The World of Second Chances

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.
Why We Should Be Proud Of Venus Raj

August 31, 2010

That’s Entertainment

She ended up as fourth runner up in the 2010 Ms. Universe Beauty Pageant. Some people made a big deal about her “major major” answer during the finals round. Was she being self-righteous? Was she trying to be protective of her personal life, if indeed, she really committed a major mistake in her life?

Venus Raj probably failed us when Ms. Mexico brought home the crown instead of her. But I’d like to look at the positive side of her being a fourth-runner up.

Here are some of the reasons why I think, we should be proud of Venus Raj:

1. Venus vindicated herself and proved her detractors wrong when she almost made it to last week’s beauty pageant. She literally fought for her crown when BPCI dethroned her due to discrepancies in her birth records. Some people advised her to forget what happened and just move on with life. Some people supported her and asked her to fight for her crown. She did. And the result clearly paid off.

2. Venus came from a poor family, dreamed high, worked hard for it and voila, emerged as an almost winner in Ms. Universe. Her humble beginnings must have shaped Venus’ character; that of a strong-willed woman. She didn’t deny her status in life and she didn’t make a big deal out of being a farm girl. Venus will surely inspire people that being poor is not an obstacle to fulfill your dreams in life. You just have to believe in yourself and carry yourself well.

3. Venus finished a degree; she values education and that for me is commendable. While she could easily use her good looks and nice (no, very nice!) body to be a top model or an actress, Venus finished schooling in Bicol.

If Melody Gersbach were alive, she would surely be very happy for her fellow Bicolana. I’m pretty sure Nikette Henson is very happy for Venus, too. One thing admirable about Nikette and Venus is they never let their friendship get affected over the dethronement issue. Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2nd runner up Nikette was supposed to represent the country when Venus was dethroned and the first runner up was underage to fill in for her.

Venus Raj, in our heart, ikaw ang Ms. Universe namin! Thank you for a job well done in Las Vegas!