More than anything else, I believe in the power of education. I am lucky to have been born to parents who were able to send me and my siblings to school. I finished with a degree in Mass Communication from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila), my brother Ken is in first year college taking up Electronics and Communication Engineering in Technological University of the Philippines, and my sister Kyla is in fourth grade in Elementary. Our parents were very supportive and gave us what we need when it comes to our studies (I remember spending more than P4,000 once for a short film we were required to do. I was not earning my own money that time yet so for me, that is expensive.) and we thanked them by making sure we get good grades. I was a very conscientious student back then and I am happy that my siblings are also doing good in their studies.

However, not everyone is born lucky. With the current state of the country and its economy, it is sad fact that education has become much less of a priority, and has now become like a privilege. Families below the poverty line opt to not send their children to school. Children are forced to work just so they can have something to eat for the day. The Department of Education and Commission for Higher Education have suffered the highest budget cuts when public schools lack rooms, desks, proper ventilation and hygienic comfort rooms. Most of all, a majority of teachers now prefer to either work abroad or look for another job or profession so that they can earn more. It is depressing, indeed.

That is why I am thankful for organizations like World Vision. World Vision is a Christian relief organization dedicated to help the Filipino children earn education and overcome poverty, therefore aiding in community development.

[Image source]

From their websiite, "World Vision started in the Philippines in 1957 through three orphanages in Visayas and Mindanao.  In its almost 50 years of existence in the country, it has sent more than 200,000 poor Filipino children to school.  Currently, it assists about 122,000 children in 34 provinces and 22 cities across the country through Child Sponsorship and community-based programs."

Giordano Timewear, a world renowned brand that has brought us stylishly-designed timepieces, has taken the initiative to support World Vision's cause.They have launched the Giordano Brights Collection, a set of hip and vibrant multi-colored watches. Seeing that they are doing their share in brightening the future of the Filipino children, then this collection is very aptly-named, indeed!

For every purchase of any watch from this collection, P100 is donated to World Vision. The organization needs 600php/ month (or 20php/ day) for each child to be ensured a better life, so every purchase really goes a long way.

Here are photos of the watches:

     from left to right: hot pink, turquoise

Can you guess which one is my favorite? I think I have added another item to my wish list. :)

And because it's Giordano, we can expect nothing less in terms of quality. These will also make excellent gifts  for your significant other, your bestfriends, or your siblings. And even if you buy it for yourself, it won't make you guilty in any way as you will be buying it for a very good cause; you will be sporting a good-looking watch, at the same time you are giving a child a chance for a better life. How's that for a Christmas cheer that will leave you feeling warm all over? And won't it be good to be reminded of this good cause every time you look at your watch to consult the time? :)

You can start building better futures and get Giordano Brights watches from any Watch Republic outlet or leading department stores nationwide for only P1,790, or you can avail of their ongoing promo and get them for only P1,495 each when you buy two or more. For more information, please visit World Vision and Watch Republic.

*This is not a paid advertisement..

*This is my 18th of 30 posts for the 30-Day Blog Challenge.

Because I am and have been a very, very good girl (haha!) I am rewarded with awesome people to meet in the blogosphere. You peeps certainly make me love blogging even more! I used to just blab about anything and everything, all the while thinking nobody cares what I post (and I am just wasting Internet space), but now it is even more fun (and great!) because you actually read what I blab about :D

I am thankful for you amazing people, and now I will share to you this award that Duni gave me:

Best Blog Award

From her blog, "This award is presented to newly discovered blogs which you think are great and should be on your regular reading list. You may choose up to fifteen blogs." Thanks Duni, I really appreciate it, and I do hope you feel better soon! ♥♥

I am now passing this award to:

Abby 

A really funny and witty lady :)

Jessica

She is one cool chick! I feel like if I met her personally we can be really good friends.:)

Kym

She is just one big balloon of happiness :) She also sells really cute statement tees! (I would love to order but I don't have Paypal x_x) If you are feeling a bit blue, click here for a dose of Happy Moments :)

Manju

I love how she shares beautiful photos, comic strips and other whatnot's in her posts. :)

Nashe

I'm excited for the postcard exchange, you guys should join in as well! Click here to know more :)

Nikolett

I love her honest-to-goodness thoughts about anything and everything :)

Toothfairy

I love her stories! I am presenting this to her even though she doesn't accept awards right now :)

I wish I have discovered these awesome people's blogs sooner! But late is better than later, yes? :D

I do acknowledge the fact that there are still a lot of great blogs out there I haven't discovered yet, so if I am not a follower of your blog yet and you would want to share it to me, please do leave a comment and I assure you I will visit your page. Or maybe I already follow your blog and you would want to recommend someone else's? Please do leave a link so I can check it out. Let's all spread the (blog) love! ;)

