboy that I got from Bryanboy's site




Rumi and Bryanboy wearing fur jackets from Lanvin x H&M collection

 .

It's just another CA

I slept early last Friday night since I've finally decided to change my contact lens only to wake up Saturday morning hearing my sister said that my eyes looked "red" again... for the nth time.. Oh boy! That does mean I need to go to my optha again before I go to the mall to get another pair of contacts. Yeah! My eyes looked "red" most of the times but I'm not feeling any pain or itchiness whatsoever. Going to the my opthalmologist equals steroidal eyedrops, equals two weeks with no contacts, equals two weeks wearing my lola glasses. Yeesh! The lola glasses is the part that I dreaded the most! It's like seeing me wearing two magnifying lens put together to fit my eyes. It's the price you have to pay for watching too much TV, reading books and komiks and not eating kalabasa and chesa when you are young. Yeesh! 

Well, the good part of seeing my optha is that I get a glimpse of an older, good-looking, clean-looking doctor, plus he smells good and getting to here nice music while he got to check my eyes. Oh well! The verdict: It's another CA! CA stands for corneal abrasion. It's always the doctor's verdict whenever he examined my eye. When he told me I need to refrain from using contacts for some time... I grabbed his arm and asked him...

Me: Doc, hanggang kelan ako hindi pwedeng mag-contacts?

Doc: 1 week.

Me: Wheeww! Buti na lang!

It'll be two weeks before we have our company Christmas Party and it will be a major, major disaster if I will dance in front of the crowd wearing my TV series inspired outfit wearing my lola glasses! That at least takes one thing off my mind, I just need to endure the eyedrops session until Saturday. Yebadabadu! Hehehehe! :)

The Artist in Me: Untitled

I was wandering along the paths of Robinson's Tagaytay and was able to saw this painting. It's seems like a combination of old and new concept makes a good mixture of strokes and texture. 

by A.Juan 2008

The sales lady was kind enough to let me take a picture of the painting and I promised her to put the painting details on my blog in return. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the title of this painting since it was mounted high on the wall and the sales lady didn't know the title as well. I just saw that it was signed as "A.Juan 2008".

For those of you who are interested on this painting, you may visit "ATIN ITO Philippine Handicrafts" located at the Second Level of Robinson's Tagaytay. They are selling this "work of art" for Php10,000.00.

The Artist in Me: Connections

In the web of life, we are all connected.



Connections by Melai 11/19/2011 8:50AM



A Hairstyle, A Book and A Pair of Rubber Shoes

November 17, 2010
Wednesday

My sister and I decided to meet at the mall so that I can have a haircut and she - her normal root-tint-plus-haircut combo thing. I arrived the mall a few minutes before she did so I was able to grab a book entitled "aLiCe, i tHiNk" -which caught my attention. First, because of the loud, stabilo-like striking cover,



aLiCe, i tHiNk by Susan Juby


and second, because of the positive reviews on the front and back cover.

A Review From Meg Cabot, author of Princess Diaries

A Review from The Vancouver Sun

The book looks "happy" and "interesting"! Curiousness let me buy the book for Php39. And of course, I need to apply my own "Magic Rule" - Lower your expection or better yet don't expect anything at all! Again, as I quote Addie "Happiness is directly proportional to your expectation."

***
At the Salon:

Lady Hairdresser: Anong gupit po? (What haircut would you like to have?)
Me: Uhmmm... ung low maintenance.. ung hindi masyadong demanding... ung pwedeng hindi i-blower at ung hindi nagpa-fly away... ung maiksi at ung magmumukha akong payat...  (I want one that is low maintenance, no need to blow-dry, does not fly-away, short and a haircut that makes be look slimmer!) (Note: I need to describe what I want since they do not have any hairstyle magazines.)
Lady Hairdresser: Okay po. (Okay.)

And I gave her the full authority to cut my hair based on my vague description and I am A-OK with the result.

My New Hairdo!

While waiting for my sister to finish her salon thing, I picked up my new book and started to flip the pages. I started smiling on page 21 - it's actually the part where Alice - the lead character in the story, mentioned that she thinks that her calling is to be an Easter-egg painter. Heehehe.. What a girl! It sounds really exciting!

I'm still smiling when I dropped my head and caught the sight of my before-new-now-old, blue-and-gray Merrell rubber shoes. I remember getting remarks from a friend that it's "walang dating" and "oldies style". Sheesh! I prefer him telling me "classics" instead of "oldies style". Oh well, I really like them since they are really comfortable! So, the h*ll with "walang dating" remark!

