Here is a collage that my sister made of the dresses from BV Online Store that she liked and wanted to have if it was possible. 
I actually have new stocks however I am having problems “documenting” them. I am the worst blogger and online seller in the world because I don’t have a working micro-memory card nor a working point-and-shoot camera. :’(
Anyhow, I will find a way in order to post pictures of the merchandise to my FB and Multiply sites tomorrow (the soonest).
I was not expecting the text that I received from Rachelle early last month. I was invited to Luanne’s baby shower! It was a needed get together since I have not seen Lulu, Mommy Macky, and Rache since the closure of Emerson.
I didn’t have a gift for the baby but I had the time to pick up one before I went to the venue. Thank you to nearby stores in our area.
Renting a hotel room for the event was a smart idea. It was very convenient for the hosts and accessible to everybody. It was also comfortable mostly because of the centralized air conditioning. It was something to thank for especially with the super humid Manila weather.
Here is a set-up in one of the corners of the receiving area. Gifts from and cupcakes for everybody!
Here is Tita Rache and Baby Kynkyn. The little boy is no longer a baby. He is growing so fast! I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time we see each other, he is already courting somebody.
This was the star of the night for me, the frozen brazos de mercedes. So yummers!! I would love to have 2 slices right this very minute!
There were a couple of games for everyone who were there that night. The photo below was taken during one of the games. Chocolates were melted and were placed on baby diapers. The guests were made to taste them and after were asked to identify them.
(L-R) Tita GV, Tita Julie, Mommy Macky, Baby Arkyn
In between the games, gifts were opened. Here is a photo of me and Mommy Lulu. I loved my gift and so did she. If I could wear that onesie (in other words, if it could fit me), I could have bought one set for my self as well. Cute cute!!
Though I did not know most of the people who came, the night was awesome for me. I always love being with friends just to simply hang and do some catching up, and I also enjoy making new acquaintances.
Below is a picture of everybody who were in the baby shower. Again, thanks Luanne for inviting me!! See you soon baby bi-Tamina!!
This picture is too cute that I could not help but post it. It was taken during the reception of Zara Kastielle’s (Ikay to me) baptism.
We were all smiling for the camera while she was belting it out. XD She was most probably tired. Love you Bebe Ikay! Happy 8th month!!!! <3<3<3
(L-R) Tita Jane, Tita GV, Tita Mayet, Mommy Joy, Tita Daisy
For the past few weeks, I have been welcoming new shows to watch. I have discovered a couple of TV series accidentally from unexpected trips outside of the house or by simply going through the download sites randomly. A few of the most recent discoveries I have are Jane By Design, Girls and Men at Work.
I have been going from one show to another for years now. I may have mentioned this in one of my posts (but then again maybe not) that I have been watching TV series closely (again) since early 2007. Two of the first TV series that I bough DVD’s of were House M.D and Grey’s Anatomy. When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a doctor thus the reason for the inclination with medical drama. 
Lets talk about House M.D. The past four or five episodes were not really okay for me but I still watch it because its been part of my weekly routine. Good or bad, I still watch it. And then last night, I immediately watched the show after download. There was that part where Greg supposedly died in a house fire. And then it hit me, is the show ending? While I was in the process of finishing the episode, I went to Google if it was really being sacked. The results of the research showed that it had indeed been cancelled by the TV network and it all ends with the 22nd episode of Season 8.
I’m a little bit sad because I am the kind of person who does not let go of things that easily. But there is nothing constant in life other than change. So I have no choice but to embrace this since basically it really is inevitable. One day (if not last night), the show will eventually reach its end. Its a business and it will only run until there is a considerable number of following. But if I had the reins or full control, I would have wanted for it to go on for another season or two. :’(
I know the pictures I have here will not cover everything that happened in that trip but these were all I got from the available pictures weeks ago. Not really all the pictures but only the ones that I liked from the bunch. I haven’t checked if there are new ones from friends, I just decided that these will suffice.
This first photo is familiar. Though I edited it differently this time, the raw picture I used is the same as the one I used for the first post regarding this trip.