♥♥

On a related note, I would also want to answer Jessica's tag. Thanks Jessica! :)

It is a music tag where you have to answer each category with 3 songs. Easy enough? I don't think so! I have a lot of favorite songs and it's tough to pick just three! :D

Top 40 of the moment:

1.  Fireflies - Owl City

3.  You Belong with Me - Taylor Swift

2. The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice

Sexy:

I hate my ex, he is a real jerk:

1.  Womanizer - Britney Spears

R&B nite:

1.  Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield feat Sean Kingston

2.  Songs of Craig David

1.  Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield (this is the soundtrack of my life)

3.  Let Love Lead the Way - Spice Girls (I cry whenever I hear this. I am so cheesy it's pathetic :D)

3.  Pretty Flowers - Steve Martin

So there are my answers. I am tagging everyone who hasn't done this yet and who might want to do it. Enjoy! And thank you for being awesome! :)

 

*This is my 17th of 30 posts for the 30-Day Blog Challenge.

If I will be asked what my ultimate closet staple would be, I'd answer that it would definitely be plain white tees. Why, you ask?

This is because plain white tees are the most versatile piece of clothing you can own. Since it is plain, it provides a nice canvas for your outfit. If you think of it in terms of makeup, it serves as your foundation :)

You can wear it on days you just want to kick back and relax, like this:


You can also wear it if you're wearing a statement headpiece, just so your entire look won't be too overwhelming.

Likewise, cover-ups and scarves are good ways of jazzing up a plain white tee.





And my favorite! I am really a girly-girl and I LOVE skirts - especially those with unique prints - so plain white tees are perfect for them :)



Umm, sorry for the vanity photo overload, I'm just trying to make a point here at the same time illustrate them as well, ladies :) I have a total of seven plain white tees (including the asymmetrical one from Folded & Hung) in my closets and I daresay I want more :D

So, so long as you know the fit that's most flattering, then plain white tees are the way to go if you are stuck in a wardrobe rut and have already spent a good twenty (or thirty) minutes figuring out what to wear.

What about you, what is/ are your closet staple(s)?

After almost a year of not seeing each other, my Sinister Sister Jinna and I were finally able to meet up again! Recks and Minnie were not able to make it though, hopefully next time we'll all be available because I really miss my girl friends.

We decided to meet in TriNoma and watch 2012. Unfortunately the mall was packed and the lines were very long so we just went to the adjacent mall - SM North EDSA - and ate and saw the movie there.

waiting for our food at Mexicali

As expected (from the looong lines of people wanting to see it), the cinema was packed. They did not sell reserved seats, only guaranteed ones. We went to Cinema 6 15 minutes before the movie started and all the good seats were already taken! We had to sit three rows from the screen so the movie REALLY loomed before us; it was dizzying at first but was okay once I got the hang of it. Besides it is interesting to see the actors' pores LOL!

So what did I think about the movie? I don't want to ruin the experience of some of you guys who might not have seen it yet, so I might be able to do my full review within the week. Let me tell you something though, I thought it was awesome! I wanted to see it because of the bad ass effects and not because I was expecting too much from the story *ehem*War of the Worlds*ehem* and you know what, it certainly did not disappoint! It was an orgy of explosions and I was left at the edge of my seat for most of it! A word of caution though, suspend your disbeliefs first before you go and see this movie. :) And yes, I love you, John Cusack! :)

Wow, three movies in two weeks! I am certainly on a roll!

These are from Jinna's recent (and not-so-recent) trips abroad!

The pink chopsticks are from Japan and the gold elephant is from Thailand.

This elephant opens to reveal a compartment inside, pretty much like a locket. Cool, huh? :)

She's so sweet :) As we swapped stories, I cannot help but comment again and again on how old and more "mature" we are now as compared to our college-student selves. Her siblings (who were all so young when we used to do our thesis at their house) are all grown-ups now! We talked about our families, work, and how we were back in college. It's fun to reminisce from time to time, isn't it? It's just hard to imagine now that what we used to be in college will still practically be the same in two to three years.

I love my friends! Here's hoping we can do this more often. :) What about you beauties, what do you and your girl friends do to unwind? :)

Pinoy pride soars high today as well, congratulations Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao! :)

*This is my 15th (Yay! I'm halfway through!) of 30 posts for the 30-Day Blog Challenge.