My before-new-now-old, blue-and-gray Merrell rubber shoes

The haircut... The book.. The rubber shoes... It suddenly made me think that do these things really reflect their owners' personality? I choose the haircut style because I think it's practical - no fuss, worry-free and fly-away free hair. The book sounds fun and exciting and it's something new for me. The rubber shoes is a well-trusted Merrell that's really comfortable and I know it will not catch too much attention. Well, I guess part of them tell me how I am - practical, fun, exciting and does not want to get too much attention. :)

The Artist In Me: Ocean Is Scary

I was able to see this on one of my new fave blog (Something Clever) that posts amazing sketches, and when I say amazing, I  mean amazing! Being a frustrated cartoonist and sketch artist, I really envy this blogger - a woman who knows perspective and scale, hues and color, highlights and darkness. And just like the artist that I admire, I'm also afraid of the ocean.



Ocean is Scary - Lindsey Lydecker





A Different Me.. Hopefully...

We were practicing our "dance presentation" for quite some time now and in order for the rest of us to memorize the steps, our choreographer recorded a video of us "dancing". Two things that I observed while I am watching the video - First, I am not a dance diva. I can follow the steps but I certainly lack the sort of "gracefulness" that one needs in ordered to be called one. And second, I look like a giant marshmallow or a jiggling jell-o! Ahhh! Why do I have to watch that darn video? It kind of make me feel "so conscious" of how I look like when I'm dancing (which is not that bad but not that good either! Sigh!) and it made me "so very conscious" of how I look. I mean, I know that I was kind of chubby! Oh well! Great! After watching the video I now considered myself F-A-T or as we normally joked  - a dinosaur or an elephant! I remember my older brother telling me that I looked like a giant exclamation point but I ignored him because he normally teases me. I know I'm being harsh to myself, but it's exactly what I think of "me" after I looked on that dance video. 

Reality bites but it made me think that I need to start doing something now! As in NOW! I need to have a strict diet and have lots of workouts that can make me trim any excess kilograms. I know it's kind of hard since "diet" makes me think that I am depriving myself the food that I can afford to eat and workouts bore me to death! I know it's hard (maybe harder for me than anybody else) but I've got to try at least! Less food intake and exhaustion may mean a lower level of sanity for my part but with practice I think I can get used to that! It will be worth the try! A different me... physically!

I need to think positive! Think positive! Think positive! (I am thinking that now!) And always look on the bright side of things. I need to lose weight because it might make me vulnerable to having any heart-related ailments, hypertension and all sorts of illness that can lead to extinction. And in order to do that I need to focus! Focus! Focus! Focus! I think I need to have this embedded to my brain from now on:

Less food intake. Eat moderately. Watch what you eat.  

Drink water - gallons of it.

As much as I hate it, I need to perspire! Work-out!

Think of those girly dresses that you can wear when you go "there" and the sexy shoes! (@_@)

No pain, no gain!

I can do it! Aja!

The Artist In Me: Coffee, Tea or Me?

Coffee, tea or me? Such an enticing offer right? Well, I am not offering any coffee or tea, much more offering myself... for now.. Take note, for now... Hahahaha! Oh well, I was looking at one of my new fave blogsites and in a few clicks I was able to find this very "interesting" painting with the artist's interpretation of "Coffee, Tea or Me?" . I know it's kind of "odd" for me to post it and I know it would definitely put a "big question mark" my friends' faces. But well, however "scandalous" it might look like, an art is still an art. And I appreciate art very well.

"Coffee, Tea or Me?"

Song Hits: I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline

As I was checking on one of my favorite blogsites, I browsed over a song excerpt from Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces". To some of you who are not familiar with the song (well, who can blame you? this song is from way-to-the-nth-power back), here's how it goes..

What Happens Next?

After the Halloween Dress-Your-Cube contest, it's time to say goodbye to all of the "horrifying" things that we used including the eerie skull with red and blue blinking eyes, the old gown that we used for the headless bride and the scary masks that we have used as heads for the raped and murder victims. The group decided to raffle them so that somebody can take care of "them".

Addie won and had the opportunity to take care of one of the scary masks. I got to borrow it and thought sadly while looking at the mask, "What will happen to you next?" Is the thing just for halloween? So I went goofing around asking people on how can they make the scary mask useful for their everyday lives. And here are some of the answers.

• You can use it in a shuttle so that nobody will know that you are sleeping.
• You can use it if you forgot to put sunblock on your face and you need to go out.
• You can use it if you want to rob a bank.
• You can use it after you had a facial.