Lirabels!! She is one of Diane’s friends from work. They (my sister and her friends) sort of “adopted” her when her best friend left work for medical reasons. My sister have been talking incessantly about her that when we finally did meet and had the chance to talk, I told her I already know a lot of things about her. It must have been creepy for her but I do know a lot of things about her.
From this trip, I discovered that Lira is an old soul in a young woman’s body. Then one realization hit me, that must be one of the reasons why I instantly liked her.
Lira Fact Number One: She listens to old songs, particularly new wave songs from the 60′s onwards.
(L-R) Lira, Me, and Diane
This second picture is “Ate” Tin and her friends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m older than her. But my sister calls her that all the time and I just I sort of associated that name phrase with her. From the stories that my sister tells me, she is one great Team Manager and if I were working for their company, I would want to be one of her agents.
All three of her friends were great people. How do you know that a person is good? You just do. I just do. You can feel it actually. There is just that aura that they exude that identifies them as true and kind. Of the three however, I had a lot of good conversation time with Nang Donna. We covered a lot of topics in that after-dinner-up-to-before-bedtime talk that we had. A lot. Nowadays, its not easy for me to open up to people, but to the three of them (and mostly to Nang Donna), I did. It was not a one way street, I also learned a lot from her (them) about family and mostly about relationships.
(L-R) Shasha, Nang Donna, Lelot, Ate Tin
This picture was taken while they were preparing one of our food for that day, pork intestines.
I was totally devoid of good sleep. Let me do a little recap why this is so. We left for Zambales, Saturday, 6AM. The day before that, my training shedule was 2PM to 10PM. I have not done any preparations yet because I was thinking, I will have a lot of time after work. By 1AM, I was done with my preparations and my sister said that I should be in Paseo Center before 4AM. I decided not to sleep so that I can be on location before the rendezvous time. One mishap though, Lira did something that made us wait for her for an extra hour. So when we got to the bus terminal, we were not able to catch the direct trip bus because it left at exactly 5AM, while we were still in the queue to get tickets. The next direct bus was at 10AM so we opted to go the long haul, buy tickets for Olongapo and then from there ride another bus to Lene’s hometown.
It seems that everybody thought I had the best sleep while we were travelling. The truth was, it was the worst bus ride I have ever had. Most likely because we were seated at the end of the bus. If I did get some zzzz’s, the longest interval was 30-45minutes. But it was actually better than getting no rest at all.
(L-R, Bottom Row) Izza, Diane, Lira, Rochelle
(Top Row) Me, Nang Dona, Lelot
Below is a picture of our hostesses for these trip, the Llorico sisters!
Hostesses!!
(L-R) Rozanne, Lene, Rochelle
This is one part of the trip that I missed because I was in my talking session with Nang Donna, the bonfire part. Below is my sister enjoying the loungy set-up. There was actually 13 of us and the cottage that we rented cannot accommodate us all. So it was decided that everybody will sleep around the bonfire. I could’ve slept inside the cottage but there was a lot of mosquitoes in there that I finally went to sleep beside my sister.
Here is another picture of them with the bonfire as the background. I was not part of the food committee so when we were actually talking about bonfire early that day, I remembered marshmallows. The bonfire could have been more fun if we had marshmallows. I would not have missed that part of the trip either if there were marshmallows. I loooooooove melted marshmallows!!!!!
(L-R) Izza, Lene, Diane
The next day I woke up a little bit early, before 7AM. It was so amazing opening my eyes to a clear blue sky, with the sound of nature surrounding me, and breathing in clean and fresh air. I wanted to sleep more but I thought, I did not go to this island to sleep. I was there to enjoy everything that it offers!
So here I was, with the gang while they peel green mangoes and prepare ingredients for the Bihon Guisado. I have a weak stomach so I opted not to eat any of the mangoes. Instead, I had some rice and adobo and then some chilled coffee.
I planned to go for a swim right after I woke up but nobody was up for it. I was trying to coax Lira to accompany me but she wanted to sleep more. Good thing that after hours of trying to find a companion, my sister decided that she wanted to go. And so we went together. We were the first ones from our group to go for a swim. We had a little bit of time to talk which actually was mostly spent on gossip.
