How I Got Garlic and Sapphires

A few weeks ago, this happened on Twitter:

I was only able to get the book this morning. I didn’t drive to work today para ma-claim ko na rin yung book. (Hassle kasi sa parking pag may kotse, so di ko madaanan.)

It had my name on it when I got it. I removed it agad kasi I intended to read the book habang nasa jeep. Wheeee. Nakakakilig!

But wait, there’s more!!

Sulat pa lang, na-starstruck ako. Sakit ko na yata yun. Well anyway, thank you to Paul Santos, aka Unlawyer, for the book. I love books. Kapantay nya ang boys para sa akin. (Chos.) So getting a free book is really a big deal to me. Actually, pinakagusto ko pag nireregaluhan ako ng book. Again, salamat!

♥ Dyosaimma

What are You Doing New Year’s Eve? WHAAAAT?

I saw this while I was wasting my time with Patty Laurel:

I died. Dahil sa kilig. Pero nabuhay din ako agad, dahil rin sa kilig. Hihi. Chinese New Year naman diba? Pwede pa ring pakinggan ‘to at namnamin ang message.

Oh dear Lord. Thank you for Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Maraming salamat dahil ginawa nyo silang nakakakilig tingnan pag magkasama sila.

♥ Dyosaimma

This Month in Books (Part One)

The Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual + Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. Both bought at Fully Booked with my Fully Booked card, which entitles me to a 10% discount. I got a bigger discount with the Bobbi Brown book though. Nakalimutan ko na kung bakit. Basta mura yan. Hihi. (Insert: How I wish the iPod Touch had a better camera. Huhuhuhu.)

Most makeup enthusiasts would probably tell you that the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual is one of the most comprehensive guides for makeup and all that shiz. It has almost everything, from skin care to which types of eyeshadow formula would work for Asian eyes. Yes, may ganong chenes. With the first chapters of the book (na tungkol nga lahat sa proper skin care) ang dami ko agad napulot. I think it’s nice that Bobbi, yes close kami, started with that kasi totoo namang kahit ang pinakamagandang foundation in the world pa ang gamitin mo, balewala rin kung puro ka naman pimples underneath. She also stressed how bad smoking is for the skin–I love you, Bobbi Brown. Though akala ko talaga dati, lalake si Bobbi Brown. Bobbi eh, tapos Brown pa. Malay ko ba sa makeup, wala naman akong makeup funds dati kaya hindi ko inaatupag. Anyway, the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual is a good buy for girls. Fine, women. It has almost everything–makeup tools, how to cover eye bags, how to fight a “bad face day” etc. Akalain nyo, may bad face day pala.

The Tipping Point is also informative. It’s a good read, pero hindi sya good buy. I’ve read it twice because I’m taking notes, as in I have a notebook for it ha. Bakit? Kasi feeling ko nagbabasa ako ng handouts assigned by a professor for a class discussion and a long exam. It’s basically a compilation of stories na iisa ang tumbok: how little things can make a big difference. I bought the book more than two years ago, I think, but I decided to read it again this month because I need more information for a project that I will be working on this June–yes, it has something to do with business. Kumikitang kabuhayan, mga ate, mga kuya. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point is not only for business people though, I’ve said that it’s a good read in the sense na ang daming pwedeng matutunan about how people respond to trends–in short, it’s about the best way kung papano mapansin, kung anong kelangan, kung ano dapat etc. Yun nga lang, I don’t think pwedeng i-apply sa love life at panglalandi ang principles sa Tipping Point. Unless dream mong ma-in love sayo ang lahat ng tao sa barangay nyo.

O siguro medyo fun din yung buong barangay naglalaway sayo paglabas mo ng bahay. Maybe it’d be a good idea to use the makeup tips from Bobbi Brown and the papansin tips from The Tipping Point. Now I have a project! I need volunteers!