"Am I just a Halloween thing?" - Scary Mask while sobbing



 I am still looking for possible, fun, weird and out-of-this-world answers. If you have any suggestions that you think will fit in, just go ahead and put it in the comments. Hehehehe!

Quotable Quotes 11-10-2010

I decided to add another collection of thoughts. Similar to the my usual "The Artist in Me" posts that contains my normal "art" blogs, I am adding "Quotable Quotes" that will show the some funny quotes from me and my friends from time to time.

"Happiness is directly proportional to your expectations." - Adeline

"Your level of sanity is directly proportional to your food intake." - Melai

Powdered what??

The benefit about having married friends is that you get to know those "marriage-and-baby related" things for free. You can discuss about taboo subject like sex and be very educational about it. And you get to know the pains of childbirth and the procedures under a CS operation. You get to know what IE means and how many cm's you need to be before you got into full labor. And you got to know things like gestational diabetes and pelvimetry. You get to know the price of milk in the market and the complexities of choosing diaper on a budget without sacrificing the quality. You can get tips as well on how NOT to burn bottles while sterilizing them. And of course you get the benefits of knowing the pro's and con's of breastfeeding.

During one of our "casual" lunch talks at the cafateria last week. Some weird ideas suddenly came out when we got to touch the BREASTFEEDING topic. Yes, peeps, we "normally" discuss these things during lunchtime, while having roast pork and a can of Coke, unto which I am really grateful because we got to skip those "bloody" normal birthing method and the whole "cutting" caesarian procedures (which makes my knees weak, and I mean literally weak) for a change. Wheeww!

The discussion was actually triggered by a commercial whose message is that the pets' milk are for pets, and cow's milk for your kids? Sounds right to me. We should be giving kiddos human milk! And there goes the mind boggling idea of how come we do not have any powdered breastmilk available in the market now? And mind you guys, WE are serious!

And then we discuss how can we produce POWDERED BREASTMILK? Oh well, we can leave the process of converting it to powder to the experts since they are currently using it for converting cow's milk from liquid to powder form and be available for market consumption. Then we discuss the complexity of how can we extract that much breastmilk in order to make it to full production? Do you think a human can have the same amount of milk that a cow can produce? Or since we know that only those "new moms" have the ability to produce milk, is there like a way for not-pregnant moms, single ladies and even men to lactate? Can we have like a lactating pill or something? How can we do the extracting of milk process for humans for mass production? I mean, why can't we donate milk the way we donate blood?

I told you that this topic is really weird! But it helps us for a moment to think and be amused at the same time.

When Kalamay Addict Meets Forbidden Heels

This is really great! I am browsing Google to search for a new template and I was able to tumble on a design that I think would look great if I decided to chose "Forbidden Heels" for my blog name. I do like the design very much, though some of my colleagues think that it's not me because of the girly-pinkish theme. Hehehehe.. It's not "homey" like the one that I previously used with pictures hanging anywhere and a brownish-woodish style, but I would like to try it though for some time and see if it feels right. It's like Kalamay Addict meets Forbidden Heels - a mere contrast of jologs and sosi.

The Artist in Me: Confusion

I am waiting for that moment to come. Nervousness and anticipation. When that moment came, I am happy. I knew that my prayers and birthday wish to Mama Mary were granted. Then it became "I "was" happy and a little sad". And now I am quite afraid as well. 

On this new chapter in my life, I am confused and unsure of what will happen next. Will I be making the right decision? Will I be contented? Will I be successful? And most of all, will I be happy? Again, confusion. 

My hands began to work and start searching for the Paint section in my computer and clicked on a clear "canvass". Then my hands started to work, letting myself choose the colors that I want to spray on the blank "canvass" based on how I feel. When I got the colors blended, I found myself wanting more. Then I choose to play around until I was contented and felt my heart said "It's fine! You're done!". This time, I let my OC-ness skip and say to hell with lines and balance (which I normally aim for) and just let myself go with the flow. 

Here's the extent of how I feel today and I am calling it "Confusion". 

Confusion by Melai 11/05/2010 2:11PM

I am the kind of person who believes that "Everything happens for a reason" and I know that this new chapter in my life will be (i hope it will definitely be) exciting and fun. 

