I just got home from watching "The Devil Wears Prada" and I totally loved it!

I know I shouldn't gush about the clothes, shoes, makeup and accessories featured because the movie did preach about the dangers of falling into the trap of material worship. But I can't help it, as Andie's friend said, they're just so purty!

I wonder if our local fashion editors are as daunting as Miranda Priestly? Somehow I doubt it, it's not like the Philippines is on the fashion map for the fashion editors to develop a Miranda-like attitude.

Anyway, if you're not into fashion or other purty things, you should still watch it if only for Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly. It's just not fair how some people can be so talented.

**********

I cooked my very first ulam today!

Neneng and I prepared fish salpicao as inspired by page 37 of the Del Monte Kitchenomics cookbook.

And from a totally unbiased point of view, I can say that it was pretty good :)

Just when I thought Sec. Raul Gonzales couldn't get any more amusing, he says this about the University of the Philippines:

I doff my hat to them because they initiate the running of naked people... That's also one kind of culture that they develop there...Maybe we are going in that direction... there are now women running naked. I will not be surprised if they will go to school with only their books, nothing more

He has this to say on UP activism:

In every storm that takes place, UP students are in the forefront. As a matter of fact, our history will show that since the martial law years, students from UP were the ones who went underground and fought the government. In fact, many of them went to China and never came back.

But at least now we know why he's so "well-behaved", because he graduated from the University of Sto. Tomas.

Mwahahahahahahaha!

I swear, our so-called comedians have nothing on our Secretary of Justice :)

But it doesn't end there, oh no. It just gets better. Because in response to Gonzales' spicy comments, the APO fraternity will be having an oblation run today at 11am at the AS Lobby!

We'll be seeing cute pututuys today in broad daylight.

I wonder what the good secretary will say about that. I can't wait :)

LSG Openlaw Project

"None of us is as smart as all of us."
- Ken Blanchard

The shallow, practical version of the project: We want to build a wikipedia (or wiki-law)-like resource where law students can stash, revise, and retrieve stuff to make their lives easier: notes, reviewers, digests, that obscure municipal ordinance only their professor cares about.

The deep, philosophical version: We want to harness the power of smart people working together. To transform the way the law is learned and imagined: as a conversation rather than a lecture. To make sure that there is no space for fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the way we study and review the law. To trade in hierarchies for hyperlinks.

To do this, we need your help. Any contribution will be welcome: Materials, skills, your time and effort. We have no grade, year-level, or height requirement. We will teach you how to use the tools you need.

To join the Openlaw Project, simply write your name and contact info on one of the sign-up sheets on the LSG Board, or write: lsg_openlaw[that-ubiquitous-at-sign]yahoo.com

Got this from Charmaine



Ahahahahaha! I look like John Woo!

Today inadvertently turned out to be a kikay day with the most un-kikay person I know, my mom.

At first, she wanted me to drive her to the mall so that she could check out some beaded slip-ons at Janylin. She's been looking forever for a pair that will fit her size 10 feet because the pairs at Ruins are always too small. I told her a few weeks ago that Janylin carried beaded slip-ons up to size 10 so ever since then, she's been bugging me to go with her to buy pair.

Our first stop was Bayo where she spied a crocheted bolero. She tried one on and promptly fell in love with it. She then decided to buy two more (in different colors of course) as pasalubong for my aunt and cousin when she visits them this weekend.

Next, she went inside a travel store and started salivating over this light blue Hedgren bag. She kept on stroking it and saying how durable it was and how it had all these pockets to store all her things in. At this point, I was half afraid that she'd cradle it in her arms and sing it to sleep. I had to remind her that she had a closet full of bags that she had never even used yet.

After that, we had to shop for my nieces Clarissa and Sophia and so we went to Gingersnaps and bought dresses for them. I had no idea that baby clothes could be so expensive! Sophia's dress was on sale for 350p and it was this wee slip of a dress with smocking. It was cute as hell but I still can't believe that something that tiny could cost that much.

