One of the things I love most about my friends is that aside from being great company during fun times, they can also offer the most introspective subjects in conversations and lull times.

Last Friday at Greenbelt, after a fun and energetic Videoke night at Timezone, my friends Mich, Dewi, Ed and I lounged at Seattle's Best - people-watching and collectively wondering about our perennial singlehood. The topic unwittingly became our other friend Khel who seems to find love very easily. If it was so easy for him to meet people and make a connection with them, why is it so hard for the rest of us? Then Ed said he has already deduced that it must be Khel's gift - the gift of finding love so easily. He then added that not all of us are blessed with everything we want; we are blessed with one specific special something, it's just how we use it that makes the difference.

We then talked about what we think our own gifts were. Ed said that for him, it is the gift of building great relationships (not exactly in the romantic sense of the word) in that he has never been involved in so-so friendships with fair-weather friends. Mich said she has the gift of making it easy for other people to loosen up and share personal stories with her, even when she doesn't try to coax it from them. Meanwhile, Dewi has the gift of having a commanding presence and voice, in that everyone stops what they're doing and looks at her whenever she walks into a room. I know her personally, and it is really hard not to notice her in a crowd - not only because of her outfits but because of this powerful aura she exudes.

As for me, I couldn't really decide what my gift is so they all gave suggestions. Ed came the closest though when he said I have the gift of appreciation and gratitude. He said I have the capacity to stay positive even in the most trying situations, and that I have the ability to find beauty in the unlikeliest places.

Today I'm going to add another gift I have been blessed with. Whenever I'm sad, someone always goes out of his/ her way just to cheer me up. I have been feeling glum at work because of some things I shouldn't be sad about any more, but my two friends Mich and Jonas instantly made me feel better.

I'm going through some sad stuff in my life right now, so I'm looking forward to harnessing the power of these gifts; I need them now more than ever.

What do you think is YOUR gift and how do you use it?

HSBC - HDPP recently celebrated its 7th year in the Philippines, and the highlight was the Family Day/ Employee Appreciation Day held at Enchanted Kingdom yesterday! The theme park was reserved exclusively for HSBC - HDPP employees, family and friends, and aside from the Wizard Money we were given to spend inside the park, shuttle buses were also provided for employees' convenience (even though we went in a van). It's things like these that truly make HSBC the Best Place to Work :)

My siblings and I explored the park on our own since Jerico is too young for the other rides anyway. 

The first ride we rode was Flying Fiesta. It's like a Merry Go-Round, only instead of horses on poles, it has swings suspended on the air.

After that relatively tame ride, Ken and I then went to EKstreme Ride. It is a concessionaire-owned attraction meaning you'd have to pay extra even though you have a Ride-All-You-Can day pass, but because it was a special day the rate was also discounted. A ticket cost us P65 each.

In EKstreme Ride, you will be harnessed on seats that will ascend a 150 feet high tower in 45 seconds, after which you will be dropped free-fall  in 2(!!!!!!!) seconds! What's even more freaky is that there's no signal to say you will be dropped already; you are just there, marveling at how high you are perched (even higher than Wheel of Fate and Space Shuttle!) at the same time silently praying the ride's mechanisms won't fail, and before you knew it you are falling! EKstremely EKshilarating!

With my knees still shaking a good ten minutes after being in safe ground, we looked for my good friend and officemate Michelle who was also with her friends Jonas and Dax. We wanted to ride something sweet and safe so...

After Space Shuttle, we went to my favorite ride - Anchors Away. I rode this about five times the last time I was there, and the stomach-churning thrill never goes away each time!

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating and visiting souvenir shops. I really wanted another go at the Anchors Away but nobody wanted to go with me any more. Mich, Jonas, Dax and I were able to ride the EKstreme Ride, though! I was able to ride it twice in one day, I feel so brave haha!

I was also able to ride the Flying Fiesta again, this time with my friends.

Flying through the air! 1 - Dax | 2 - Mich | 3 - Jonas | 4 - couple I don't know who is seated in front of me. I took this photo as I couldn't exactly take a photo of myself, could I? ;)

At exactly 7PM, a fantastic display of lights and colors were shown to us when they lit fireworks in the sky! Dubbed as a "concert in the sky", it was a perfect way to cap the magical day. I will never get tired of being amazed by fireworks ♥

All photos taken with my 5mp Samsung Galaxy Ace.

In the souvenir shop by the Midway Boardwalk,

I saw loooots of Eldar the Wizard plushies I already have two big ones, given by someone as a surprise for my birthday last year :)

And lots of Eldar the Wizard pillows, pouches, and other novelty items.

Giant Eldar the Wizard plushie Seeing it brought back a rush of memories from the last time I was here. I couldn't help but feel a bit sad... If you've been a long time reader of my blog you will know why.

