Tis the Season to be SEPHORA Glammin

It's officially 17 days before Christmas and I'm officially putting my diet on hold. My dream body isn't gonna make it in time for the holidays so let me ditch all my faux eating plans and focus on something else!

Parties here and there are going to eat up your holidays, but before you eat your way, look at yourself in the mirror and make sure you're presentable at least! Gone are the days when all we cared about parties is the food. Now that everything is snapped and shared to social media, you don't want to be tagged with a mountain of food and a greasy face. Keep the mountain, let's work on the face. Kahit pano let's be glam. Parang ganito. Gandang di mo inakalang makaka-tatlong plato. ;) Charot

Special thanks to my friend, Ivy, who's a hair and makeup artist (follow her on Ivyoutiful!), I was transformed from that guest who's only after food, to that guest who's still after the food PLUS good photos! This soft glam look was from a random make-up session eight months ago which is also perfect for the holiday season. It's the glam look that's not scandalous. No glaring red lipstick and no fake lashes. Pure nude elegance. This is the look that will keep you looking poised even after your fifth round at the buffet table. And with the help of Sephora Philippines, you can easily recreate this look using their wide array of high quality beauty products.

Ready? Let's go!

For a smooth and blemish-free face

1. Benefit Cosmetics - The POREfessional Face Primer
2. Sephora Collection - 10hr Perfect Foundation
3. Benefit Cosmetics - Boi-ing Concealer

Using your fingers, make your skin smooth, tight, and ready for foundation by spreading a pea sized amount of the POREfessional face primer all over your face, including the neck. Next, get a single pump of Sephora's 10hr Perfect foundation and using a liquid foundation brush, spread it evenly all over your face, lightly brushing some on your lips as well. Lastly, apply the Boi-ing concealer under your eyes, on the laugh lines, on the sides of your nose, and on pimple marks and spots you want to hide, then blend with a brush.

Your face is now set!

For expressive eyes

1. Benefit Cosmetics - Goof Proof Eyebrow Pencil
2. Benefit Cosmetics - Ready, Set, BROW! Clear Brow Gel
3. Zoeva - Nude Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette
4. Two Faced - Sketch Marker Liquid Art Eyeliner
5. Sigma Beauty - Sinuosity Lash Mascara

Starting with your brows, use the Goof Proof eyebrow pencil to outline and fill your brows. Its tear shaped tip helps define the shape of  your brows, and the spoolie at the other end makes for a good blender and filler. Set it using the clear brow gel.

Using the Nude Spectrum eyeshadow palette, let's get you smokey brown eyes! Pick a light color and apply it on the inner corners of your eyes and up to the brow bone. This will act as base and highlight. Next, get a soft brown shade and apply it to the crease, stopping below the brow bone and avoiding the inner corners so your light base remains. Finally, take a darker brown shade with shimmer and apply it on the outer corner of your eyes. Blend to make the transition look smooth and seamless, and for more definition, brush it carefully on your lower lash line as well.

Add more drama to your eyes by applying brown eyeliner; just a thin line across your outer lids will do. No need to wing it ;) Lastly, curl you lashes and put on a single pass of Sigma Beauty's lash mascara.

Now your eyes alone can speak volumes!

For an unmistakable glow

1. Edward Bess - Threads of Silk Powder
2. The Balm - Mary-Lou Manizer
3. Cover FX - Contour Kit

It's time to put more life on your face! Apply EB's Threads of Silk blushing powder on the apples of your cheek, making sure you're smiling as you do so! Using a contour kit, map your face and brush a deep brown powder along your jawlines, under your cheek bones, on the side of your nose, and above your temples. Blend carefully to achieve subtle shadows and the illusion of a slimmer face and a sharper nose. ;)

Lastly, let's light you up with up with Mary-Lou Manizer highlighting powder. Apply thinly above the jawline, below the eyes, on the forehead, and on the bridge of your nose to get that subtle glow and light up your features.

Aaaand you're ready to shine!

