Thursday, March 29, 2012

March Mallows

We've got wet summer this time but that doesn't bring us less things to do this season. Staying indoors this March is actually fun! I'm lucky I had the chance to go to the beach when the month has just started but for the rest of it, I had a lot of catch-ups with my groups from Monthly Period to Tropang Logbi plus our newest group, Temptation Island.

Meet my beautiful friends. They are the reason why I stay late at night, why I gain unwanted fats and pounds, why I can't cleanse my liver and most of all, they are the reason why I'm very happy these past few days. Remember the status update I posted in Facebook about a "friend"? These people take the pain away. Because of them I finally believe that in life, we don't need many friends. We only need a few real ones. They may be more than ten, but you know how this saying goes: The more, the merrier!

Monthly Period March celebration at El Pueblo.

With Susie and Kimmie, who'll give birth anytime soon!

Tropang Logbi for JC's birthday! Haha!

Two days after, we met up again. With Rachel this time!

With Leslie, Jen and Cha. :)

Boi + girls! Jeff ♥ Jen, Paolo and I, RJ ♥ Leslie, Allan ♥ Cha =)

College night with Susie, Doms, Nate and Kim E.

Temptation Island team with the pilots! (PS: Don't you love my orange blazer?)

March is about to end, I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see Mika, Maro and Ailyn this weekend too. When that happens, I will officially mark March as my official Friendship Month!

PS: I'm trying to blog more often. More lifestyle posts in the future is what I've been praying for. Wish me luck!

♥,

Monday, March 26, 2012

High Five!

Today is a special day for me at work. It’s my second year at the Happy Network yet I still feel that I’m a newbie. I can still remember how I got my job a couple of years ago—I never thought I’d bag a position even if I’ve been only affiliated with a culinary school for six short months. I consider it as a blessing, more than opportunity, and with this I’m beyond thankful and still amazed that I became a part of the country’s fastest growing network.

For two years, I never woke up a single morning dragging my butt out of bed. I always wake up feeling good for the rest of the day and everyday seems to be both challenging for me and I always positively look ahead because I know I would learn new things I did not learn in school. It’s exciting to know new words from a simple “airtime” to a very technical “encoder-decoder”.

They say when you love your job and you love what you do, you don’t have to go to work anymore. I do love both and I agree that I no longer go to work. Also, loving your colleagues and your immediate superior and being loved (and appreciated and cared for) in return is a plus! I consider my immediate superior as my second father (I swear he shares the same traits with my Dad and being a certified daddy’s girl, working with a person like him is easy. He is highly respectable, very honorable yet super humorous that’s why regular workdays aren’t boring at all.

More fun days are coming and as long as I’m in their good hands, my future is bright. 
♥,
Marianne

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The College Life I Had

Graduation photos all over my Facebook news feed, congratulatory banners from the politicians, job fairs for the newly-grads and more. It's the season of celebration for those who made a triumphant journey: almost sixteen years in school and finally, sleepless nights are over, no more dilemma on strict professors and above all, the smile we'd see on the faces of parents upon seeing their children wearing toga and receiving their precious diploma. Priceless.

I once said this three years ago in my Multiply blog:

Mixed emotions! Totoo pala, akala ko cliche lang. Masaya kasi graduate na, no more homeworks, no more researches, no more feasib and no more OJT! No more terror professors and stupid irregular blockmates. Malungkot kasi hindi mo na sila makikita almost everyday. Yung mga taong tinuring mo na na kapamilya mo. Yung tipong sa araw-araw na lang na ginawa ng Diyos kasama ko si Cha, Phoebe, Kim, Jovy, Anne, Cheenee, Susie and Miles. 

 I waited for Jovy outside, because Marcial and Mariano are forever seatmates, and in less than 20 minutes, she arrived. We got inside first then finally saw Cheenee and Susie. Kim arrived. We wore our togas together, and went to the Breezeway.

I had goosebumps as we walked outside. Seeing familiar faces wearing togas made my heart pound faster. These are the people I used to see wearing the same uniform with mine, the people I shared my lectures with. I realized we'll eventually leave college, and everything will only be a memory.

During our two-hour stay on the assembly area, we took all the time to take pictures together. We captured every moment given to us, until we were asked to fall in line in alphabetical order. It's 4PM. It's officially our graduation.