Here is a random picture which I really really like to the extent that I wish I had something similar. Lene in one of her many “emotera” poses!
Now we have come to the highlight of the trip. If there was a Miss Popular or a Miss Most Wanted award, it could have been a hands down Lira award. If there ever was a chance for a photo session, people kept on asking to be photographed with Lira. When I say people, I meant me, Diane, Lene and Izza. I actually created two collages with those pictures. The first one is composed of pictures that were taken on our first day in the island and the second one is from pictures taken on the next day.
Overall, this was one good trip. Something that I really really needed. I want to thank my sister for pushing me to go with them (to the last minute I was having second thoughts), her friends for being so accommodating, Ate Tin’s friends for being so open and so kind, Lene’s sisters and their bf’s for being so helpful, Lene for organizing the trip, Lola (Lene’s grandmother) for cooking the adobo and the other viand for us, and most importantly thank you to Tito and Tita (Lene’s parents) for opening your home to us and for making this trip a lot less work for everybody. Thank you! Thank you!!!! Much Love! <3<3<3<3
I have been meaning to write about the results but then, as I have said in the earlier post, I have been busy. So this is supposedly three separate posts but since the show has ended, I decided to wrap all the episodes that I missed in a single post.
Top 4 Elimination Night
A lot of people were in agreement with this results night because they have been expecting Hollie Cavanagh leaving the show a long time ago.
Hollie was consistent in the last few weeks and her performances had been getting stronger and stronger. But the thing was, she was not the only one who was improving. All of her competitors were giving outstanding performances as well. As early as this week, I was already imagining a finale with Joshua and Jessica on it.
Top 3 Elimination Night
Surprise!! This elimination night was a surprise for me. The performances solidified my top two choices however, the voting public sometimes pulls something that really boggles me. I really thought that Joshua Ledet had a strong following but the thing was, Phillip’s fans were far greater in number and were more aggressive in terms of votes. Joshua was eliminated from the show.
The top two for this season is a bit odd like some other seasons.
Finale
By this time, I had high hopes for Jessica. I thought she could not make it to top 2 since for the past 10 seasons, there had been no Asian-American to ever get this far. But seeing that she overcame that, one could not stop me from thinking she can even be this season’s American Idol.
Jessica’s first two songs were delivered powerfully, as expected, and for the finale song which was set as her debut single, she came short. She did her thing with the song but because it did not really show all the things that she can do with her voice, we did not see that expected outstanding performance. She is a powerful ballad singer so why give her a pop song for a debut single??? That totally got her.
Phillip’s first two performances were so so for me. Not that bad but not that good as well. However, his last performance was a strong one accompanied by a great production. The song was so meaningful and was delivered with so much passion that for me, I considered it as one outstanding performance. It was something new to my ears and I can really imagine hearing it on the radio or seeing it being performed on a special Hollywood event.
The performance night was tipped more on Phillip’s side, I still had this little spark of hope for Jessica. But upon hearing the results, I was not surprised but I was a little bit sad because until the last second before the results were announced, I was still rooting for the Filipino-American soon-to-be-superstar Jessica Sanchez.
To Phillip, Congratulations! I heard that you will be getting your kidney operation in less than 2 days, I hope you have a successful one and hopefully, you will recuperate as soon as possible. I knew that you had congenital kidney issues but I read from some articles that at one point before the finale, you were advised to just drop the competition because you were told that you needed to undergo the operation as soon as possible, but you still went on to finish the whole process until the end. Good for you. All of your sacrifices were not for nothing.
To Jessica, I have read of you receiving deals from a lot of producers and the most frequent name I saw was Tommy Mottola’s. I know you have a bright future. There were a lot of producers and artists who are interested to work with you even at the earliest part of the season. Soar high Jessica! I know you will.
I went to check this blog early this morning, logged in and tried to see if I have comments or personal messages. Then all of a sudden I decided to check if I still have readers. I was trying not to do it because I don’t want to see a dwindling statistic but surprise of surprises, I still have readers.
I decided to create a post for my LiveJournal account to explain why it has been a while since the last post. Below is the entry. Within the day, I will also try to write as much as I can since I am on a holiday from work. Yey, long weekend!