For well-defined and radiant lips

1. Guerlain - La Petite Robe Noire - Deliciously Shiny Lip Colour
2. Sigma Beauty - Lip Base
3. The Balm - Read My Lips Lip Gloss

You don't want to miss your lips! I've chosen products that have lighter nudes to finish off the soft glam look. Outline your lips using the Sigma Beauty lip base, and for a better effect, go on and fill your lips with it, this makes for a good base and will help your lipstick to stand out.

Now apply the Guerlain lip colour, starting at the center of your upper lip and slowly moving outward toward the corner. If it feels stuffy, blot it out with a tissue paper. Finally, put on your lip gloss to complete the look.

Almost done!

Last but not the least, make sure everything stays in place with spritzes of Mario Badescu's Facial Spray With Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater.

This light, hydrating mist helps your skin look radiant and acts as a setting agent to keep your make-up from wearing out faster. You don't know when you're attending back to back parties. With this product on, you're going straight to your next venue without retouching! Sosyaaaal!

Aaaand there you have it!

I'm sure you're excited to take on this look using these amazing products. Not only will you look glam, glowing, and gorgeous, but people will also definitely ask you how you did it. Short answer: Sephora! Long answer: show them in detail or lead them to this post! :D

Ready for the parties? Shop more make-up products on Sephora PH here!

*Disclaimer: This post was created for a Nuffnang x Sephora PH contest. All products featured are only suggestions on how to recreate the look pictured above. They were not the original products used. :)

My De’Longhi Christmas Wishlist

All I want for Christmas is an upgraded kitchen: new pots and pans, a working stove, a new refrigerator, a bigger oven, and everything else to make cooking a better experience for the family:  specifically for my sister (who loves to cook), my mother (who hates cleaning up after cooking), and me (an overall kitchen disaster).

With the launch of our small business, Pocket Pies PH, the need for a kitchen upgrade has become urgent! Thanks to De'Longhi's catalogue filled with dreamy kitchen and household products, we've capped off our wishlist and noted the top items we'd love to have on our countertops. The De'Longhi brand dates back to 1902 as a small spares workshop in Treviso, Italy. This family run business is strongly committed to design and innovation that by the 1950's they became an incorporated company. With the introduction of new electric household appliances in the 70s and 80s, De'Longhi saw its fast growth in the international market, further establishing their brand, and expanding their market reach.

Today, they are regarded as a fast-growing, multi-specialist company, with a solid reputation in delivering high quality, innovative, and Italian designed kitchen and household products. Bongga!

Their online catalogue is a delight to look at, and because of their commitment to constantly provide something special to their products and technology, I've instantly become a fan!

Here are my favorite De'Longhi products that's sure to solve our every kitchen woe:

1. For hassle free cooking:  Low-oil Fryer & Multicooker 

I've previously shared about this small business my sister and I recently opened. It's called Pocket Pies PH and we sell homemade savory pies in Herb Tuna, Chili con Carne, and Chicken ala King.

Uiiii, bibili na yan! Php150 lang for an assorted box!

As much as I wanted to help my sister with baking and cooking and all, I'm simply not wired to be good in the kitchen. Which is why all I can offer her is what little marketing skills I have, a ton of moral support, and a chance at making her life easier by scoring this wonderful De'Longhi kitchen product.

Imagine how quick and easy it would be to cook our pie fillings with this!

The De'Longhi Low-oil Fryer and Multicooker EXTRA FH1363 is a low-oil multicooker equipped with SHS double (Surround Heating System) ensuring excellent cooking performance and perfectly healthful meals.

What I love:

✓ Time-saving - being equipped with SHS means your food will cook quickly and efficiently
✓ Auto-mixing - an automatic mixing paddle saves you from the effort of mixing your food! It can also be removed in the case of more delicate dishes.
✓ Non-stick - the inner bowl is treated with non-stick and anti-scratch ceramic coating
✓ Low-oil - because of its non-stick feature, less oil is needed to prepare your foods.
✓ High capacity - the bowl can carry around 1.5kg to 1.7kg of ingredients. Totally ready for a feast!
✓ Easy to clean - the lid, paddle, and bowl are all removable so it's very easy to clean.

Here's a video to convince you how haveyyy this product is, ANG DAMING PWEDENG LUTUIN MGA BES!