Let's now take a trip down memory lane. I never thought that such day would come where I'd love to look back and see my younger face together with the people I used to spend my everyday life with.

Days before our much-awaited graduation ceremonies, we had our Baccalaureate Mass where I've seen my classmates wearing dresses inside the classroom. My circle of friends and I kept closer ever than the usual, we were all inseparable.

The FEU Grandstand is a witness to our friendship.

A small portion of our classroom.

Girlfriends: Annie, Susie, Kimmie, Cheenee, Miles, Jovy, Yannie, Phoebe and Chachee. All pronounced with -ie.

The day we officially called ourselves GRADUATES OF 2009, four days after our Baccalaureate Mass:

Here we are wearing our toga with our hair sporting almost the same shade.

Wackies in green!

My feasib/thesis mates: Bianca, Abbie, Mae, Rachelle and Doms. Reunion, please?

 Our entire class: T0541

The feeling got more intense when we went inside the hall, seeing almost a thousand of other students waiting for the moment to get up on stage and receive their diplomas. The ceremony started 4:00 in the afternoon, the perfect time to hear your stomach rumble because it's hours after lunch, hours before dinner and no snack time in between. But in our case, we did not feel any roaring at all. No amount of food can ever fill our grateful souls. Naks!

Also, not to brag about this, but one of the best gifts I've ever received in my whole life is my award as an honor student. My academic story is so precious and I know that this is something my parents will forever treasure and remember. From preschool to grade school to high school, I annually gave my parents a special gift by bringing them up on stage until I made a wide collection of certificates, ribbons and medals. In college, I encountered a lot of hardships--criticisms from professors which I never experienced in basic ed (my teachers from Araneta loved me to bits), disapproved and rejected project proposals--reasons why I decided not to join any extra-curricular activities so I can focus more on academic subjects (again, I joined all organizations and clubs and student council, dancing and theater groups in basic ed except BSP and math club). For the first time, I got a red mark on a quiz I took during our Law class and since then, vying for a Latin award seemed so impossible. Still, I worked hard in school. I worked hard in spending sleepless nights to memorize airport and airline codes, all the wonders of the world, reservation manuals, capital cities, currencies and foreign languages, studied beyond the basics of hotel and restaurant, business management, marketing, event handling and accounting. My college was made of these. 

Yet they say, "No pain, no gain." 

The best I've gained so far.

I still made it!

I will forever keep this piece.

It was surreal. I couldn't believe that after all the hardships I've gone through, I made it. I still made it. For the last time, I made Mom and Dad proud. And Paolo proud. It's sweet how a little sacrifice could eventually turn to a lifetime victory.

My super happy Daddy!

Ghetto, yea?

Three years have passed, I'm still seeing the same people except for the others who flew out of the country to find their career path. Others got married and some has children and most of us are enjoying the fruits of our labor. 

***
This one's for my sister who will finish college in less than a month, and to two of my other cousins, too. I want to congratulate you for conquering school and this may serve this as an inspiration to you and to all the remaining students that you may cherish the days while you're still at it. I often hear rants about how school gets tough. I once ranted, too and prayed for the day to see it all end. I say, appreciate school, it's the foundation of your future. And when you found it, keep it in mind and heart that it may lead you to the road of your success. I'm not telling you that I'm already successful, but considering myself as a part of the company I'm working at is an opportunity. In life, we need these three takes: take chances, take the risk, take one step at a time. Soon you're on your way, and the next thing you know, you're already there. Good luck!

♥,

Thursday, March 15, 2012

First Of Summer: Potipot Island

Unplanned trips are, most of the time, the best! How often do you hear this? Me and my other groups of friends always find a hard time syncing all our busy schedules to go out of town and usually, the plans don't push through. So when you have the chance to go somewhere for the weekend and you've got friends who impulsively say yes to be with you a day before/on the very same day you plan to leave... pack your bags, leave and TREASURE THEM FOREVER. Times like this is definitely one for the books, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna roll! :)

Ever since Susie made Zambales her home extension, we have been planning to visit her and Neil. She never fails to tell us her story on how accessible the beaches are in Iba and have always used her magic spell on us: free accommodation. Neil is about to finish his term at All Asia Aviation Academy so he has free hours to spend with us and tour us around. Kim, Doms and I were honestly not sure if we could join in the fun that's why we just confirmed the trip two days before.