♥ Dyosaimma

The Goody Ouchless Flex

Medyo mahaba na ang hair ko–literally. Pinahaba ko talaga, para na rin I can play with it more. Ang target ko ay soft curlsss. Sana ma-achieve soon! It’s time to say a bonggang hello to Watercolors Salon. Hello!

At dahil medyo mahaba na nga ang hair ko, I decided that it was time to buy some tools:

This is the “small” version of the Goody Ouchless Flex, which retails for P399.75. Goody products are very easy to find, I think they’re available in leading department stores at my dedicated section pa ang department stores para sa Goody. Yes, their products are more expensive than other hair tools, but Goody is Goody.

Anyway, this small Ouchless Flex is very easy to use. Though dahil sa sobrang kapal ng buhok ko, pang half-pony tail lang sya sa akin. I have smooth hair and with other hair clips, madaling mawala yung ayos ng buhok. The Goody Ouchless Flex holds my hair well.  Sulit na. Tsaka mapipilitan ka pang ingatan yung panali mo sa buhok kasi hindi mura. O diba, na-te-train pa maging maingat sa gamit.

Ang Goody Ouchless Flex ay ouchless talaga sa buhok at sa pag-gamit. Ang konting ouch ay napupunta sa bulsa. Heehee.

♥ Dyosaimma

Another Happy Food Saturday. Heehee.

After dropping off Mama Daku (lola ko), my aunt, nephew and niece, our next destination was Tiendesitas. I went to Tiendesitas around three to four years ago, I can’t really recall. I can remember calling it as a sosyal tiangge place. I didn’t think there was anything special about it, pero hindi rin naman sya pangit. I just don’t think it’s something that I should hype about. Sorry sa mga Tiendesitas fans dyan ha.

So last night, since it was on the way, we decided to drop by. It’s my first time to visit Tiendesitas at dinner time and I had no idea that it’d be so noisy. Siguro hindi lang namin feel talaga yung ingay at yung environment na inabutan namin. Most of the food stalls had grilled food–Tiendesitas is basically an inuman hub at night. It’s a good place for birthday salubongs and those “let’s go and numb the pain of our miserable lives” inuman sessions with friends. So konting ikot-ikot ang ginawa namin and then we later decided to look for a more quiet place to eat.

Buti na lang we didn’t settle for the inuman hub! Hahahaha. We had these for dinner:

Puttanesca + family platter + chef salad from A Venetto in SM Supercenter Pasig. Bago ang judgements, hindi namin naubos yung food. BEH! Every time we’d eat in A Venetto, I would really ask Dremon if we can order the family platter. Ganito lagi usapan:

Me: Family plaaaaattuuuuuurrrrr!

Dremon: Ang dami nun, hindi natin mauubos.

Me: Family plaaaaattuuuuurrrrr!

Dremon: Dalawa lang tayo, dapat family yun kasi family platter nga.

Me: Family plaaaaattuuuuurrrrr!

Dremon: Marami nga yun. Hindi natin kayang ubusin.

Me: Fine.

 

Last night, walang ganyang usapan. Pinagbigyan na rin ako ni Dremon, yay! True enough, hindi namin naubos yung family platter, dalawa lang kami eh. Hindi rin naman kami matakaw. (Kidlat!) Na-realize na lang naming ang dami pala naming inorder nung nandun na lahat sa table. Again, hindi namin yan naubos. Ang daming take home, okay. Don’t judge. Thanks.

A Venetto is the place that we always go to whenever we’re craving for something Italian. Plus I love celebrating birthdays in A Venetto (Visayas Avenue branch) because the people there are really nice, tapos hindi pa sila nagagalit kahit gaano kayo kaingay. Wala pang service charge! Oha. For A Venetto virgins out there, I highly suggest that you visit A Venetto as a group, siguro around four to five people ok na, para mas sulit. Their pasta dishes are so tasty and the servings are generous. Their pizza is also really good–not too greasy and not too pricey. Again, visit A Venetto in groups, mas sulit. Tsaka masarap lagi ang kwentuhan sa A Venetto. With good food comes good stories and a lot of laughs.

