room makeover

When my mom leaves this Sunday, I'll start renovating my room. It's sooo...white. I already asked permission from my grandmother if I could paint the walls or put wallpaper on it and she said it was okay. Now that I have the go-signal, I can do whatever I want with my somewhat drabby old room. I want to check out the Bangkal area again and maybe buy a few stuff at the Dapitan Arcade. My brain's starting to ooze with creative juices--at last!--and I've already thought of what to do with the canvas and poster paint I was thinking of buying (refer to a few posts back). My theme: Beach meets Vintage. I have yet to think about how I'm going to pull that off, but I know I will...I should! Hahaha! 

My mom, brother, and I are going to Megamall tomorrow...Labor Day Long Weekend Sale :) Speaking of Megamall and the sale...I was listening to the news on the radio earlier this evening and apparently, an average of 250,000 people go to Megamall everyday freakin' day. With the sale, the mall's management is expecting twice that number of people for the next 3 days. The sale started early, hence the horrendous traffic in the Ortigas area. I left the office a bit past 6 and it's usually not that congested yet at that time. Traffic is to be expected during sales, so it was no surprise that going home was such a hassle today.

...And people keep on complaining they don't have money anymore. I've always believed that people (well, from the middle class to classes AB) still have moolah....They--well, we--are just being very frugal lately. There's money to spend, but the question is where to spend it. This doesn't mean that the country's economy is doing well. Ooh far from it. The administration still insists that people are better off now compared to previous years. I forgot what exactly the survey topic was (conducted by the Social Weather Station), but it said that the poverty level is lower and the interpretation of the radio announcer (whoever he is, I must say, is very..err..no comment :|) was that the hunger rate is waaay lower and the country's doing well compared to other nations. What a bunch of BS. Honestly, unless I see that kids aren't begging on the street, crime rates have gone down, and other issues have been resolved I have yet to agree with that pronouncement. My take on this whole poverty issue: public officials should just give up their pork barrel and use that money for government projects instead...specifically projects geared towards health, education, and the environment. Actually, if some public officials would just stop stealing, I think we'll be able to afford to do all government projects. 

Okay, from room renovation to government expenditure--that's quite a long leap of topics :) I'm just typing whatever pops in my head so again, there's no cohesiveness in my entry. 

Having just paid my bills, I still have a bit of money left. Hence, I've spent 850 as down payment for a quilted bubble bag I ordered--custom made quilted bubble bag. I'll receive it in 3 weeks and I'll pay the remaining 50% before it's sent to me. 

I also had a pair of gorgeous gorgeous g-o-r-geous shoes from fabfit4feet. Most of the shoes on Cre's site are ready-made but you can also have a pair customized for you. I also ordered the bag from her, which is great for me because it wasn't such a hassle to shop. Now, I have to think about whether I'll still buy the tapered pants I saw at Topshop or settle for something else...like a pair of boots, maybe? Rainy season's starting early this year so I do need a good pair of boots. Uggs are so cool, yet not a  lot of people wear them. Err..maybe because it's so hot for most part of the year here in Manila. 

Once I get the shoes I ordered, I'll post a picture here :) 

photo credit: fabfit4feet

elections 2010

A year from now, everyone --well, at least all registored voters--will elect the next president, vice-president, senators, and congressmen. Again, I will volunteer at NAMFREL (National Movement for Free Elections). Again, I will witness how elections here in the Philippines can be so...err...medieval? barbaric? I'm serious with the terms I use. After going through two and a half weeks of counting during my stint at NAMFREL two years ago, it was a bit of a shock for me to actually see how crude the electoral system is here. It's so easy to cheat with the old method of tallying and re-counting. Tally marks don't add up to the supposed corresponding numerics. Some poll watchers are paid. There are NAMFREL volunteers who are arrested or hurt.

Most people I know have already given up on the system and just dismiss all politicians to be corrupt or have no conscience at all. I, however, still believe that there are good public servants. We just focus on the bad ones that's why we're so discouraged. I believe that everything we do is our choice--within our area of control. Yes, it's true that most of the officials who get elected are corrupt or are susceptible to being corrupted. But I believe that it's their choice. They are accountable to all of us, and they know it. Now, we cannot just lose hope and accept that. Next year, we have to cast our votes again. It's our right and duty as responsible citizens of this country to vote for whoever we think will lead us to the right path. I think we've all had enough of the crap our country has been through for the past few decades. It's time that we do the right thing. We are accountable to our country and fellow citizens as much as public servants are to us. If the people who get elected are corrupt, well...that's their choice. They're accountable to us. We have to stop blaming officials and start looking at ourselves--at what we can and can't do for the betterment of our country.

