Oh happy day!

I started my day okay today. For a start. I said yesterday that I will be starting a new perspective for each day and so far so good. I dragged myself out of bed after exactly 8 hours of sleep, took a bath, played poker online, answered a couple of quizzes on Facebook and the highlight of my day--I finally talked to one of my dear online friend. It is the highlight because I haven't talked to him for more than a week which was unusual cos he didn't go online during the times when we always see each other and when he finally did I already felt so upset to just even say hi and I sort of ignored him most of the time. It's a long story to tell but I am so glad that we're okay now and I'm happy that he is "happy that we're happy again." Okay, okay redundant I know but it's what he said. :) I won't be expecting much though like I used to so that I won't feel disappointed when I don't get to see him again even though he promised he'd show up. Whatever. Not like he cares or I care if he cares. Crazy.

Anyway, another reason that I got so hyped up today is because my friends made plans for this coming Friday and that means, I'll be going out again! Yay for me!

Hopefully tomorrow will turn out as good as today or even better. :)

Count every SMALL things!

I have come up with some sort of resolution for my self until I know what I want to do with my life and that is to go make sure that I make the most of my every day even when I just spend it at home. In order to do that, I will stop saying that my day has been absolutely unproductive or that I totally didn't do anything and start taking in account every small thing that I have done the entire day like for example instead of saying that I just sulked around, I could say that I have been listening to music or watching my favorite TV shows while I am on the comfort of my bed which is what I've been doing for months now and it has become too routine that it makes me go crazy. Maybe it will help brighten up my days to come when I start to count my blessings and look forward to small things and when I go back read my posts here it wouldn't be just about me being miserable, seeming like I was doing nothing at all.

Start being happy!!

Some lazy week/end.

Unlike last weekend when I have had a couple of plans, this weekend has totally been lazy for me. I practically stayed at home the entire week except for the Tuesday night out that I had and then that is it.

I'm not sure but aside from the fact that I have no funds to even have coffee outside, I just feel so down. Like today, I woke up at 12:30PM and I slept at 11PM the other night so that is more than 12 hours of sleep and when I still couldn't open my eyes and drag myself out of bed. I don't know what's wrong. I thought that when I sleep early I would be able to wake up at 8-9 AM like I used to but I guess not.

The only highlight of my week was the Tuesday night out and the Earth Hour. Lame. Not the events, it was fun but the fact that I only had 2 things to look forward to the entire week.

Rant, rant, rant.

On the brighter side, I am watching the news right now and saw that the Philippines got the World Record for the most communities who participated in the Earth Hour! How great is that? :) Speaking of, I participated last night I completely turned off all the lights here at home and as from what I've seen almost our entire street has their lights off too. 

Did you guys participated? 

Please VOTE EARTH.

I am no major environmentalist/activist or whatever profession/vocation you call it but I love and care for the environment, our planet. There are many ways that we can help preserve this planet that we are all living in. They may not necessarily be in expensive ways or big things but if we put together our own little ways, it would make a huge difference. 

Here are some of the things we practice here at home:

1. Turn off the A/C, Fan, TV and other electrical devices every time they're not in use---unplug the cords too.

2. Turn off unnecessary lights.

3. Use reusable/recyclable stuff instead of plastics (e.g. grocery bags)

4. Conserve water. Don't let the water run when you're brushing your teeth or when you're shampooing in the shower, you get the point. Conserve conserve conserve.

5. Do not throw litters on the street. Don't throw candy wrappers, chips bag, soda cans, empty water bottles or even worse, your entire household garbage on the sidewalks/streets. Dump them in the nearest trash bin or if there's none available, keep them in your pockets or bags until you find a proper place you can dispose them off.

6. Segregate your garbage.

7. Do not burn plastics.

Basically it's just REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE. The very important 3 R's. With these R's in mind, practicing earth-friendly "chores" would be easy.

So please everyone, let us support and VOTE EARTH later tonight at 8:30PM-9:30PM. It is just an hour of sacrifice and our contribution into helping save our Earth.

For more info about VOTE EARTH please visit their website.

Craig David Live in Manila!