We left Friday evening to enjoy the whole day of Saturday in the beach. Kim brought a friend with her, JJ, so we traveled in even number--Doms, Kim, JJ and yours truly. It only took us 3 1/2 hours to get to Iba (we were told it would take us 5 hours) and how we got there was totally hilarious! Everytime I think about it, I can't help but laugh hard.

POTIPOT ISLAND

It's a choice between Anawangin and Potipot Island. Luckily, Doms has been to these two islands and he recommended Potipot because of its whiter sand (however, we are planning to go back and see Anawangin soon). We got up Saturday morning, around 9, and traveled up north.


From Dawal Beach Resort, you can see right away the beauty and whiteness of Potipot Island. We crossed the see the sea for only five good minutes and paid the boatman P400, round trip.


There you go! Welcome to Potipot Island! I'm very surprised on the whiteness of the island, I never thought it's as white as Panglao's! There's a fee (P100 for a day and P300 for overnight) and unfortunately, we were asked to pay in such a rude way.

Moving on, we had lunch the moment we found the perfect place to keep our things safe and dry and shaded. There are cottages in the island for P500 but there are tables under the tree for free. We all hate extra charges, don't we? So we opted to stay under the tree and besides, we were only staying for a day.


It's really sweet of Susie to prepare lunch for us: shrimp, chicken adobo, salted egg. It's a new her and we won't ask why. Ayeee! :)

That moment when Superloved is super hungry.

I know others are waiting for this: mix and match, bikini pics! Haha! Here it is --


I did not wear anything new. I just wore the top I wore in Bataan last year during Holy Week with its original pair, the purple bikini I used in Puerto Galera and Boracay in 2011. I also wore my see-through bottoms I used in Cebu to cover me up. That's just it, I spent no amount for this trip except for food and transportation.

There goes my belly. :)

Girls: me, Susie and Kimberly.

Plus the captain, Neil.

And the professor, Doms!

Meet JJ too! And here's the only group shot we had. Boo!

To cite Doms, "May area sa Potipot na pang-pictorial." Of course we didn't leave the island without taking photos in that area which Doms was referring to. We loved it! Temptation Island, indeed!

Picture perfect!

I ♥ stolen shots!

And speaking of stolen shots, I'm happy to found out that JJ takes good photos and he took us paparazzi-inspired photos! Some of my favorites are:

 "It pays to check the label."

"Test the water."

"ODK moments."

I just love this photo and made it my profile picture too!

Wanderlust!

While I'm asleep.

We went back to Iba before 6 to get ready for our BBQ party with Neil's "international" friends. But before that, we had a little grocery shopping to buy Magnum (Susie's really an influential person). Other photos were taken using Kim's camera so I've nothing to show you but this:

PAMU!!!

Hopefully, I'd be able to blog about our Subic trip soon. We had a day trip there as well before we officially ended our super short vacation. I want to share you our story about our personalized bus ride, our day in the park somewhere in SBMA, Doms' shopping spree at Freeport Zone and our super fulfilling late lunch at Xtremely Xpresso.

Xtremely Xpresso in Manila, please?

My first of summer is a big blast! Thanks to my pans and my mars for this ODK-worthy weekend! Looking forward to our next summer trips in Anawangin and Pinatubo! :)

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Baguio Experience: A Year After

Doors left open, rattles at night, barking dogs and nightmares. All these things make me feel so scared, so alone. I'm still frightened that someone out there is watching me sleep and walking in discreet to grab my things and hurt me and my family.

It's been a year since I suffered from that very traumatic experience, one of the most horrible thing I've ever seen right before my eyes. A man with no face looked so dangerous and armed. I stared at him for seconds and witnessed his moves as he took a hold of my bags. I can still remember the exact details of it, from the time I saw him standing in front of me up to the moment we were shouting and screaming for someone to notice that we were in a menace. My body was shaking and I couldn't even manage to utter a word.

What happened was real, I wasn't dreaming. And for the second time I was reminded about the true meaning of MATERIAL THINGS. It restored all the lessons I learned when our house burnt down eight years ago. It's nothing compared to those who suffered from a loss of their loved ones, to those who were brutally murdered, sexually abused and hurt. And it's NOTHING compared to the victims of earthquake and tsunami in Japan which also happened the day before we were robbed.