I love my country. I can honestly say that if it comes to that, I can and will die for my country. I easily get frustrated when I talk to some people who just don't care. Considering they're also Filipinos, it's really frustrating how some have already given up. Well, I'm not. You? Are you giving up..or have you given up? Or are you still hopeful for a better Philippines?

smiley cyrus holgarific

I'm such a dork I named my Holga 120CFN Smiley Cyrus...for the very juvenile reason that I stuck smiley stickers all over my camera. Anyway, I had such a good time at Casa San Pablo I took a few shots of stuff that fascinated me. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

Sampaloc Lake

Notice the reflection of the trees on the glass windows? :)

At Kusina Salud

The way the entire thing turned out was a bit weird. The flowers and leaves look a bit contorted

I ♥ crime shows

I just ♥ ♥ ♥ NCIS! My brother doesn't really like it but I'm just so amused with the show. It's not as serious as most crime-solving shows, but it can get pretty intense.


I've been engrossed in crime shows since I was in high school, or ever since CSI came to be. CSI's still my favorite show--CSI Las Vegas specifically--but a few other shows have gained my favor.


1. Numb3rs
-Whoever thought of this must be a math enthusiast. How else can you encourage people to like math unless you show how "cool" it can be? Crime-solving + mathematics = Hit TV show. Thanks to this show, you see math in a different light. It can be sexy, I think. Well, yeah that makes sense. I know a few good-looking guys who you wouldn't think would be really good in math.


2. NCIS
-I already explained why I like this show :p


3. Law and Order
-This isn't really a new series. Quite old, actually. It preceded CSI, but I was only able to watch it when Crime Channels started were suddenly being offered here. I like Law and Order: SVU

4. Criminal Mind
-I love this show! I think it'd be cool to be a profiler. Though I'm not so keen about getting into an unsub's head, I have to admit that you gotta have good analytical skills to be a profiler. You can't just be smart, you have to be able to put yourself in the unsub's shoes meaning you not only have to think but also feel like a criminal. Scary place to go, but it's part of the job. You have to be strong emotionally to be able to handle it.


Do you like crime shows? If yes, what are your favorite shows and why?

random office blurbs

I'm at the office now, and I'm bored to death. My boss has yet to give me things to do because projects aren't coming in (yet). It's been almost a month since I've had a project, though last week my boss asked me to help her with the presentation materials for one of her pending projects.

Been looking for stuff to do here at work, and I've just managed to organize my files and I enrolled in a few of the company's e-learning classes. No fun in that, but it's better than not doing anything. Anyway, I've run out of things to do so I've resorted to watching Criminal Minds and NCIS on the latest-episode blog. Quite amusing, actually. Though after 73 minutes, you have to wait for another 54 minutes to continue watching so every "session" I get to watch 1 1/2 episodes.

The boss is out for a meeting, I think. Doesn't make much of a difference even if she's here. My team and I are bored to death already. We need projects, damn it! I guess that's why this May, two new people will be joining us here at the office--an expat and someone else to replace one of our Research Directors, who just resigned because he and his wife are migrating to Canada. Honestly, who'd want to migrate at this time? I mean, the world's economy isn't doing that well and believe me--living in the 3rd world is better than moving to a 1st world country where you'll have to start over again in this God-awful financial bruhaha. But that's just me.

My mom's here in Manila so it's hard to function well. I dunno. I can't seem to do anything or to get myself to be creative and do whatever whenever my mom's here. Don't get me wrong, I love her but sometimes she can just be so...you know how moms are, so I don't need to explain further.

Forgive me for not being cohesive in this entry, but I'm just so sleepy and uninspired. Maybe I'm PMS-ing? I dunno. I've been feeling bloated and fugly and dowdy these past 3 days. I need to be artsy soon. I'm dying to do something creative. I've been thinking of buying a small canvas and gold poster paint. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet but I just feel like I need to buy those two items. Plus a good paintbrush.

I think I'll just blog again later. My fingers are tired already, haha!

not flattering...yet I like it

I tend to wear clothes that people would usually dismiss as unflattering. I'm almost 5 ft tall yet I wear long dresses. I wear baggy clothes and I get drowned in them. And now, I want to wear tapered pants though I know I'll look shorter...I don't really care :) For one thing, I think I pull off most of the things I wear because I'm comfortable and happy with the stuff I put on.

I went to Trinoma this afternoon and I saw this pair of tapered pants at Topshop. Quite expensive here in Manila, I must say. Therefore my next pay check will go to these lovely pants this weekend :)