Craig David will be performing live tonight at Araneta Coliseum at 8 PM and I won't be able to watch! Sucks! :( After seeing the prices of the tickets just now at Ticketnet, I regretted not buying one earlier but then again I'm thinking on the much positive side which is me saving up for more important things. I will not feel bad. I will not. 

I just said that it sucks cos his first album, Born to do it, is one of my all-time favorites along with Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette), Nevermind and Nirvana (Nirvana), Missundaztood (Pink), S&M and Metallica (Black Album) (Metallica) and others, so it's just sad that I am going to miss this opportunity of seeing him perform live. Oh well, think MORE IMPORTANT THINGS (long time things); monthly bills and savings. There's just one concert that I swore I won't miss whatever happens, whatever the cost of the ticket and whether I go alone or not: Justin Timberlake. 

Anyway, back to good ol' Craig David, if you guys haven't heard his songs (at least didn't know that he sang it) I'd like to share my favorites. You can click on them for lyrics:

1. Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)

2. Fill Me In

3. Walking Away

4. Spanish

5. Rise and Fall

6. You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til The Well Runs Dry)

7. Unbelievable

8. What's Your Flava

9. Once in a Lifetime

10. Insomnia

Read more about Craig David HERE.

Tuesday Night Out.

I went out last Tuesday night for a change. I don't usually do night outs during week days so it was a first for me. I was with a couple of friends, 3 to be exact, at Source in Ortigas. I first met up with Anna and Ace for dinner at Uncle Moe's which is just a few steps away from Source. After dinner, the three of us walked straight to meet up with another friend of mine, Apple. It was actually Apple's college friends who invited us to the place. They were like promoting it every Tuesday nights or so. It wasn't exactly a club like Embassy or Ascend but it was a pretty cool place to have drinks, and the DJ's cool too.

 

Ace, Mara and Anna.

Apple, Mara and Anna.

My BB and Artic.

I actually had a good time that night. With 2 glasses of Kurant+Sprite, 2 shots of Tequila and 1 glass of Artic Melon+Sprite, I ended up feeling high minus the drugs, talked a lot and laughed even at the corniest things (not necessarily jokes). It was fun! I should do it often instead of just sulking around at home by myself. Pretty healthy minus the alcohol. At least I get to go out, socialize, talk to people other than my online friends or the people here at home. 

Next time, I'll enjoy myself even MORE and stay LONGER and fight the sudden attack of "homesickness" or the urge to get home just cos I miss someone online who obviously couldn't care less if I show up on or not.  Whatevs.

I can't wait for another night out like this! :) 

Wednesday Cravings!

I have been conditioning myself to go on a healthier (I would like to think that I AM eating healthy already--just not healthy enough) diet for the past weeks but I always have 1 cheat day or two every now then. 

Today, I am craving for: 

Frozen Yogurt: Lulu Belle's or California Berry's.

Pepper Lunch's Beef Pepper Rice.

Seeing my photos of these food is seriously making me drool. Hahaha! Well, guess have to wait for another more week. My friend, Apple, and I made a date for Pepper Lunch when she gets back from Bora the week after next. I have to endure until then. Can't wait!!! :)

Back to Neutral.

First things first, I had my Nail Spa appointment last week Wednesday in time for Saturday's Homecoming. I don't know why I haven't posted it here yet but here goes. I have about 2 entries pending that I forgot to publish. Excuse my being forgetfulness at times, I just felt so excited then.

I am missing my Hot Pink nail polish cos as of Wednesday of last week I went back to a much lighter coat. Neutral to the point of almost being colorless. Next time I'll have a neutral color on I'd choose a more solid one.

See what I mean? It looks like I don't have any polish on. Looks nice though, clean and all but after a while... well, no gloss anymore so my nails really look "bare".

What d'ya guys think? Suits me?

The First Ever SHRIM Alumni Homecoming.

Last Saturday was the first ever SHRIM Alumni Homecoming and like I said in my earlier entry it was held at the ICC Hotel's Roof Deck. The event was fun, there were a few people from different batches; from the very first batch ID '96 to the recently graduated ID 106, there were representatives for each, some of SHRIM's professors and chefs were also present, regarding the food and drinks; the finger foods were okay although most of us expected more varieties, Iced Tea, water, coffee and the last minute addition of San Miguel Beers (thank God!) were blessings in disguise.  I'll stop right here with the critique of the event and focus on my personal emotion. I felt beyond happy during the Homecoming. It was not a formal occasion and thank heavens for it. So anyway, there were only a few of us (ID 104) who attended and it was a little disappointing since this event was made for us to all get together, but it was fun overall cos we were able to talk and hang out with our other batch mates and favorite professors, and it was nice to be back in our school grounds. :)

*The ICC Hotel (or CSB Hotel) is part of our campus and is basically our school's hotel. We are the only 3-star Hotel School in the Philippines and is in partnership with Vatel. 