Next up that I'd love to have in our kitchen,

2. The perfect wake up call: Drip Coffee Maker

Our dream mornings would always include the fresh aroma of brewed coffee and toasted buttery bread. While my sister is busy with her multifry, I'd probably be busy making coffee for the family and watching her closely, careful not to mess around!

The De'Longhi Drip Coffee Maker ICM 14011 is just perfect as it's an easy to use coffee maker that guarantees a perfect breakfast for everyone! Amoy pa lang gising na gising ka na!

What I love:

✓ Eco Function  - it shuts down automatically 40 minutes after brewing time. Saves energy and prevents your coffee from burning
✓ Easy to use - just like your regular coffee maker: add a filter, pour in your grounds, fill the tank with water, then let it run!
✓ Aroma Button - this feature lets you adjust the brew cycle so you can choose if you want your coffee aroma light, medium or strong.

3. For that ideal breakfast: Contact Grill

Now that coffee's been taken care of, let's move to the next! With the De'Longhi Contact Grill CGH 902C, you can make all sorts of subs and burgers, press your panini, and even grill sausages and patties. Talk about an elevated breakfast experience!

Na-excite ako dito! I knew it would be the perfect addition not just to our kitchen, but also to our food business! When the Holiday season is over, my sister and I plan to market our signature fillings in sandwiches instead. The De'Longhi Multifry and Contact Grill would be the perfect combo in creating delicious gourmet quaility sandwiches everybody's sure to love!

This is probably my favorite De'Longhi product next to the Multifry because of how much it can do!

What else I love:

✓ 5 Cooking Functions - works as a contact grill, panini press, full griddle, half griddle/grill: all to aid in cooking the best paninis, burgers, and grilled meat and vegetables.
✓ Removable Plates - comes in two sets of removable die-cast plates you can use as a grill, a griddle, or a press.
✓ Ceramic Durastone Coating - the plates are made with non-stick and anti-scratch material that have high thermal conductivity; ensuring heat is distributed uniformly throughout the plates, and guaranteeing that your food is cooked evenly.
✓ Accessories - the Contact Grill includes 2 fat collector cups and a spatula for healthier cooking.
✓ Perfect Oil Drain System - the Contact Grill is also designed to efficiently drain fat and oil, ensuring 100% healthy meals without having to add any more oil or butter!
✓ Dishwasher Safe - the easily removable plates are both easy to clean and dishwasher safe.

I could rave on an on about what else I want our kitchen to have from De'Longhi, but I realized their catalogue is filled with other amazing products the rest of our house could benefit from as well. Just take a look at this:

4. Big help for the basement: Dehumidifier

We have a basement where my parents' office is located and I usually can't stand it there because the air tends to get stuffy and I get allergies quickly. I know the De'Longhi Dehumidifier DNC 65 is exactly what we need because it removes the extra moisture in the air and has an antibacterial filter as well.

What else I love:

✓ Extra Quiet Operation - run it overnight and you won't be bothered by the sound of it as it hums at a mere 34 dba. Consider that a whisper.
✓ Light and compact - with a weight of 5.5kg and a width of 17cm, it's one of the most compact dehumidifiers in the market. Its pullable handle also makes it easier for you to move it around.
✓ Ionizer and Purifier - with its anti-bacterial filter and built-in ionizer, the air is cleared with dust and bacteria and is made healthier with pumps of negative ions.

5. And for my room: Air Purifier

I've been meaning to get a decent purifier for my room because it's already the cold season and that means I'm more susceptible to allergies. I'm sure it's gonna be a delight to invest in the De'Longhi Air Purifier AC 230, because it's got a lot of different filters that ensures my room is breathable and free from bacteria.