Then it was on to "Having a Baby" where my mom pretended to shop for a "friend" because she was too embarassed to admit that she had to shop at a maternity clothing store (hehehehe). She eventually bought a nursing blouse just because it was "so cute"

And then she bought makeup and designer shampoo at PCX! Is the world coming to an end?!

That had to be one of the most surreal afternoons in my life. My low-maintenance, non-kikay mom meandering about the mall and discussing foundation consistencies with a saleslady.

Still, it was a side of her I've never seen before and it was nice getting to know that person.

Surreal but nice :)

I first wrote this for Movie Exchange but my editor told me that it was too opinionated for a news item, so I'm moving it here and then sanitizing the post at the movie site.


Great News!

In a move lauded all over the world, Paramount Pictures called an end to their 14-year production deal with Tom Cruise. Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone reportedly said: "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

Personally, I think it was about time that Paramount Pictures dropped Tom Cruise. Moviegoers have never been a sophisticated and discerning bunch. We watch movies because:

a) We like the lead actor/actress or supporting actor/actress
b) Our friend told us that it was a good movie
c) It has exploding cars and a great chase scene
d) It's the sequel or prequel of our favorite movie.

So if you think that the lead actor is an over-acting, attention-seeking, holier-than-thou fake, why oh why would you even bother watching him on the big screen?! Unless of course he starred in Hostel 2 and was being decapitated with a rusty grasscutter.

Of course, Cruise's camp says otherwise. His longtime business partner Paula Wagner asserts that it was they who left Paramount Pictures, they chose to leave the Paramount lot and establish a new venture financed through a private, revolving equity fund of $100 million.

"We in fact made a decision not to continue our relationship with Paramount Pictures," she said.

Yeah right.

You can read the full article here.

I finally got copies of the pictures from Ate Grace's wedding last year.

Happy times right there :)

(Click to enlarge pix)

Unadulterated happiness from learning aside (*cough*cough*), I was excited to go to school today to claim my 400-peso refund.

I went to the OCS, filled out the form and gave it to kuya Jun. In turn, he handed me a photocopy of my Form 5 with the words "Certified True Copy" stamped on it. And then I waited and tried not to look too impatient.

After a while, Tita Linda looked up from her desk and informed me that the request will still be processed and that it might take some time.

Great. "some time"=months in government talk. So I guess I should stop daydreaming of all the doodads and knick-knacks I could buy with 400 pesos.

You will be mine.

******

In other news, Kikay Exchange now has eight members, excluding myself, and more than a dozen posts from the time we set it up last Friday.

I foresee great things for my newest baby.

Pictures from Bruno's baptism

Tragedy! When the feeling's gone and you can't go on it's tragedy!

Not to be overly dramatic but I can't upload pictures because my camera's USB cable has suddenly gone pfffttt.

How's that for an earthshaking tragedy?

But it's really frustrating because I have all these ideas for Kikay Exchange but I can't blog them because I need pictures as illustration and the cable's all shitty.

oh well. I guess I'll have to make another trip to the mall soon.

I'm setting up a new group blog and it's called Kikay Exchange :)

It's just on it's soft run so please don't be too disappointed with my newest baby. Hopefully, the comments section will be up soon and all the other kinks ironed out. Or to put it more bluntly, I hope G will fix the comments section and iron the kinks out (mwah!).

My grand vision for Kikay Exchange is to have a group of girls sharing their kikay finds and thoughts before an accepting and loving audience. Through this blog, I hope to foster the bonds of sisterhood and cultivate female empowerment. Nothing grand really :)

Seriously though, it will be fun and everyone's invited to contribute. So if you girls wanna join (that's right, it's an exclusive girls only club!), just give a holler and I'll send you a password ASAP.

******

On other good news, my cousin Francis passed the recently conducted Medical Boards! I'm so deliriously happy for him :)

His success means two things:

1. I can start calling him Doc Franz
2. We'd better get our passports ready because we'll be going to the happiest place on earth in a few months!

Woohoo!