This picture was taken before the program started.

from left-right: Sir Lacson, Sassy, Carlo, Mara, Sir Acuña, Sheena, Myles and Sir Siocon.

The Homecoming ended way early so some of us decided to head off to Grilla to grab a few drinks, eat and hang out longer.

Thank you to Manong Waiter for this group shot. We had about 5 or 6 shots in different cameras.

The ones seated are Alumni-turned-Faculty and the ones standing were some of the faculty's former students. I excluded myself cos I took up a different major. ALL of them were in Culinary Arts, the Faculty were Chefs and I was the ONLY one who's a Hospitality Management major. Still, we are all friends. :)

Overall it was a fun fun night. I just hope next time an occasion like this occur, at least half of the 104 people would attend.

Brownies & Revel Bars!

A friend of mine gave me a box each of brownies and revel bars last night after the Alumni Homecoming.

Brownies & Revel Bars

Brownies

Revel Bars

Yummy pastries! :) Thanks a lot Karen!

iPod Classic or iPod Touch?

I have been wanting to buy myself a new iPod since last year but every time I start saving up for it something always comes up like my cell phone bill would soar up to an additional P500-1,500 for the month, or my laptop needs a sleeve, or when my calendar is initially clear my friends would start messaging me for a cup of coffee or a movie or just to grab a few drinks and before I knew it, my allotted budget for every night outs would exceed and what's left in my wallet would be P200 at most which kind of sucks because I've planned and tried to stick with my budget and I ended up not following it.

This time around I've come up with a more strict plan and budgeting for me to use until I get employed and/or until I save up enough money for a new iPod. Oh, just to clear things up maybe some of you would say that of all the things I could save up for with this kind of economy why the hell an iPod, okay I KNOW myself and there's a huge probability that I won't even BUY an iPod even though I get to save enough for it. Seriously. Most of the time, I save up for something and when the money's in my hands I just can't spend it cos I know there's more things I could make use of the money. So, don't worry guys. I'm not one of those who just spends and spends without ACTUALLY thinking about it for at least a hundred times. :) Cos when I start to save up for something, I end up saving for MORE.

Enough with the blabbing, help me guys. iPod Classic or iPod touch? I practically have made a decision but I just want to hear out others' opinions.

iPod Classic

Features:

30,ooo songs

150 hours of video

iPod Touch

Features:

7,000 songs

40 hours of video

I've decided to go with the Classic, btw. With all the pros and cons. :) As much as the touch screen and Wi-Fi are appealing, it's just not practical for me to spend more on a product that is less useful for it's features. Plus, my Blackberry has Wi-Fi already so spending on another gadget that has the same feature is not worth it. iPod Classic has 120GB of memory while iPod touch has 32GB at most. Meaning I could store way more with the Classic than the Touch. Hmmm.

Whatya think? :)

p.s.

My current iPod is the First Gen Nano with 2BG memory, my iTunes is now at 5.94GB with 2GB Audiobooks and a lot more videos/movies. Hence, I need the one with the most memory.

photos from: http://www.apple.com

DLS-CSB's SHRIM Job Fair & Alumni Homecoming 2009.

The De La Salle - College Of Saint Benilde had its Alumni Homecoming last November 2008 entitled No Alumni Left Behind at the A.Venue Hall in Makati City. All batches from all courses of the school were invited. 

This time around the Grand Alumni Homecoming is exclusively for the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management. The event is entitled SHRIM Unite and will be held at the ICC Roofdeck this coming Saturday. Registration will start at 5PM. 

The fee is worth P200 inclusive of everything; food, mocktails and souvenirs. There will be a tour around the school since it is newly renovated and there will be some video presentation and other la la las. :)

Before the Homecoming though there will be a Job Fair at the 6th Floor at the Halles de Rheimes (formerly Multi-Purpose Hall) from 10AM to 2PM.