Although I still have to deal with strange nights (believe me, until now I sleep beside my bag and keep my phones in unusual places, place bottles next to my door's room when I'm out of town), I'm slowly getting over it. S-l-o-w-l-y. I'm trying and it's hard. People may say I'm over-acting so I always make it a point to explain why I do such things. And I'm relieved whenever they understand the kind of situation I'm in.

A year ago, I'm fearful. My trust in the world vanished. A year later, I say I'm a little wiser, little braver. I still get chills at night but with my prayers, I know I'd get by.

,
Marianne

Friday, March 09, 2012

Big Bang Theory

How are you, my dear readers? I bet most of us are waiting for the clock to strike 6 to officially start the weekend. My blogging mojos are now recharged, finally! They were so feeling low the past few days, and even I can't think of new posts to make. And when I do, time won't allow me to.

Summer has officially started as well! The scorching heat of the sun outside make us all crave for the cold sweets like the very Filipino halo-halo, dirty ice cream, smoothies a la Jamba Juice, iced milk teas, frappuccino and the now famed Magnum ice cream. I'm also looking forward to my very first trip to the beach this summer with my college chums Susie, Kim E. and Dominique. We're heading up north tonight and we're so ready to get a tan! Oops, okay, I take it back. I'm mentally and emotionally ready but my things aren't yet. I have to do a quick packing after work.

That ain't new. I hate procrastinating but I'm pretty sure I'd still make it to our own assembly time. But one thing is new (boo, I hate this introduction!!!), I rejoined the bandwagon--I'm sporting full bangs now! The last time I cut my bangs on my own was 2009, months after I finished college. Three years later, I'm feeling like a youngster again. When I cut my bangs the other day, I thought of some inspiring people, just in case I'd look awkward and be much willing to blame myself (can I call this leveling? haha!).

Anne Curtis

Maxx Magalona 

Saab Magalona ♥

Saab Magalona is a major inspiration! Hee! I failed to find a photo of Patty Laurel, Regine Angeles and Heart Evangelista flaunting the full bangs though. I lacked courage so I thought of these ladies, they're my forever girl crushes! I hope I won't remind you of Charice because, uhm, yeah. But I saw she's got new looks now. For a change.

Masakit sa ulo.

Masakit sa bangs!

Full bangs, I conquered ya!

The next day, my bangs looked shorter!

...but nonetheless I loved it! I'm so happy that I did it--for my look, for myself. There are issues, actually. I have proved myself something and I'm so happy, even received compliments! Thank you! Thanks for calling me Emily The Strange, Sandara Park and a Japanese doll. Kawaii!

Hope we will all enjoy our weekend with a BANG! :)

♥,

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

February Flashbacks

February is a favorite month. And being the shortest month, I actually didn't notice how time flew by so fast! Up until now, I feel like it's only February 31. A lot of things happened during the love month, topping it is our 8th anniversary which we spent in Cebu and my Dad's happy birthday just a few days ago. I did not manage to update Superloved even if I wanted to. And if free time allows me to work on my writing mojos, I take the chance.

Aside from the two highlights I mentioned above, here are some days I'd like to get back with before I officially start my March, the summer starter.

 I barely see Toto these days so I was very happy to see him again when he asked me one biglaan day!

Watched Unofficially Yours with my sister Ming and Susie, whom I dearly missed!

Played with Reesha and Roddick at the mall when Susie left.

Dinner at City Best for Paula's 9th birthday and Paolo's Tita Anday's despedida. :)

Tin gave birth last February 29. Welcome, baby Kendrick!

Lastly, the milk tea craze got moooore crazier! Cha Dao fever!

The love month marked good and happy memories! It is a well-spent month with close friends and family. Our new tambayan called Silong de Garahe or Marcial Law Headquarters is a witness. That's where my cousins and I meet during weekends to catch up on each other and to play with the kids as well. And now that summer has officially started (yes, that's according to PAG-ASA), I can't wait to spend some time with them on the beach! Beach with my family and Paolo's family, beach with Monthly Period, beach with Tropang Logbi, beach with college friends, beach with Us-4 girls, beach all the time!

My summer game faceS are on, look!

Awesome photo by my sister Mamai :)

♥,