What else to love:

✓ Air Quality System (AQS) - this smart system constantly screens the quality of air around it, and reflects it via the built-in air quality LED indicator that changes color from orange (bad air quality), green (moderate quality), and blue (good air quality).
✓ Air Filtration System - it has 5 different filtering layers ensuring that air you breathe is safe and free from harmful elements:

1. Anti-dust pre-filter
2. HEPA filter for small particles
3. Carbon filter for harmful gases
4. Nano Silver filter which is 99% effective against bacteria
5. Photo-catalyst filter with UV light for fighting against all air impurities
6. Built-in Ionizer that neutralizes dust particles, pollen, car fumes, and smoke contained in the air

✓ Sensor Touch Screen - an elegant and easy to use control panel containing all the buttons you need to operate the machine
✓ Gas and Odour sensor - when the machine captures particles of smoke and dust, it accelerates the fan speed and cleans the air in a faster, more efficient way

---

Clearly, De'Longhi is a must have in every household. It's hard to look for an established brand that produces products with uncompromised style and performance. I'm very happy to have learned about it, and I'm looking forward to my first De'Longhi product! Life will certainly be better everyday.

To learn more about De'Longhi, please visit Concept Specialist, Inc., their official distributor in the Philippines.

How about you, what's in your household wishlist? :)

We are #TeamChocolateMousse!

the Christian life is a daily struggle, which is why i always turn to these beautiful ladies to affirm my resolve whenever i feel like the week has taken its toll on my good side. i thank God that i was given a wonderful victory group who has been very supportive of everything i do, who always keeps me in their prayers, and looks out after my spiritual life. :) 

among the many things i learned from them is the value of giving time to God every waking day.

every solitary minute you spend with God is priceless, and He values our time because it's a strong expression of our love. you'll never know what he wants to reveal to you through his word, and just the thought of realizing something from the Bible and channeling it out to the world already makes my day!

every saturday afternoon, we sit to gather in fellowship, catch up, and exchange thoughts about love, life, and everything. nothing really escapes us when it comes to being updated with everything! that's my kind of sweet ending to cap off the week that has been!

and speaking of sweet endings, here's another thing that will definitely add life to your day!

Cadbury Milk Chocolate is launching two exciting new flavors for us that will definitely give a sweeter cap off our busy days!

French Vanilla

Enjoy the light exquisite taste of Vanilla cream-filled chocolate with the new Cadbury. Dairy Milk French Vanilla. You can just imagine sitting in view of the Eiffel Tower while savoring this delicious treat! Try siting in a quaint café while enjoying the sites and this new flavor.

Chocolate Mousse

Then there’s Cadbury Dairy Milk’s Chocolate Mousse. Did you know that the word mousse in French means “foam?” Hear the strains of “La Vie en Rose” as you bite into the light and airy taste of chocolate-flavored cream covered in delicious milk chocolate. Watch the beautiful Manila sunset while on a Balcony and the experience of eating this chocolate will be just as romantic.


Guess which team we're in? haha if it's not too obvious from the picture yet, we're all rooting for Team Chocolate Mousse!

Traditionally, chocolate mousse is made by whisking egg whites and chocolate together to create that light and airy mixture that sits atop a chewy brownie.

And that's how we are together, light, fun, and a perfect cap off to a very busy weekend!

Cadbury Dairy Milk French Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse are available beginning November 2014 in the big and satisfying 180g pack for an SRP of only P180.00.

Hurry because they're only out for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! 

Which team are you in?

[RAVEiew] Cyber Month Tech Sale + Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

do you still remember the first cellular phone you had? just like you (probably!), i started with the legendary nokia 3310 (my sister had the indestructible nokia 5110), then a motorola e398 that lasted almost 5 years, then a nokia 1202. when i started earning by working part-time when i was in college, i saved up for a new cellphone because somehow my 1202 has started falling apart. that's when i got myself an LG Cookie. and more importantly, that's when i found a place i consider a second home.

i never knew i had a deep fancy for technology and gadgets until i stepped into this wonderland called SM Cyberzone. it's home to the newest, and latest tech innovations that will surely rock your world, and rack your pockets. for as we all know, the newer the technology, the heftier the price. aw.

fortunately, SM Cyberzone is on a mission to connect us to the world of technology and if money's a problem, they've got us covered!