My Saturday's going to busyyyy and I like it! At least something to do, somewhere to go for a change. I'm sick of just staying at home for most days of the week and at least I will get to see my friends who I haven't heard from and haven't been with for months. This is going to be exciting! I can't wait!

I'm talking about this now cos I went to school earlier just to visit and I saw some of my professors and some batchmates and these events were mentioned. Soooooooo....I'm going!! :)

I almost used my Apple Care.

I didn't get much sleep last night and by that I don't mean a few hours of sleep, I slept for a good 5-6 hours but not in a good manner. I dozed off 6 AM today and woke up at 12 something in the noon. I guess what I'm trying to say is I didn't get GOOD sleeping habits and it goes without saying that I am a little grumpy in the mornings.

When I opened my eyes I was still too hung up to even sit up but heck I have to. Facebook chat keeps beeping and I have to get up and so I did. I decided to multi-task a little and burn some of my files onto a blank DVD disc while chatting. Everything was going smoothly until an error message popped up and says "Disc drive communication error" or something like that and the CD automatically got ejected. Persistent as I am and thinking it was nothing serious, I inserted the disc back and voila! The drive didn't recognize it and I doubt it was reading it cos the drive was just quiet. I quickly pressed eject with no luck. I tried restarting and shutting down but still, it won't budge.

I calmed down a little when I realized I still have until April on my Apple Care. They can fix it or totally replace the whole unit, either way it's free so okay. But I can't really stop thinking about the stuck CD so I asked for help at a forum for Mac users which I am a member of: PHILMUG. I was not disappointed. I found some what-to-do-in-cases-like-this suggestions and it worked! I was so happy that I shouted. At least I'm saved from the hassle of going out just to have my laptop fixed. And then again, April's right around the corner and I haven't touched my warranty. I just pray that I won't be having problems exactly on the day after it expires and I'm all good.

Btw, for those Mac users (old, new and switchers) who have questions about your Apple products like iPod, iMac, Macbook, etc. You could go visit PHILMUG. It's an online forum about practically anything Apple and Mac related from softwares, hardwares, accessories, etc. The members are really welcoming and everyone would try to help you with your concern. What's even better is that the forum doesn't just talk about Apple products, there are also threads about a few other brands/labels like Blackberry, non-Apple accessories and then there's food, movie, music and everything else off topic. So okay, just a little plugging here. Let me know if any one of you guys checked it out. :)

Foodtrip Friday!

What a great way to spend Friday:

Urban Bazaar at The Rockwell Tent

Lunch at Cibo

Stroll inside the mall

Watch a movie

Bazaar again

Dinner at Kenny's

Home

A little exhausting since my day started at 1pm and it all "ended" by 9pm and I got home around 9:30 or so. So all of the above mentioned happened within an 8-hour period. Fun and tiring.

And because I entitled this entry as Foodtrip Friday, I would like to share to you some of the meals I had for the day (I say some cos I didn't take a shot of my food inside the theater and the food I ate when I got home):

Lunch at Cibo: Mozzarella Panini and Lemon Iced Tea

Dinner at Kenny's: Seafood Clam Chowder, Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and Coke Zero

FYI, I had my first meal (breakfast-lunch) at 2PM and dinner at 8PM. I had chocolates in between. Goodbye diet--again! It's just so fun eating. And as one friend said to me "Go eat fat girl in a skinny girl's body!" :) Whatever. Food's grrrreatttt!

Cafe Mediterranean and Lulu Belle.

I have been wanting to eat Kebab since Sunday but it's either I am not in the mood to go out, I have no one to go out with, I have no money to spend or well worst, all of the above! So when my cousin who got back from abroad gave me money for my Kebab craving, I immediately took a shower and got dressed before my mood get the best of me. There's one condition with the money my cousin gave me though, I have to buy something for everyone at home. S'all good. Fair enough.

After 2 hours of deciding where to go, I made up my mind and went to The Cafe Mediterranean at Powerplant to have my Kebab dinner.