Pagkatapos ng dinner, syempre kailangang ma-burn ang calories kasi mahirap na kung tumaba diba. Paano na ang figure? HAHAHAHA AS IF. Konting ikot lang kami sa Silver City (na hindi silver) at sa SM Supercenter. We also tried a peanut butter empanada, na sayang lang sa pera! Huhuhuhu. Sayang yung P19 because the empanada was too dry. SM Supercenter is nice ha, in fairness. Hindi kasi chaotic. Well, maliit lang naman kasi sya tsaka ang daming pwedeng puntahan sa Frontera Verde area.

I craved for iced tea so we made a quick stop sa aming forever happy place: Banapple! Kailangan din kasi naming bumili ng pie, para alay sa bahay. You know, para hindi kami pagalitan ng mga nanay namin. (Tip: Kung uuwi ng medyo gabi, magdala ng masarap na pagkain. Pangontra sa inis ng mga magulang yan.) Kaso nagkaroon ng konting change of plans kasi nakita kong available pa ‘to:

So yung take out na tuna pies at Banapple home made iced tea, nadagdagan ng isang slice ng Yo-Ho-Hope Cheesecake. Sa sobrang tuwa ko, sabi ko kay ate sa counter, “Miss tsaka isang slice ng Yo-Ho-Hope.” SMILE.

We were surprised with the Yo-Ho-Hope Cheesecake, actually. Parang hindi cheesecake eh, para syang malaking brownie na may pecan nuts na lasang pili, dahil candied. Masarap naman, kaya lang nagulat kami. It’s worth giving a try, habang available pa. Since it was kinda late already, we couldn’t really stay in Banapple to eat the cake, so we ate in the car. Something magical happened–hindi kami natraffic. Hindi rin namin inabutang red ang stoplight. Evaaaar. Napakachallenging palang kumain ng cake habang tumatakbo kayo ng 60-80kph along Katipunan at Elliptical Road. Challenging but fun. Hindi naman nakakamatay though.

Naisip din namin kagabi, ilang beses na kaming naipit sa traffic at nagutom. At hindi birong traffic yun ah. Mga two to three hours na bumper to bumper situations na ang naranasan namin before, tapos walang pagkain sa kotse. Bakit kaya ganon no? Kung kelan meron kaming pagkain, dun naman kami hindi pinatigil. Is this the universe sending us a message about our diet? Ito na ba yun?

♥ Dyosaimma

What do you order in Iceberg’s at 12AM?

Last Tuesday, we found ourselves in Iceberg’s in MOA. Bakit? Dahil nakakastress ang Tuesday night! Nakakastress in all levels. At pag kami ay nasestress, we turn to the thing that we know will never let us down: food.

We were (kinda) near the Mall of Asia, so suntok sa bwan na dun na kami pumunta. Good thing there were still a few open restaurants. Bumawi rin ang langit sa amin! YAY!

Pampatanggal ng antok ang brewed coffee, Iceberg’s version. Nothing special about it though. For P78, I think it’s a bit pricey. Masaya paglaruan yung fizz sa taas though. (Hindi ko alam tawag! Hahaha. Sorry.)

Panlaban sa gutom: Beefy lasagna with bread. Malasa naman, but not as powerful as Banapple’s lasagna. Ok naman ang serving size, nagkasya na sa dalawang chubby people na hindi masyadong malakas kumain.

Okay, fine. Nagkasya yung lasagna sa amin ni Dremon kasi we also ordered the fish and chips. It was served really late though. Mas ok sana kung nauna nilang sinerve kasi pica-pica sya dapat. Itong fish and chips naman, pampatanggal ng stress. Pero feeling ko mas nastress si Dremon kasi napaso sya when he ate a piece. Well you know what they say diba? Ang unang mapaso ng mainit na pagkain ay ang pinakamatakaw. Bakit? Kasi yung naunang mapaso, unang kumain. Ang unang kumakain, sabik sa pagkain. In short, matakaw. (Fine, pwede ring gutom lang talaga.)

