New 'Do for the New Year

On 27 December 2008 I was lucky enough to win a free Italian cut from Il Centro Salon in Paranaque during the coming out party of ProudlyFilipina.com.  Today was the earliest opportunity for me to take advantage of this raffle win. 

I was really looking forward to it.  It is always a pleasure to have an expert give advice on what would suit me best when it comes to my hair, and, thankfully, it is something I could agree with.  She had me choose between 3 different styles for long, curly hair.  What we ended up agreeing on is what she called "Lullaby Energy".  Something of an oxymoron, don't you think? hehehe

On the left is the BEFORE shot taken during the event, while the one on the right is the AFTER shot, taken today at the salon.  What do you think?

The curls are all mine.  The stylist didn't have to set my hair.  She just put some styling lotion in it then rolled a brush in it and voila!

This is what it looks like from the back.

She even taught me how to duplicate this style and care for it.  I was amazed at how easy it all sounded.  It actually sounded easier than maintainance for straight hair.  She also showed me how it would look if I don't do any special styling to it.  This hairstyle is perfect for me because it is so low maintainance. In other words, "wash and wear".

Capelli even came by afterwards to see the end result.  I already told my friends about it so hopefully the Southrons will visit Il Centro Salon themselves soon.  I know a few Northerners who are willing to make the trip themselves after seeing these photos.

I may go back next month to have my hair color refreshed, or possibly changed.  Who knows how glam I will look then?  

I hope I can repeat this hairstyle on my own, hehehe.

Help me get my Christmas wish, please

Growing up there is one gadget that I remember wanting more than any other. No, it’s not the phone, and it isn’t the computer either (personal computers were not commonplace until much later). The one gadget I wanted most was a camera. And not just any camera, I wanted an SLR (single-lens reflex) camera.

I love taking pictures. For me there is greater joy in being behind the camera than in being in front of it. Back in the days of analog photography I always looked forward to picking up my contact sheets/prints from the film developer and hoped fervently that I got more good shots than bad. Now that’s it’s the new millennia, SLRs have evolved into DSLRs ("D" for digital) and seeing the results of my attempts is almost instantaneous thus making me more eager than ever to own a decent camera.

This month I have the opportunity to win a Canon EOS 450D Rebel XSi Digital Camera complete with lenses, but I need your help to win this prize. I’ve joined the Twilight Saga photo contest on Fizzer.ph and the person who receives the most number of votes wins!

For my Twilight inspired photo I had the choice of going ethereal (angelic), wolfish, or vampish. I opted for ethereal. (I’ve never been a Goth girl so I fear I won’t be able to carry off the dark, menacing vamp look, hehehe.) Like I said, I went for ethereal --- wind blowing through my hair, an expectant and wistful expression on my face, as if breathlessly waiting for my wolf-man to return. Yeah, you read it right; I said wolf-man, not vampire. Call me weird, but I’ve always been on Team Jacob from the time I read the books more than a year ago. I’m not denying Edward’s old world appeal, mind you, I just like my man warm and cuddly and rippling with the muscles.

For me to have any chance at winning this wonderful prize I desperately need your help, and this is how you can give it to me:

1. You have to be a member of Fizzer.ph (http://www.fizzer.ph). If you are not yet a member then please do sign up. It's free! Fizzer is a new local social networking site, so don’t worry about getting spammed or sent viruses by it. It would, perhaps be comparable to Facebook but with less features at the moment.
2. Go to http://www.fizzer.ph/#competitions/twilight and vote for me by clicking on the VOTE button below my picture and name.

It’s that easy! Perhaps you would like to join the contest yourself? If you do, then you need to know that the rules for joining the contest are very strict.

1. Contestants need to be a member of Fizzer.ph
2. The photo entry has to be Twilight inspired, meaning it should be vampish, wolfish, or ethereal.
3. The photo should be exactly 382 by 500 pixels.
4. The photo should not be posted in other social networking sites.

Contest ends on 20 December 2009 at exactly 10am. I will really, really appreciate all your votes. Thank you, friends, in advance, for my Christmas gift! Hope you like my pic, too. No , the pic posted here is not the one I entered.

Grad school blues

Today was the first day of school. I woke up really early so that I could be in school early with time to spare for my first class. I decided to go early because at the time all my classes were assigned to room TBA. For the uninformed that stands for "to be announced".

It amused me, actually how many people there did not know what TBA meant and I had to tell them what it meant. I guess most people just haven't encountered the term before.

I won't lie. I was shocked at the chaos I encountered. Perhaps because I attended universities in the past where the 1st day of school (no matter what semester it is) meant that professors and rooms were already assigned to subjects, even if enrollment is still ongoing. Instead I discovered that registration forms were only being given out Nov. 7 (as in that day!) and that professors would not accept us into class without them. This meant that I would have no choice but to miss my first class, which had no room or prof. assignment at the time that I enrolled.

How is that possible? The explanation I am given ... "what can you expect from a government run university?"

I'm sorry, but that is unacceptable!

When the computer lab (where the forms were being given out) finally opened and I was able to go in I discovered that all the other grad school majors' forms were printed EXCEPT MC. What the?!?

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I spent all day going from the registrar to the comp lab and around the building searching for rooms like the "accreditation room" which, apparently no one knows what floor it is on but everyone knows that it exists.

Thankfully my professor for my last subject of the day was our course adviser and one of the other MC students happened to have his cell number so we were told to go down to the registrar for attendance and from him I learned where to go next week.