The day was too beautiful to stay sad, though. Look, my brother won a big shark plushie for me in the Arcade :)

FUN FUN FUN FUN! Even though it rained and we spent half the day falling in line, I still had a great time with my family and friends. Long lines were to be expected, seeing as how HSBC has so many employees! While in the restroom I actually overheard someone from the Registration Area saying that as of 4PM, more than 12,400 people had arrived! WOW!!!

Aside from the Magic and Colors celebration held yesterday, there is also an ongoing photo-exhibit at the office that displays photo-entries from employees that best exemplify the reason why HSBC - HDPP is the Best Place to Work. The photo in this blog post taken by my good friend Frank is one of the finalists in the exhibit. I am so proud of him! Tomorrow is his birthday, so Happy Birthday! ♥ And because the photo only shows my silhouette and not my face, I am so tempted to stand beside the photo and do the same pose until someone notices I am the lady in the portrait! HAHA kidding! ;D

Congratulations on your 7th year HSBC - HDPP! Long may you prosper and continue to be the Best Place to Work!

So I woke up this morning feeling pretty bored with my hairstyle. I have been sporting a short ponytail-and-fringe combo for the past couple of months, when I realized life is too short to have the same hairstyle year in, year out ;D

After work my good friend and officemate Michelle and I went to TriNoma to look for something to wear on this coming Sunday's Family Day/ Employee Appreciation Day, went home empty-handed, but looking much, much different!

We went to several shops inside the mall but nothing really caught our fancy, so after a quick snack we just decided to pop into a salon. Life is too short to not want to spice things up a bit once in a while!

I love that my head feels sooo much lighter now, plus I think it looks chic on me. Fun fact: It was my first time to have my hair colored so you can just imagine how excited/ terrified I was! But after Pabs worked his magic I must say I'm very happy with the results. If you ever go to Bench Fix Lab in TriNoma, look for Pabs, he's awesome! And no, this is not a sponsored post ;) I like my new hairstyle a lot and I wish myself earlier hours of bedtime since I would be needing to wake extra-early the next day to blowdry and style it before I go to work. Short hairstyles require higher maintenance than long hairstyle do, y'know.

If you have been a reader of my blog long enough, you might remember the post I made back in January when I was still looking for a dress to wear to our Annual Party. Before finally coming up with my outfit, I had a hard time deciding because the all black-theme of the party disagreed with the color of the dress I wanted to wear initially, which was purple. I wanted to wear this dress at first. Just look how sexy it looks at the back. Pure glam, yes? Alas, it was not to be so I didn't buy the dress anymore. I ended up wearing a Black Swan-inspired outfit and I felt perfect. I still think of that dress sometimes though, and if only I have an occasion to wear it to anytime soon then I would gladly buy it.

The sexy purple dress is from Stylebreak, and now that they've released a new collection I am seriously thinking of breaking another self-imposed shopping ban yet again. Spearheaded by top fashion blogger Laureen Uy and Katrina Loring, Stylebreak specializes on clothes you don't normally see in malls and RTW shops. This is great news for people who don't want to wear the same clothes as everybody else ;)

Their newest collection is called Lines and Drapes composed of rouged dresses, draped skirts, sheer tops, and color-blocking skirts. Just take a look at these:

View the collection and the prices here.

You can order online, or you can also visit the Stylebreak branch nearest you. Mine is the one in The Ramp, TriNoma. Who knows, maybe I'll even bump into you when I go there to see these clothes personally ;)

I've always loved pretty little things, and because of that I have amassed a little fortune's worth of accessories already. Necklaces, bracelets, and earrings of differing styles and colors; name it, and I most probably have it hidden in one of the numerous trinket boxes I have also collected through the years.

Which is why you can just imagine how thrilled I was when I was invited to the launch of the newly-revamped SM accessories held last Wednesday in One Esplanade. Read about Ana's coverage of the event in Fashion Compass.

One of SM's special gifts to us were gift cards that we can spend in any way we want to at the Accessories section. This includes the Ladies', Men's, Teens' and Kids' Accessories.

Yesterday I went to SM Fairview with my good friend Michelle where we spent about an hour having fun with trying the different accessories on.

These are the stuff I got:

You may notice I bought a lot of headpieces. Well, I've decided I have way too many necklaces and bracelets already that I don't even use anymore (most of which I was able to sell at the recently concluded Bloggers United), so I decided to focus on my hair this time to distract people from the fact it's too thick and wavy ;D

I love that everything I got are so pretty, yet so affordable! With SM Accessories, it is possible to be chic without being thick (in the wallet department) *wink*

And because I love SM and I love you all for being so supportive of Fashion Compass, Ana and I are holding our first giveaway! Two winners will be chosen to win either a flower cuff or a pretty lavender headband, shown here:

It's so easy to join!

To everyone, thank you so much for all your kind words! They are very much appreciated! Here's to chasing dreams and pretty little things!