We ended up in Iceberg’s in MOA ng alanganing oras because we came from the airport. At masasabi ko, with full conviction, that our airport experience was too stressful. Hindi nakatulong yung condition ng NAIA. Yung place na designated for those who will salubong those who will arrive looks like a bus terminal in Cubao. I have nothing against Cubao bus terminals ha, kasi nag-bu-bus din naman ako. Pero kung ako ay galing sa ibang bansa at yun ang makikita ko sa airport, I don’t think I’ll be happy. We were talking about how bad the airport was and we couldn’t stop. There were people  who were in the airport for the wrong reasons–there were girls who wandered around the waiting area, asking people if they want to have some fun, if the price is right. Nakakaloka. Girls ang sabi ko kasi they’re not exactly girls. Context clues na lang, friends.

I really hope na with the renovation project for the airport, kasama na dun ang major overhaul with the management. I mean no offense to those people who are working in and for NAIA, pero guys, let’s face it. NAIA made it to the list of the worst airports in the world for a reason. Let’s do something to change that. Lezzzgow!

Hay. Buti na lang natuwa kami sa pagkain sa Iceberg’s, nakalimutan na rin ang stress. Heehee.

♥ Dyosaimma

Duma-drama Queen ang Peg

The light beer has just kicked in and so I am now in my drama queen mode. This will go away after I take a shower though. Well, I hope.

I hate you, iPod. I hate your shuffle mode. I’m too weak for this and yet you play the right songs to shatter my self-induced happiness. Chos. Anuraw. Hindi ko rin alam. Basta naiirita lang ako kasi ang lakas mang-asar ng iPod.

Ito ba naman ang pinlay:

Ayoko na nga ng dramaaaaa. So wala na dapat meaning yan diba. 2012 is too good to coat everything with drama. I will make things simpler this year. I WILL. No need to complicate, our time is short nga diba, sabi ni Jason Mraz.

So for those with issues and who’s thinking about getting an iPod, ingat kayo. Malakas mang-asar ang iPod. Any model, trust me. Kahit iTunes, malakas din mang-asar yan. Ingat na lang. Wag magpahalatang affected ha? Like this. Chos.

♥ Dyosaimma

Shuffle Trouble

I’ve come to love ironing clothes. I started doing this little chore when I was in third year high school, kasi I needed a way to practice walking in heels. So naisip ko nun, magpaplantsa na lang ako ng damit habang naka-heels. Yan, hanggang ngayon, assignment ko ang pagpaplantsa ng mga damit. Naka-heels at make up pa rin ako pag namamalantsa. I find ironing clothes on a Sunday night really, really relaxing.

So tonight, while I was busy with this:

and while I was enjoying the light of my life:

Bigla ba namang naging bastos yung iPod at ito ang pinili as first song when I put it on shuffle mode:

So instead na zen ako, instant emo ang peg habang nagpaplantsa. Minsan naiisip ko, sinadya ng Apple engineers na sadyang mapang-asar yung iPod pag naka-shuffle mode eh. Shuffle mode is like “I know what’s really going in your mind, so I’m going to play this song for you to realize that you can not run away from your thoughts.”

Puro buntong-hininga tuloy napala ko habang nagpaplantsa. Should I still thank Jason Mraz for reading my diary? Chos.

♥ Dyosaimma

The First Ever Movie Marathon

Yesterday was our first ever movie marathon sa sinehan. The event wouldn’t have been possible if not for some really cool people from SM. Heehee. Thank you!