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I have been on a hiatus for a while. The main reason is that I have a new job and I am still in the process of getting used to the new office hours and the new nature of the job.
Let me share something.
Since the closure of Intel Technology Philippines, I have been trying to enter the BPO Industry but it is just now that I find something that provided me with a pay that is sufficient enough for me to get by. Initially I wanted to join the IT industry but to be honest I am not much of a technical person so that must be the reason why it isn’t working out as I want it to. I have the option to join the semiconductor industry again but I have limited my options to Mandaluyong, Ortigas and Makati areas only.
After a lot of waiting from my first two choices, I went ahead to accept this job. I have so many concerns with it before I even started the job. I have a lot of assumptions on what it will be. So you see, before I can be consumed by any other thing, being or situation, I will be eaten up alive by myself. I am my worst enemy.
One of the best things about this job is that I went through six weeks of product training before the total immersion to the production floor. That helped me to ready myself to a lot of things.
Now, I am in my third week out in the battle field. I have a couple of distractions but I hope I don’t let it show that its affecting me. I have my sister who this time is my sounding board. She is shocked at times with the things that I tell her. Shocked in the sense that she is amazed that I still dont know of some things. The thing I always tell her is that I have been in a totally different industry before. And the people there, if ever they do “abnormal” things, they are so subtle and they do it with so much finesse that others will not know about it until such time that they will take a “wrong” step that will render them discovered. And yeah, the culture difference.
I dont deny the fact that I do not like where I am now but I will not let this go without a fight. I will try all my hardest to make it work. From the last experiences that I have had, I have learned to study the work, see my options for the future, and see if that is okay for me to work with. So little by little I do that in this new line of work alongside knowing how to get things done, polish my personal process and try doing it efficiently. I am in the stage of my life where I want progress. I was close to that before but because of some unforeseen circumstances, I was placed at the starting point again. I really don’t mind because I believe my big break will come one day, if not soon.
I saw it coming. It seems like the performance night was the only basis of the decision that the voting public pulled. Jermaine Paul won The Voice Season 2!!
I just love Blake’s reaction when the announcement was made. He came on stage and approached Jermaine exclaiming “You made it!!” The ending of the show was super emotional for me. I think it was because the emotion on the show was just overflowing, it resonated out of the screen and I believe captured millions of the viewers hearts including mine.
I enjoyed not only the end of the results show, I was tremendously entertained by the group performances delivered by the finalists with their fellow season two contenders.
The first finalist to hit the stage was Jermaine Paul. Being in the show for the last 4-5 months, it is inevitable for contestants to bond and be close to their fellow contenders. For him, he became close to three people. James was his first room mate, he loved Pip because of his great vocal abilities, and he admired Jamar Rogers for his happy disposition and deep passion for music. There was nothing more apt for them to sing than “I Want You Back” by the Jackson Five. I love!!! James and Pip were in much better vibe. They were brilliant while at the same time enjoying the song.
The next one finalist to hit the stage with fellow contestants was Chris Mann. He sang “Bittersweet Symphony” with Katrina and Lindsey. I dont know the song but the three of them were awesome in the number. I liked how Chris complimented the two ladies. With Katrina, he said that he pinned her in the earlier parts of the competition to have the capability to win the competition and with Lindsey, he said that any of them two could have represented Team Christina.
Representing the four teams, though there was no finalist, another group of season 2 artists composed of Kim, Cheesa, Naia, and Sarah delivered “Superstition.” These girls were awesome in the song and they reminded me why I loved them all. It must really be the cool vibe and them not thinking of the competition that made all the group performances super!
The next finalist on the block is Juliet Simms. She chose to share the stage with Jamar, Raelynn, and Erin to sing “With A Little Help.” Juliet was much better this night and it really showed. Her voice was much much better than the previous night. Her three companions were equally brilliant. I never thought Raelynn can pull that growl, Jamar is still his awesome self as well as Erin.