The Artist in Me: Something French

Puzzled by what I always saw on the covers of Vogue and other fashion magazines, I always wanted to go to Milan and Paris - which are classified to be the fashion capitals during my younger years. Well, I was able to fulfill my lifelong plan of going to Milan due to my biz trip there mid-part this year - a really fortunate thing on my part. So that leaves me to go to one more place - Paris. I can see myself strolling along Avenue des Champs-Élysées while taking a glimpse of expensive shopping places and a view of Arc de Triomphe. 

Avenue des Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe

Well, I do hope that someday, somehow my footsteps will mark the concrete floors of the famous Champs just like the lady on Louis Anquetin's painting below. Hope springs eternal. 

Woman on the Champs-Élysées by night (c. 1891) by Louis Anquetin (1861-1932)

It Makes Me Wonder

I usually checked my FB account. You know just to keep in touch and informed with my friends' lives. Heheehehe... And of course if you normally checked your FB you can see your friends' samu't-saring status messages from the smallest things that they do to the complications of their marital status. It just makes me wonder.. 

• How come some people post where they are? A good example of this the status message "Hanging around at Starbucks ATC". My gulay gosh! It's good if they do not have any stalkers, but what if they do right? It's a creepy thing to think of. Eeekkkss..  
• How come some people make "yabang"? There is a thing or application in FB wherein you can post the cities that you've been to. It's like more of posting the countries you've been to. Ung iba naku... mega post..  Haaay... If ang ibig nilang sabihin ng cities eh city talaga... Maraming makakagamit ng apps na ito... Like Quezon City, Dipolog City, Cebu City, Davao City... Hahahahaha! Isa na ko dun... Nyehehe... 
• How come most people post their status messages in English? Instead of posting something like.. "holy crap... what the???" why not post something like "Anak ng tinapa.. ano ba??"..
• How come people only post something "sosi"? Like "is at Starbucks' drinking my extra-hot caramel machiatto" why not post something jologs naman like "is here at Aling Iska's gotohan" of some sort or pwede din namang "is enjoying Mang Gabby's pisbolan" or "is making tambay here in Aling Simang's Sari Sari Store drinking gin bulag" Hahahahaha! Ang dating nito is some kind of sosing jologs di ba? Heheehehe.. 

I like the fourth best... hahahahaha! 

The Artist in Me: L'etoile

Last weekend, while watching our neighbors' kids play, I imagined myself together with my cousins when we were still young. Playing all sort of games that we chose for that particular time. We normally sleep together for the afternoon naps and then eat our meriendas afterwards. Ahh.. I really miss those days... Those days when you can just play around all you want and eat as much candies and chocolates as you like.. Dance and bathe in the rain and play water games... Carelessly goofing around without thinking that about how you would look in the pictures afterwards.. I really miss those times when all you can think about is your examinations the next day and what games to play..  

When we were kids, we wanted to grow up fast. However, now that we come of age, we wish that we can still be kids - young, carefree and worry-free. Wheeww! As we grow older, things become more complicated and life perse seems too much to handle. You have your health to take care of, your physical appearance, your social life, your spiritual being, your emotional health and your career. 

Speaking of career, then again the dilemma comes out. It starts when you take a course in college. Find out what interests you most and you are fortunate enough if you are the kind of person who knows what you want and what you want to be in life, if not, then you'll end up taking another course, and probably switch to another one if the next course doesn't suit you still. Oh well, I myself wanted to be an architect, but I guess the financial-and-business-and-my-want did not work that well, I ended up being an Industrial Engineer instead. It's not my childhood dream, being an architect or an engineer either. I remember wanting to be a doctor and a lawyer when I was a kid. But then I thought hard and think again, and I remembered I had a huge list and I decided that this was the weirdest dream that will turn to reality if ever (it's not because I loathed being one but it's because, my body is not pliant enough and not malleable enough, hahahaha! See? I'm using the engineering terms...)

I won't suspense you guys anymore.. This is it! My weirdest dream of all times! Tadaahhh! 

To be a BALLERINA! 

Edgar Degas, L'etoile [La danseuse sur la scene]

The Artist in Me: Birthday

Today, October 31, 2010 marks my 29th birthday. With this, I decided to search Google for a Birthday painting of some sort and I was able to found one that caught my attention. 

It is a painting entitled "Birthday" created by Marc Chagall. 

Birthday by Marc Chagall

From the painting, it looks like it's the woman's birthday and the man was kissing her. As I have read in a website, the bending and difficult position made by the man while kissing the woman symbolizes how one can risk to do anything to make the person he/she loves to make him/her happy. 

Well, I was hoping that someday, somewhere, somehow... I will be like the woman in this painting and there will be somebody who will do the same thing with me..