We watched MI4 first, then Sherlock Holmes 2. Sabi ko nga, we should’ve seen Sherlock Holmes first, kasi masyadong maaksyon yung MI4, tapos IMAX pa yun. Feeling tuloy namin ang labo ng Sherlock Holmes. And it was too gay! Seeing Robert Downey, Jr. in drag was too disturbing. Pwede syang big bad wolf sa Little Red Riding Hood if ever. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was too predictable (at least for us) at parang nagtipid sa action scenes. Plus it didn’t really help that we saw MI4 an hour before we saw Sherlock.

Nakakaloka naman kasi yung MI4:

Sana nga hindi tumanda si Tom Cruise at gumawa pa sya ng ilan pang Mission: Impossible movies. We saw it in IMAX and we had the best seats so feel na feel! The movie was two hours and five minutes long, pero in fairness, hindi ako na-bore at all. Tom Cruise looks old but his hair is makalaglag-panty. (Katie Holmes, magaling ka pumili ha!) I loved how the story had some sense, unlike some action films na puro na lang habulan at magagandang kotse. I really hope Tom Cruise makes more movies! Pleeeease! Mission: Impossible na lang ang pagkaabalahan nya sana. Heehee. In case you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend that you watch it in IMAX. Everything is better in IMAX, you know.

At dahil maaksyon ang mga pinanood namin, maaksyon din pati dinner:

 Pila pa lang, maaksyon na sa Bon Chon. Their branch in Trinoma is too small, I think. I hope they’d expand soon. Sayang kasi umaalis yung mga tao. We wanted to eat Bon Chon kasi di pa na-ta-try ni Dremon, so naghintay talaga kami. We got the mixed meals (soy chicken) and the hot and spicy chops. Too bad you need to pay for the mayo, it was really good with the spicy chops pa naman. Dibale sa susunod, magbabaon ako ng mayonnaise, hindi naman bawal. The times are hard people, we need to save. Magbaon.

At dahil maraming nakain sa Bon Chon, lakad lakad lakad lakad muna. Lakad from Bon Chon Trinoma hanggang DQ SM North. For dessert. Kailangan kasing lumakad, baka tumaba eh. And then lakad ulit, from the main mall to the open parking.

This huge dragon is on display at The Block. Gusto kong mahawakan! Huhu. Dibale, gagawan ko ng paraan na makalusot ako sa harang. Heehee.

And the hunt for dragon figurines is on! I want to celebrate Chinese New Year this Sunday in Binondo for the ultimate Chinese New Year experience sana. Year of the Dragon kasi, so it’s time to celebrate! (And be lucky.)

♥Dyosaimma

I won’t give up! Happy new year!

Happy new year, world! Yes, medyo late huhuhuhu. Blogging, or even going online, has been a tedious task lately. After Christmas, our line decided to give up on us (yet again) and the people from BayanTel haven’t been able to address our problems. We’re lucky that we have our landline again but our internet connection is still moody. We can only surf the internet if we will directly connect our modem to our computers. Mababaw ang problema namin in terms of other people’s worries, I know, pero hassle ang ginagawa sa amin ng BayanTel. Oo, nagrereklamo akoooo.

Anyway, that’s not how I want the start of 2012 to be, so I’m just going to kebs it for now. Kebs = hindi ko iinisin sarili ko. 2012 has been crazy (so far) but the blessings are unbelievable. Plus I am feeling extra, extra hopeful this year. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero mas ok na yung positive ang outlook kesa naman sa madilim ang tingin sa kinabukasan diba. Minsan talaga nag-wo-work yung ngingitian mo na lang lahat ng bagay.

And to welcome the year right, I’d like to share Jason Mraz’s new song:

I heard it last week over RX. Umagang-umaga. I was (then) on my way to work at natigilan ako. Beautiful, beautiful lyrics. I found myself bawling like a baby while watching the video because it’s too honest and it’s too beautiful. Thank you for reading my diary, Jason Mraz.

I won’t give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I’m giving you all my love
I’m still looking up

And when you’re needing your space
To do some navigating
I’ll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

♥Dyosaimma