Before

After

For a P350 bill I felt more than satisfied. Way more satisfied. After my glorious dinner alone I headed up to Lulu Belle for my frozen yogurt (P120). I'd love to post a photo of my FroYo but Blogger can't seem to upload it here. Anyway, although this dinner is less fun than what I usually have when I'm by myself, it was still okay because at least I get to indulge to my cravings of Kebab and FroYo. :)

Because I got paid!

Ooh what a way of saying "Good Morning!" to me.  I woke up and instinctively did my routine of waking up my laptop and checking my mail when something caught my eye under the Subject tab: ADGITIZE PUBLISHER PAYMENT FOR FEBRUARY 2009. 

After about 3 months of being with Adgitize I finally got paid! No, it's not that they are late in giving out payments don't get me wrong. It's just that I only reached (or rather exceeded) their minimum payout of $10 last month. It was a good thing to start my day with and I actually feel a little more inspired to get back on my toes (or fingertips in this case!) and start publishing, clicking and advertising again.

For those who doesn't have Adgitize on their blogs please feel free to click my banner found on the top of my page (click the Adgitize Me part) and sign up. Being a publisher and an affiliate there is for free. It's easy to learn on your own or if you need help, support is always there to answer your queries. Being an advertiser also is worth it. With just $14 a month to advertise your blog, you'll get more visitors, earn more points ( = more earnings) and if you're really dedicated to your blog, you'll get back that $14 you paid within that month.

Now I'm advertising them, I just feel so happy being paid and seeing that I made quite a good job with my blog and I realized that I should hang on to it. :)

Cheers for getting paid!

Pink Shmink!

I have my usual Nail Spa appointment every two weeks. My nail polish take turns from Red to Neutral colors and there were times I tried Green and Yellow which I posted here on my earlier entries. Last Wednesday I had my usual nail spa service and tried another color.

PINK!

It's nice, no? This picture didn't really give it justice but yeah, I love the color. So summer-y. :)

Okay, I found one picture that's much closer to the shade than the pic posted above.

Sorry for the crazy "pose". Haha! So there, I can't stop looking at my nails cos of this. Crazyyyyyy.

REST IN PEACE FRANCIS MAGALONA!

I thought this is just one of those text messages spreading around saying a certain celebrity is dead which everyone always ignore cos it turns out to be just a rumor. Francis Magalona's illness wasn't a secret so when I saw a friend's Facebook status expressing grief over Francis M.'s death I was hesitant to believe. I started searching online for news about it but found nothing. I asked my friend and she confirmed it so I searched again and found an article in ABS-CBN news online and felt cold blood run through me. I felt so sad for his family, his children especially.

Francis Magalona or most popularly known as Francis M. is the Philippines' Master Rapper, he passed away today at 12:44PM at The Medical City. He was only 44. Although he wasn't my favorite, his old songs were good. He collaborated with a lot of artists such as Parokya ni Edgar.

Check out his blog to read about his cancer battle: FRANCIS M. BLOG

Words cannot say how sad I feel about this maybe because I also lost my Dad to cancer last 2007.

To family and friends of Francis M., my deepest condolences.

photo from: http://francismagalona.multiply.com

Perpetual Smiling Blogger Award.

I received this tag from Bill and I appreciate it. Thanks for tagging me with this and for the e-card that you've sent me via e-mail. It surely made me smile. :)

The Rules:

Copy the questions below. Simply use the first letter of your name/nickname as your answer for each questions. You can’t use any answer twice and don’t use your own name for questions # 3 & 4. After you’re done, tag 10 people.

1. What is your name? MARA
2. A four letter word: MOOD
3. A boy’s name : MATT
4. A girl’s name : MARGARET
5. An occupation : MANAGER
6. A color : MAGENTA
7. Something you wear : MAKE-UP?
8. A type of food : MIXED FRUITS?
9. Something found in the bathroom :  MIRROR
10. A place : MANILA
11. A reason for being late : MAD TRAFFIC
12. Something you shout : MALAY KO!!!
13. A movie title : MEAN GIRLS
14. Something you drink : MARGARITA
15. A musical group : METALLICA
16. A street name : MAGALLANES
17. A type of car : MAZDA
18. A song title: MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU
19. A verb : MILKING

And now I would like to tag Mye, Ara, Fedhz, Pehpot, Lace, Ian, and Grandy. Sorry, I can't come up with 10 people right now.