this WHOLE MONTH of August is SM Supermall's Cyber Month Tech Sale! can you believe it? a month long SALE? havey na havey! i know it's probably too late but if you were one of those who rushed in to this celebration, i'm sure you were able to get the most out of it even if you just window shopped (like me haha). and if you missed it, come on, are you sure you really missed it? doesn't SM mean SALE MONTHLY? haha you bet pakbet! there's more to come! after all, the BER months are gleaming over the horizon already!

everything we do today is dependent on technology. it has become a powerful metric of how society has improved (or not). it is a social symbol, you may not know it but you are being judged by the gadgets you use. it is a powerful marketing tool, it affects your business and how your clients perceive you. what can i say, technology is life. and not only has it shaped our needs, it also has built our identities.

there's no denying how technology has redefined the way we live, and most especially, communicate! i'm saying this because this is the part where i let technology take dibs with my brain (and wallet). gone were the days when all i needed was a basic phone that lets me call and text. now i want to be able to chat online, check and send emails, listen to music, watch videos, access my socials, take awesome pictures, and read books! and that's just my minimum requirements! oha. it still impresses me how i consider those features non-negotiables, when clearly i can live with just a basic monochrome bar phone. BUT CAN I, REALLY? uhh, nope.

which is why i'm sharing with you my favorite favorite smartphone ever (like, so far haha), the *drumroll please* Sony Xperia Z1 Compact ... because it ticked off all of the items in my list of non-negotiable features, plus offered a lot more i honestly don't know what to do with. haha i bought it over at SM Fairview Cyberzone within the month it was released to our local shores because that's how excited i was about it. haha

my Z1C w/ some englishmen

if you know me, you would know that i'm a freak for the latest mobile trends, but i'm never one to keep up cos my hands can't! literally! i have small hands so i'm always on the lookout for quality compact phones. sadly nowadays mobile phone manufacturers have frenzied over the size to specs ratio, and apparently there's no stopping them. the higher the specs, the bigger the phone. thus, nothing suitable for me. :(

fortunately, Sony was kind and smart enough to produce a compact version of the well-received Sony Xperia Z1, sensing perhaps a considerable demographics of small-handed people like me haha! the Z1 Compact is nothing short in specs compared to its parent, except for the size of course, which is why i instantly got excited when news came out early this year.

so excited, in fact, that i raved about it once in this blog as my dream phone because it has everything i wanted in a phone and much much more! and now that i finally have it, it's time to verify if it lived up to my expectations.

i'll be rounding up my top 5 favorite features below (in no particular order), and as a bonus, i'll be quoting actual mall prices so you'll have more to consider! thanks to Cyberzone!

MY FAVORITE FEATURES

1. 20.7mp camera w/ G sensor and a dedicated camera key

i seriously feel like a FotograFer (double F cos F na F) when i'm using this phone to take pictures. the quality is excellent specially in well lighted areas. even the 2mp front camera takes decent selfies, and feeling ko may auto-beautify sya cos i'm always GGSS when i see my shots. #pagbigyan

hashtagNoFilter! haha

2. Waterproof!

one of the reasons i enjoyed our latest barkada outing was because of this! i was able to take it with me in the water, and yeaaaahh, not a single care was given!

3. LTE enabled!

this feature has leveled up my browsing experience. as in. and with our local telcos aggressively pushing this technology to its limit, it'll be no time when not a nook in this metro is reached with that elusive and exclusive 4G signal.

4. Compact size at 4.3"

it's small and handy and perfect for my hands! and like i said, i was happy with the fact that they didn't cut the specs along with the size.

5. Decent 2300mAH battery

kering keri the battery. the phone lasts me 2 days without charging and with regular use (call, text, wifi). plus, the Z1C has an energy management app you could use to control how much juice is spilled from your baby. :)

that's it for my favorite features! to date, this is already my 13th cellphone, and i don't mind using it for a couple more months... unless of course if i win an LG G3! hihi >XD

kaya naman...

mwah <3

OTHER COOL FEATURES (i have yet to find an excuse to use hehe)

USB OTG
ever since CLOUD happened, i'm not the USB type of person anymore. still, the USB on-the-go feature of this phone could come in handy for those occasional file transfers. say you ran out of memory and wanted to free up some space without deleting stuff, you can move them to another storage device w/ the OTG cable.

