The World of Second Chances

Mariel and Robin on Startalk

September 23, 2010

That’s Entertainment

Are they married or are they not? Who cares? The couple seems ecstatic over their newfound happiness in each other. I’m used to seeing Mariel in her signature boisterous laughter “HAHAHAHA!” But a prim and proper Mariel graced Startalk’s audience last September 18. Could it be Robin’s influence on her? That Startalk episode was one hell of an interview; I could have stomache due to continuous laughing!

Imagine, Mariel was with Robin and his two kids by ex-wife (?) Liezel Padilla. Mariel was replying to an (unseen) interviewer’s question and you could hear Alih talking, too on the background. Distracted, Mariel seemed more surprised to know that she was answering a LIVE interview. So, what’s with that? Well, she’s the host of E-Live on GMA-7’s rival channel, the ABS-CBN. Maybe that was the reason why she was unusually not her euphoric old self all throughout the interview.

Kylie granted an interview, too but like step-mom Mariel, she was also distracted by Alih.

Kylie: Why are you laughing?
Alih: (in his Australian accent) I’m not laughing….I’m just smiling.

Robin seemed to be controlling his emotions, careful not to scold his youngest child. He was holding Alih’s hands but the little boy of seven or ten seemed to be VERY clueless that he and his family were being interviewed LIVE. As usual, when asked about Mariel, Robin would answer as if he was a direct descendant of Francisco Baltazar. I wonder if it was that style that captured the hearts of his many exes. I noticed that Mariel and Kylie were not comfortable to be seated next to each other. In fairness to Mariel, she seemed to be reaching out to Robin’s kids. I hope she could also be good friends with Liezel.

Going back to the wedding issue; Robin said in The World Tonight that he married Mariel last August 19 in Agra, India, home of the Taj Mahal. But Robin, isn’t it a little weird to get married near Taj Mahal since it’s a mausoleum? Or maybe your were moved by Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal’s love story? If that is so, is it safe to say that Mariel would be the last woman in your life?

Robin allegedly married Mariel for the second time in Camp 7, Baguio City. If my memory serves me right, Camp 7 is along Kennon Road. Being a Muslim, Robin’s loyalty to his faith was questioned but he justified the Ibaloi wedding by saying that he is an Igorot and his mother, Mrs. Eva Padilla is related to the Cariños of Baguio City. Joaquin Cariño granted an interview in 24 Oras and explained that Robin and Eva could not be found on the Cariño family tree. Joaquin or Jack is the great grandson of Mateo Cariño, a popular figure in Baguio City. But being hospitable, the Cariños acknowledged Robin as their honorary cousin. In fact, they’re still not closing their doors on him; Robin would just have to prove that they have blood relations. Hats off to the Cariños of Baguio City; they didn’t claim to be related to a popular figure unless they have a proof. If they were not classy at all, they would grab the chance of being related to Robin Padilla. Off-topic, are the Cariños related to the Hamadas who own the Midland Courier?

Read up, I mentioned that Liezel is Robin’s ex-wife with a question mark. I read on PEP that their marriage is not yet dissolved. Is that a premonition that no matter what, Liezel will forever be Mrs. Robin Padilla? I think that Liezel was Robin’s love of his life; it’s just that, womanizing is part of his system. With four kids and a marriage that has yet to be dissolved, Robin and Liezel’s bond will remain. That, Mariel has to live with and accept.
Ponds Age Miracle

September 21, 2010

Career, Finance & Product

Olay is good but Ponds is better; at least I’m speaking from my own experience. I’ve been using Ponds Age Miracle cream for two weeks now and so far, I’m satisfied with the results.

My skin is smoother and firmer with Ponds Age Miracle. I love the gentle scent and it’s also non-greasy. With Ponds Age Miracle, my skin seems five years younger! No joke! I should have taken the before and after pictures and have it posted here. But anyway, you can try it yourself and see if it has the same effects on your skin.

I used Olay when I was in my mid-20’s. It didn’t make a big improvement on my skin unlike with Ponds. Avon’s Anew is also good but it costs higher than Ponds and I don’t like the greasy feeling (messy!).

Now, who says I need make up? A clear and firm skin does not need any make up! Thanks to Ponds!
Adi’s Mickey Party

September 13, 2010

Wedding & Family Life

Adi turned one last September 10. Miel and I made sure that his 1st birthday would be memorable. We organized a Mickey Mouse theme for his birthday party:

1. Adi’s Mickey Mouse ears (headband with large ears)
2. Adi’s Mickey shirt- printed at the mall
3. Mickey balloons
4. Mickey Park c/o Goldilocks
5. Mickey lootbag
6. Mickey candies

We had spaghetti and carbonara for pasta lovers and five different viands to choose from for rice lovers. We had eight gallons of ice cream and pink cotton candies; even passers-by could have one. I wanted an atmosphere of a disney park; or something close to a real park. I think we achieved that effect in Adi’s party. I was planning to borrow my landlady’s see-saw and swing to complete the effect but I realized that some of the kids were too young for that.

I didn’t expect some of the guests and it felt good to see people coming for Adi’s special day.

Happy birthday, Adi! Mommy loves you very much!
Hope for the Flowers

September 13, 2010

Career, Finance & Product

To those who were able to read this book, I’m pretty sure you can relate to my post.

Today is our 7th day of consultative workshop with an American consultant. Our team provides the capacity figures of our plants. We have four major plants with several departments inside of it. We usually provide the plant capacity figures on a quarterly basis. Our day-to-day tasks include bottleneck management, shop floor audits, project management, layouting, manpower review and OEE review. We interact with the process owners, human resources department and supply chain group for this.