I have a few observations. The Juliet-Raelynn friendship is odd but I learned that Juliet treated Raelynn as a sister since the earlier part of the show and that made them close. Jamar was on stage twice as per the request of the finalists. It simply shows that he isn’t only a jolly, vibrant, and a friendly person when the camera is on, he is one for real.
The last finalist to go on the stage was Tony Lucca. He said that he meant to sing “Go Your Own Way” as a solo piece but he felt that it lacked the female presence so he was pleased when he learned that he can finally sing the song in the show with a friend, Jordis Unga.
Over all, the final show was AWESOME! The Voice Season 2 is AWESOME! I cannot wait for the third season to start!
So this is officially my last post for The Voice Season 2. I do hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Good luck to all the stars from this season. I hope to have your individual albums soon!!!
This may be the first time for some people to tune in their televisions to watch The Voice. Just for the simple reason that this is the finals week! I also do this, not watch shows until the finals night. But it is totally different when you were on it from the very beginning. You get to learn who the contestants are, you get to learn who the judges are, and you get to know the voting public.
For other shows, this night can be the start of the “two-night-extravaganza” but it is different in The Voice. The judges being identified forces in their respective genre do not try to get the spotlight from the contestants. No grand entrances. I love The Voice!
Jermaine Paul
I Believe I Can Fly is one of my favorite songs of all time. I loved how R. Kelly sang it on the original rendition. If I can remember it right, I cried in the Space Jam movie because I was moved to tears more with the help of the song. Tonight, hearing the song again (which I have not for a long while) brought me back to my teen years when I first saw the movie and heard the song. I was again moved, more than before. When Blake was asked for to comment on the performance, I liked what he said. “My heart is in my throat right now.” He was that overwhelmed and so was the other judges because the performance earned a standing ovation from everybody.
Tony Lucca
I don’t know the Jay-Z song he delivered but I enjoyed his version of it. As of this writing I have not heard the original rendition but again, I liked what Tony did. To be honest, I don’t think any performance can outshine what Jermaine did but I was still giving the contestants some benefit to deliver something that has that same “wow” factor.
There was again that clash between Christina and Adam when she mentioned about the idea behind the lyrics and intent of the song. I think Christina should not have mentioned that. I mean, what was she thinking? What about her comments of being the only sober judge in the show? She appears not to be. The moment she said those words there was no turning back. Even after Adam explained why they chose the song. That cost them a large chunk of public votes.
Chris Mann
There is no better song for him to sing at this time of the competition than Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up. He did remarkable. I am no opera or classical genre lover but I loved his version of the song.
One thing that was really bugging me was that Cee Lo and Adam were not asked to comment for Chris. I think it has something to do with what Christina did earlier for Tony’s performance. They decided for 2 coaches not to comment in order not to corner Adam, who i think refused to give any. But the move that Adam did earlier revealing a Team Xtina t-shirt underneath his polo throw me off-guard. That move Christina made might be something she and Adam concocted for Tony. I don’t really know but I think it was to stir people to start talking.
Juliet Simms
She was sick. I felt for her. She was amazing even she was feeling under the weather. I imagined her to be outstanding if she was in her healthy elements.
I kind of empathize with all she was saying about sacrificing everything for her passion for music. When she joined The Voice, she was at the brink of her career where she has to decide whether to totally jump in for her dreams or to take a step back and try to think of alternatives. I am at that same point right now. I just hope I will do better just the way she did. Juliet Simms is a star, a certified Rock Star.
I was expecting her to be one of the finalists so when she was not called out, I was a bit shocked. Same reaction as everybody, I think. I really thought country has a strong following and that means strong pull in votes.
JLo was making funny facial expressions after the announcement was made. She may have been expecting Hollie to go. Hollie delivered great performances for the last two weeks and as Randy said, she is peaking at the right moment in the competition. Really good for her because it is about time. But when we look back at all the performances they have done so far, we can say that Hollie is the weakest of the top 5.
With this kind of results, anything is possible. Any one of the last four can reach the finals. I really hope Joshua “Mantasia” Ledet is one of the finalist. He was my original pick along with Skylar for the finals.
I want to pick Jessica, she being part Filipina, but I am being realistic and there have never been any Asian-American to reach the finals. Yet. Again, anything is possible.