NFC
Near Field Communications. i have high hopes for this technology but right now there's not much chance to exploit this. when it hits the main road, uhm, i'll hit it too. haha

WHERE TO AND HOW MUCH?

WHERE? obvious ba. you have to get this at SM Cyberzone because I BET it's the nearest, cleanest, and most trustworthy gadget haven around your place. and really, is there any other place you'd want gadget shopping in? nu-uhh.

HOW MUCH? i looked around SM Fairview Cyberzone to see how much it fares 4 months after its release and here's what i found!

Xperia Kiosk
Php 22,990

Cellway
Php 23,690

Techno Mobile
Php 23,350

those are the cheapest i found! and i promise you, for that price, you are not only getting sony's smallest most powerful phone, you're also investing in your future! #makesSenseYan

SO... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Get yours now at the SM Supermalls' Cyber Month Tech Sale! #31HappyCyberDays #EverythingForTheTechieInYou

i've always thought the amount of discount SM offers, is directly proportional to the amount of people it drives in further! 50% OFF? that's 50% more people in the mall! wooooh!

so much win!

super thank you Nuffnang Philippines for these awesome prizes!!!!

1) this afternoon i got an email saying i was one of the winners of  this blogger contest sponsored by Sky Cable! woohoo! i just won a month's worth of subscription from Sky Cable... with ALL channels! oh yeah! >XD exciting, in fairness! it has been decades since we experienced cabled TV and quite honestly i wasn't expecting the prize (#chos). i was expecting another prize though! i wanted the Sky Cable gift pack cos well, i'm imagining it's a loot bag of corporate giveaways like notebooks and pens and a tumbler and stufffff and sorina, i love freebies! haha

anywaaaaay... here's the complete list of winners! congratulations to everyone!!! we deserve it! yiii. haha

btw here's my contest entry in case you're interested lang naman no haha: Watch Be Careful with My Heart #TheWayYouWantIt

Thank you so much Sky Cable! >XD


2) also this week, won 2 tickets to a blocked screening of X-Men Days of Future Past tomorrow at Shangri-la Plaza!

looking forward to more contest winnings! i can feel it, sunod sunod na to. haha crossing my fingers on Maleficent next week! haha

X-MEN: Days of Future Past

In a nutshell, here's what this installment is about (as per my google searches hehe): Wolverine travels back in time to change the past in order to save the future. Yung totoo, I'm no fan of X-Men, but of time travel? YES! HAHAHAThat's one theme I saw in this movie that got me interested. I want to know if there's something unique with their use of time travel here HAHA i'm still kindof unconvinced with the usual implications of time travel, right now i'm leaning more on this theory i mentioned here! hahaanywaaay, i'm not about to argue on the technicalities of time travel, instead i'm here to answer this query: 

What would you correct from your past to save the future?
but before that, let's watch the trailer first hahaha

okay.
so.
hmm.

it's not the first time i was faced with a similar question, and my answer has always been the same. if i were to change something from my past, it would be my course in college! and i see that this is a very very common answer! i believe there's a large chunk of our youth suffering from course mismatch, simply because they weren't evaluated and guided well enough to determine which course they would best fit into. most of the youth today are just following job opening trends without realizing they're trading so much of their lives for it!

okay, that's one thing. i'll change my course. i'll study multimedia arts or visual arts and be a kickass artist someday!

another thing is, in line with my growing (naks) concern about course mismatch, i want to take advantage of the K-12 system to incorporate a course in the basic education curriculum solely focused on helping the students decide what course they want to take in college. by that (past) time, the K-12 bill is probably still being lobbied and undergoing amendments, so it's a great way to reach out and address that concern there.

in that aforementioned course which i would call Comprehensive College Aptitude Program or CCAP (read as SIKAP ohaaa HAHAHA), teachers will devote themselves into instilling how important it is to mindfully select a course in college, and to evaluating the student's aptitude in a variety of things. more so, it will be done with the parents' cooperation as well para they know how to support their children. that's the basic idea, by the end of the course the students must have a clear and reasonable course in mind. through this, i'm envisioning more passionate college students who didn't just mindlessly select a course to take in college. lugi tayo lahat dun e promise.