The integrity of our data is a sensitive topic because it will surely BREAK everyone’s trust in our team. What I hate most is when somebody suddenly realizes that he has alzheimer’s disease; he tends to forget what we had agreed upon in our previous meetings.

To bark at our team in front of a foreigner; much more, a consultant hired by no less than the chairman and owner of our company, is a big NO-NO!

Every organization has politics on it; I accept that. What I can’t accept is when somebody starts to play Pontius Pilate.
Gloria Diaz as Persona Non Grata????

September 2, 2010

That’s Entertainment

I will say it again and again: FILIPINOS ARE REGIONALISTIC, NOT NATIONALISTIC. We are always classified according to our ethnic groups; be it Tagalog, Visayan, Pampango, Ilocano and so on. I hate people who make fun of Visayans just because of their accent. Likewise, I hate it when Visayans thought of Tagalogs as conceited people. C’mon, we are all Filipinos! We should not make fun of the Igorots, hate the Tagalogs, typecast the Ilocanos as stingy people and the Pampangos as “maluho, wala namang makain.”

I believe that Gloria Diaz was so misunderstood when she said those words. (Please refer to the link above.) In the first place, why would she put herself in such a humiliating and hateful situation at this point of her life? Maybe she was just saying that if a beauty pageant contestant is more comfortanle with her native dialect, Cebuana, in her example, then she should answer in Visayan. I think she’s not meant to generalize all the Cebuanas when she said that if a contestant hardly speaks English or Tagalog, then she should answer in Visayan.

There’s a lot of hatred being expressed upon Gloria Diaz after what she said. A little spanking is fine if that’s what she deserves but some are hitting her below the belt; it doesn’t help the situation. First, I don’t think Gloria has ample time to read all the hate messages across all blogging sites. Second, it simply becomes a battle of ethnicities. One Cebuano wrote harsh things against the Tagalogs when the culprit of this brouhaha is not even Tagalog! Gloria Diaz is an Ilocana.

I remember what Candy Pangilinan did a few years back. She offended the Igorots when she cracked a joke about the Igorots during her out of town show in Baguio. Did she mean it? No. Did she regret saying it? Yes. And Candy apologized. Maybe it’s good for Ms. Diaz to do the same just to clarify and end the issue. I’m sure the Cebuanos will forgive.
Gretchen on Magkaribal

September 2, 2010

That’s Entertainment

It’s my first time to get hooked on a Kapamilya tele-serye. I hate Gretchen Baretto for all the controversies that she went through but her role as Victoria is so entertaining; you will forget about how she bitchy she could be in real life!

Now, I wonder if Gretchen was just being playful when she intentionally dragged Derek Ramsey into a controversy by openly admitting her admiration for Angelica Panganiban’s boyfriend. If indeed, that was her purpose, I don’t think that she needed those issues just to promote her show. The show is entertaining enough sans any controversies.

Bea Alonzo has always been good as an actress; there’s no doubt that Gelai’s role is made just for her. But Angel Aquino’s role as Vera is something that should not be underestimated; her mere presence in an elegant gown is another eye candy for the show.

🙂
Happy Baguio Day!

September 1, 2010

Filipino Culture

My five and a half years of stay in Baguio City endeared the city to me. I enjoyed my stay in Baguio and I consider myself an adoptive daughter of Baguio. Let me just reminisce Baguio City when I was a sixteen-year old girl; the Baguio of yesteryears.

My studying in SLU was not actually planned. My mother, who attended a seminar in November 2003 in Sicat Hotel, fell in love with the place and realized that it was more conducive to study there. It came to me as a pleasant surprise because I really wanted to see Baguio.

In one of my early posts, I mentioned that I stayed in PV Boarding Houses. It is owned and managed by JJ Jr.’s mom, Cynthia Pimpinio or simply Ate Cynthia. (A very pretty lady, even without make up!)

I was a freshman in College of Engineering and Architecture when Atty. Rolando Dela Cruz announced that there was a rumor that Henry Sy would extend his SM “Kingdom” in Baguio. It was a feasibility study at that time because compared to now, the population of Baguio in the mid-90’s was not that big. Years later, SM Baguio was erected in Luneta Hill. I wonder what happened to Tiong San.

You can buy a sackfull of vegetables worth 100 pesos in Hangar Market. I miss those days when I was so excited to bring home vegetables from Baguio. Just to give credit to my constant companion at that time, thanks Jun Mejia for being protective of me. This kababayan of mine acted as my kuya in PV.

Before the Korean invasion (peace!), we had a few Korean schoolmates in SLU. Most of them were Korean sisters. I forgot what congregation they belong to. I had a classmate in PE 2, a Korean sister, we usually chat during break time. I forgot her name, my bad! Oh, but I had two Korean boardmates in PV! Bruce came from South Korea while Dong Sop was from North Korea. I was not aware that the two Koreas were at odds; no wonder the two were not too friendly with each other. But they were both friendly to me, especially Dong Sop.

During the mid-90’s, I could go to Session Road in my pajamas and nobody would raise an eyebrow. I don’t think I could do it now; even if Jollibee was just at the ground floor of Prime Hotel.

Camp John Hay was at its best before the privatization. I miss strolling from main gate to Mile High (caution:flying golf balls). I miss that spot somewhere near Camp John Hay Hall; it’s a scenic spot where you can see mountains. Who could ever forget that ROTC ball wherein I was one of the sponsors? (Frankly, if it were not for Allan Orbito, I wouldn’t accept to be anyone’s sponsor!)

I have a lot of great experiences in Baguio City. I’m getting sentimental now. So maybe, greeting Baguio a “Happy Baguio Day!” will do for now.