I stayed up until 12 midnight last night for this:

a jazzed up Lady Fabrize

I put on her the skin I bought yesterday and it's gorgeous! :

Isn't she pretty? :)

The gold and silver hibiscus flowers perfectly matched her white color. It feels summer-y, yet Christmas-y at the same time! I'm happy Dane suggested I choose this over the pink leopard print one but I would still want to have that as well :D

On a completely unrelated note, I got a new fringe! :D

I don't know if you can see it in the photo but that's definitely a fringe right there. (Though I might need to take another photo tomorrow after I take a bath.)

The last time I've had one was when I was 12 years old! Wow :D I originally wanted full bangs but the stylist advised me it might not suit my face shape and that I will look better with side-swept bangs. So, who else to trust than the expert himself, right? My friend/ officemate Sasha also had one but I wasn't able to take a photo.

I love it! I think it put a nice accent to my facial features. Having the same hairstyle for two years got a bit old.

I love my thick and wavy hair, I love my dimples, and I love that I manage to stay thin (even when I  indulge on all kinds of food) because of my metabolism. But sometimes I wish I could be a little bit taller. and that these nasty scars from shaving leave my legs already. An additional 10-20lbs wouldn't go amiss as well. And lastly (but perhaps my biggest wish), I hope I am not wearing any glasses anymore (I've had glasses since I was 8 years old x_x). I want to be able to play with eye makeup as well but it is not really practical as I have these glasses. Using contact lens is another option but I don't know, I'm just uncomfortable putting a foreign object in my eyes. :) I know it is best to be content and thankful with what you have, but it is not really a sin to want to exchange places with someone else just to see what it would be like, is it? I love Rachel McAdams, I wish I have those same large, expressive eyes she has as well as her luminous aura and demeanor. :)

What about you, if you were to makeover one aspect of your life, what would it be? Be more specific, like if you want to somewhat makeover your physical appearance, what specific alteration would it be? Nothing too drastic that would require cosmetic surgery, please. If you could exchange places with a celebrity, who would it be? Let's call these mild makeovers.

I am not in anyway promoting negative body image and I would not want all our self-esteems to be affected. I just thought it might be fun to pose these questions to you and get your opinions :)

Today I went back to work after my "forced" vacation. Incidentally it is one of my favorite days of the month: payday! (That's your silver lining right there.) I was out the whole day and just got home from another tour (haha) with Dane. After Quiapo in Manila City yesterday, this time we went to V Mall, Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City (or is it Pasig? Sorry, I suck at directions and am one of the most geographically-challenged people I know). It's the same mall where I got Lady Fabrize and he, Fabrizio.

Today's itinerary? He wanted to get a PS2 for his nephews and nieces who are staying with them at their house. :)

After a couple of hours going around the mall, he finally settled for one store.

There's the guy, choosing what games to be included in the package. He doesn't want to show his face to the camera x_x

Testing his new toy :)

He got the Sony PS2 in white, just like Lady Fabrize's and Fabrizio's color. :) He originally wanted the silver one to match his silver TV but its glossy surface as opposed to the white's matte one put him off. Besides, the salesman told him the silver is more prone to scratches.

I did not leave the mall empty-handed. I finally got a laptop skin for Lady Fabrize!

G-Cube notebook skin

white with hibiscus flowers in gold and silver

I wanted to get the one with the pink leopard prints at first, but chose this one instead since it looks more classy and elegant. Besides, it's only the best and nothing less for Lady Fabrize :D G-cube is manufactured by A4Tech and this specific design is part of the Golden Aloha collection. At 450php, it is already a steal. I asked Gmask (a store selling skins for laptops and other gadgets) how much it would cost for them to put a skin on my 10.1" netbook and they told me it will be 2495php. What? You mean the fee for labor is 2000php (since the skin is only 450php)?? Er, no thanks. This also has a matching optical mouse but the store I bought it from does not have any stocks anymore. It would have been cute to use that as well, yes? ;)

Anyway, it is payday indeed but I felt like the money just barely touched my hand before it is allocated to other things. I give money to my Mom to help in the house and pay the Internet bill, aside from paying rent for the apartment as well as budgeting for groceries, toiletries and other miscellaneous expenses. It is expensive to have two houses LOL. But I am not complaining, I am happy because I am able to help my family at the same time I am exercising independence and learning how to be more financially adept. I just think I haven't really learned at all yet.

So, I guess there is beauty in realization that there will always be something that will be added to my wish list but it doesn't mean I HAVE to get it. When I got back to the apartment today and I put my sandals in the shoerack I was surprised at the number of shoes I have added to my collection ever since I started to live alone and wondered if I really do need them. Well, being a girl, yes I need them (LOL) but what about the other stuff? Christmas is coming so I really need to learn to rein and control myself so I won't overspend on things I wouldn't use in the future anyway. :)