having students who are naturally interested and inherently adept with their courses will contribute a lot to the formation of a better youth!

i thank you, bow.

nakaka-kilig!

last last month i joined this nuffnang blogger contest sponsored by globe where you answer the question:

“If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?”

this was my response: #GLOBEProjectWonderful2014 - A gift of reading :)

the owner of the most creative blog entry will get an ipad air and a gift come true from GLOBE Project Wonderful! also, one lucky commenter will win an ipad 2 naman! bonggaaaa! sa sobrang dami ba namang nagcomment sa entry ko (mga lima HAHAHA), i know how tight the competition was. congrats to Jinky Sagum for winning with me! >XD

i didn't really expect to win (naks haha), but i knew my entry had a fighting chance because it was a pitch for TSP! it's already a great project, and i just had to write about it and let Globe know! hehe i didn't even think my entry was 'creative' per se, but i believe it was something concrete enough for Globe to take part in. yes may mga ganong konsiderasyon talaga hehehe



nevertheless, i'm soooo blessed to have won this contest! honestly, i was only aiming for the next 15 best entries kasi mas peg ko ung globe tattoo stick, kelangan ko un eh haha. pero IPAD AIR pare, IPAD AAAAIR (at the back of my mind: shoot, magkano kaya to mabebenta?!) when i learned that they'll be announcing the winners by 3pm today, inabangan ko talaga. HAHAHA as with any contest, shempre you feel hopeful! HAHAHA

while waiting i was busying myself with our cobol exercise, and a few minutes after 3pm, i checked my facebook and boom! SPEECHLESS MOMENT! as in, what, what, i won an ipad air! my classmates started flocking over me kasi sobrang naoverwhelm ako! hahaha

thank you soooo much Lord for this blessing, not only did i win an ipad air (that i am most probably going to convert to cash!) but i also kindof got Globe to sponsor TSP! asteeeeeg! i'm so excited to collaborate! ang dami dami kasi nilang pwedeng maitulong! they could fund the publishing of our first ever story book, or they could sponsor a TSP community, or they could give us free load. chos. haha

HAHA sa sobrang overwhelmed ko my hands are shaking from happiness habang nagta-type (OA much e no). pero naman kasi, this is my biggest win so far, sa dinami dami ng kung ano anong online contest na sinalihan ko. ngayon lang ako nanalo ng super grand prize, and it felt extra fulfilling pa that i didn't win this for myself, but for the countless children who are waiting to be reached! naks, maabot na namin kayo. waits lang.

anywaaaaay, i was already too distracted to continue cobol-ing after learning the good news so i just hoped against hope that i find a way to run microfocus at home kasi waley na waley parin ako sa exercise namin!

nung nakauwi nako at nagopen ng laptop, i immediately opened vm ware and launched my virtual xp, earlier at class i learned something that could possibly allow microfocus mainframe express 2.5 to run on xp (because i keep on getting compatibility errors). sabi ko, Lord i want to stretch my blessings my today... MAKE THIS WORK PLEAAASE!!! after a few clicks:

YESSS!!! IT FINALLY OPENED!!!! I AM ONE ULTRA BLESSED CHILD TODAY, THANK YOU FATHERRR!!! at dahil nagopen na sya, clinose ko rin. masaya na ko na nalaman kong matutuloy ko sa bahay yung mga exercises. hahaha

notes: micro focus mainframe express 2.5 runs only on windows nt 4 or windows 95, to make it work with xp.... right click program, properties, select compatibility tab, check on compatibility mode and select the os where the program runs natively on! yeyy >XD

ang tanong, matatapos ko ba ang exercise? haha

[SUPER LATE POST] Blogopolis 2013 Into the Wild!

super duper late post!