I refuse to accept the explanation "kasi government, eh". That, for me, is lame and inexcusable. Government or no, after all these years, enrollment procedures should have already been fine tuned. Students should not be running around like headless chickens --- aimless and confused.

Hopefully classes will be normal by next week. I don't want to lose my enthusiasm for learning because of the school's inefficiency.

Running with friends

 

The runners at the parking lot sans Karen. She was still at the booths getting some stuff.  Hey, Rej! Why're you hiding back there?

The runners at Bona MOA waiting for  food and drink orders to arrive.  Hungry!

It was a beautiful day for for the Pinay In Action fun run at the SM Mall of Asia grounds. The race for the 10k and 5k participants started at 6:14am (behind schedule for both, by the way). The sun was out but it wasn't too hot. and there were LOTS of runners. Although it was an "all-women run" there were actually more than a handful of men who ran with us. Also children and pet dogs.

We [Karen (382), Oneal (511), Paul (512), Rej (510), and I (556)] have been looking forward to this fun run for more than a month and have been diligent in training for the event --- well, at least half of us, anyway. Like the others I was also supposed to run the 10K, unfortunately, I am still recovering from bronchitis and the doc advised me not to push myself too hard or I will suffer a relapse. 5k it is then.

In my opinion, we all did well today. We may not have been the fastest runners, but we all made it all the way to the finish line. Since I only did the 5k I finished first among us at 41 minutes and some change. The Yalies and Karen (who all did the 10k) finished almost 15 minutes apart from each other, with Paul in the lead at 1 hour fifteen minutes and some change. The PIA organizers told us to check the website for our actual times in a few days. I wasn't sure how they planned to do it so I just checked the big timer above the finish line as I was approaching it, hehehe.I took a peek at the tally sheet and I think I came in at the 300s. I didn't even realize there were that many people running the 5k! Perhaps that was a compiled list of all the runners for all 3 events.

At first the thought of running either the 5 or 10k sounded daunting but I figured, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, I used to be in varsity track and field in DLSU (albeit a sprinter and jumper, not a long distance runner) so at least, I had some stock knowledge on running techniques. Those distant memories served me well. I knew not to push myself too hard, but not to relax so much that I forget that it is a race. It helped that I had an MP3 player strapped on my arm playing songs by Daft Punk, Missy Elliot, PCD, etc., to help me keep to a fast pace (whether walking or running).

I can't help but dream that someday more of our NWA friends would join us pursuing a healthy lifestyle. I know, I know ... baby steps! At least it is good to know that, for starters, there are 5 of us who are already practicing it, to this degree.

And while the race is over, this is not the end of our running days. We have decided to keep on running daily (if possible). Who knows? We may just join another fun run before the summer is over.

Empowered

I am woman.
I am strong. I am invincible.
I am a goddess!
 
Independent. Self-reliant. Assured.
Capable. Skilled. A match for any man.

Pain is no stranger to me.
I have known pain so great it could have killed me.
And yet I survived and stand before you whole.
 
I have swallowed the bitter pill
Of rejection and disappointment many times.
 
Apathy, indecision, self-doubt
Self-recrimination, insecurity, loss of pride
But worst of all ... helplessness.
 
Worthless, pitiful
A shadow of the person I used to be.
 
But no more.
I am strong. I am invincible.
I am a goddess!
 
And yet ... I am human
And can't help but feel.

I am vulnerable but I will overcome.
I feel pain, but I will endure.
I care ... and that will never change.
 
Earth mother
Nurturer ...
 
I'm a chameleon, ever changing
To fit my surroundings
To be what you need me to be.
 
Mother, sister, daughter
Boss, nurse, lover, wife, friend ...
 
I am woman
I am a goddess!
Hear me roar!

Fully Booked Book Geek of January 2009

When I received this notice on my email I figured, what the hell?  I may as well try it out, right?  I like taking quizzes anyway, I figured I'd check out how much I know.  I don't really expect to win, because my specialty is mostly scifi and fantasy, but I want to go anyway for the challenge.

For this first month the contestants are all from the FB Bloggers Book Club.  We were given a set of questions (posted on the website of Fully Booked) to answer to qualify as a contestant. Here are the questions:

1. What does JK in JK Rowling stand for?
2. Who is the author of Memoirs of a Geisha?
3. How many times has Neil Gaiman visited the Philippines through the invitation of Fully Booked?
4. Who among the following didn't author a book: Julia Quinn, James Patterson, Jane Wainwright?
5. What pseudonym did Anne Rice use for the Sleeping Beauty series?
6. What is the title of the latest book in the Artemis Fowl series?
7. What is the title of Stephenie Meyer's unfinished book which supplements the Twilight series?
8. Who wrote the non-fiction book entitled Just Who Will You Be?
9. Who is Daniel X?
10. Who is the chef, cookbook author and Travel & Living host who recently visited the Philippines through the invitation of Fully Booked?
11. What is the title of the book by Barack Obama about travelling to Kenya to meet his roots?
12. How many books have been released on Kokology?
13. Love in the Time of Cholera was set in which country?
14. Who is the author of The 17 Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork?
15. Who wrote the Shopaholic Series?

Since I didn't send my answers until the 25th I figured there was no chance I would get in.  i really just wanted to answer the quiz.  Guess what?  I'm in!

So this means that I have to go to Fully Booked on Saturday at 3:30 for the registration and I hope I will remember enough not to embarass myself during the competition.  Win or lose, I don't mind.  I just want to have fun.