[happened November 16, 2013]

weeks before the event i was having second thoughts if it's wise to spend my birthday here because it's not gonna be with family and i thought i was only coming because i won free passes (thanks to nuffnang and geoffreview!) and not because i really really wanted to come. hehe

anyway, i came (hence this post) to the event and was very happy that i did! i came with two very good friends of mine anne and RA and we all enjoyed the event! hahaha it was so jam packed they had to add extra chairs!

here's a preview of some notable parts of the conference (for me!) haha

maria ressa on bayanihan (crowd sourcing). this is probably the best i've heard the entire day. she described how they're using crowd sourcing in aggregating social media data to aid relief efforts for victims of typhoon yolanda. talk about a person finder via fb face detect and plotting passable roads via google maps! na-elibs ako when i learned how much technology is playing in helping the philippines recover from the super typhoon. dito ko rin narealize how crappy this blog is, not being able to talk about socially relevant news at least. haha #sorina

jim paredes on community and social advocacy in social media.

jeff lo of pinoy fitness talks about building an engaged community online. it's really about settling on a niche you're most passionate on and just letting the readership flow. if you notice, i'm kindof into running recently and his website is my number 1 go-to when it comes to running events. if i remember correctly, it wasn't really in his intentions to grow a community, it just happened that lots and lots of readers are starting to rely on his website for information, and suddenly the comments sections is not enough to handle actual discussions that he had to put up a dedicated forum for his readers! sarap ng feeling when you started na tipong web 1.0 lang providing information ala news, then next thing you know there's lots of user interaction happening already that you had to start engaging! thumbs up! and moooore power for pinoy fitness. i'm a fan!

aisa ipac and anna gonzales of bloggers united

in fairness naaliw ako sa dalawang to kahit na feel na feel ko ang nerbyos nila! hahaha! they shared tips on how to mount a blogging event, and also shared their experiences when they started bloggers united bazaar. stress level! hahaha

googly gooeys they have the cutest slides! as an artist (naks) i soooo appreciate the emphasis they put on visuals in their blog. super cool to the eyes! they talked about ways to make social media advertising effective. more than the usual SEO tricks, they go beyond that and put so much effort in promoting advertisers by creating comic strips with their super cute cartoon counterparts tipsy and ponggo! it's a whole new and exciting way of promoting, you know, not just copy and pasting ad briefs but actually engaging in the product itself on a personal level. inggit much! i wish i could reach that level where advertisers actually buy a post in this blog! kaso no. hahaha hanggang sponsored-reviews.com at nuffnang movie promos lang ako. 

abe olandres of yugatech.

idol ko to kasi i'm a follower of yugatech! hahaha

chucky and yen deyfrus 

ang weird ng dating nila. parang ang sungit nila sa isa't isa on stage. sorry! i don't know if it's just me but i find them awkward to each other, but nonetheless insightful naman! >XD

btw btw, comment on the host franco mabanta. he was fun, spontaneous, and an overall good host but there were times he seemed irritatingly sarcastic and over the line. hehe >:P

anyway. ehem ehem. the cocktail food was awesome! i loooooove everything that was served. hahaha mejo PG (read: patay gutom) ako i had 3 platefuls of pica picas but what can i do, everything tasted so good. even the donuts and stuffed croisant before the confe started. hahaha

nomnomnom

nomnomnomnom

after the conference, they cleared the hall and prepped it for Nuffie Awards where notable online personalities get awarded for various contributions they made to the websphere.  sadly, only a few (or none?) of the winners came hehe. we stayed for the announcement of raffle winners (there were so many giveaways!), too bad i didn't win! my friend won though yahooo!

funny divine lee!

i know she's a she but she has some gay angles idunno hehe. >XD

and the team behind the successful event :)

last but not the least... freebies!!! this was such a blessed day for me, i never had this much freebies in a single event! i took home a timex wall clock (good thing they also gave out a large shopping bag for it haha), oishi gift pack, marks & spencer lemonade, magazines, and a blogopolis kit which inlcludes skin white lotion and soap, hygienix hand sanitizer, vitress hair serum, blogopolis 2013 baller, timex and wink discount coupons, and a revlon mascara.

loot!

blogopolis 2013 kit

if there's one thing this conference succeeded in making me feel, it's that i suck so much as a blogger. hahaha no niche, no sense, and no advocacy. i feel so little, listening to these gurus blogging about stuff that actually matters when here i am, stuck with teenage rants every single day. hahaha #sonotsorry