I wonder why the UP Law Library charges P50/h to plug in a laptop or cellphone? It can't possibly be because those two electronic devices consume a lot of electricity. Generally, it's the appliances with motors that consume the most amount of electricity (i.e. refrigerator, clothes dryer) and those that run on batteries use up a fairly negligible amount of power.

So again, why the exorbitant charge?

Sounds like grave abuse of discretion in my opinion.

Happiness is making this blogpost inside the UP Law library, taking full advantage of the free Wifi :)

And I also received my Google check a few days ago. Two years baby! That has to be a new record of some sort :)

Thoughts on working out:

1) I want to look like Kate Beckinsdale in Click.

2) I already smell like a dog so I might as well just push it further by working out.

Have a great weekend!

*****

It's not yet completely finished but here's the Elorde Gym site so far.

Baby Bruno

My cousin Menchu gave birth two days ago to baby Kurt Morrie (a.k.a. Bruno). What was supposed to be a normal delivery ended up in a C-section because of the baby's short cord.


Here's a clip of the nurse bringing the baby over. This is the first time that Menchu is seeing her son :)


Menchu with her husband, Sidricke


The new grandma and the new mommy with the baby


Baby Bruno breastfeeding for the first time


Check out that full head of hair

The Plague

I saw this headline on Yahoo (Bedbug infestations on rise across U.S.) and I was amazed that bedbugs had been virtually eradicated in the US and that their subsequent return had caused a panic among some Americans.

In the Philippines, bedbugs have become a pesky but common part of life. Sure they're icky but bedbugs happen and you're definitely not helpless against the critters, that's why God created Lysol. There's no need to feel shame or remorse:

"We were afraid to even tell people about it at first," Benton said of the bedbugs in his home. "It feels like maybe some way your living is encouraging this, that you're living in a bad neighborhood or have a dirty apartment."

Crush them, squash them, eradicate every little one of them but please don't lose sleep over them. Sheesh.

***********

Two things:

1) Happy birthday Drago!
2) Menchu will finally be giving birth today so, happy birthday baby Bruno!

*********









Goofing off with iphoto. Camwhoring is definitely a family hobby :p

Vacation Pix

My mini-break flew by so fast! But I'll always have these pictures to help me remember :)

Fangirl moment with Alyssa Alano at the airport. I practically squealed when she walked by. I then grabbed my brother and we both waited for her to come out of the bathroom. That had to be my weirdest stalker moment :p







Mick and Maddie at Palmas del Mar in Bacolod. I love these pictures because they look so angelic! It's almost as if Mick never annoys his baby sister and as if Maddie never hits her big brother on the head with whatever she can get her hands on. As Char said, "They have their Kodak moments every now and then".



Horsing around with Mick in Mambucal. We arrived quite late so we only ended up lounging around the hot spring dipping pool with a "fantastic" view of the fruit bats flying about. There were more things to explore though, like a canopy walk, seven waterfalls, slide for life and creepy, ginormous bats. Next time, I'm definitely staying overnight.



Eating for the nth time in Moalboal. I loved the lumpia with my lola's special sauce! Too bad I wasn't able to have any of the turkey though, to think that Char brought it all the way from the US and I didn't even have a slice :C But I steered clear of the lechon because our first night there, I was awakened by the horrible screams from the slaughterhouse. It almost made me turn vegetarian. Almost.



Santi, Char, Mick and Maddie on top of the sandbar in Basdaku.



Daddy Ben, Mommy Lou and Tita Tess with Maddie. All the adults were more than willing to babysit. In fact, they even insisted on babysitting :)



Char and Santi changing Maddie's clothes and diaper at the Last Filling Station in Panagsama Beach.



The weather grew wild almost as soon as we arrived. How's that for an entrance? That's the view from the dining table. Not bad eh?

Ok. Now back to work.

Internet Cafes

We arrived in Moalboal after a 2 hour car ride, 1 hour on an a ferry and another 30 minute car ride. Not bad. I remember the last time I took a landtrip from Bacolod to Cebu (around 5 years ago), the travel time was twice that. Apparently, we took the mountain route from Bacolod to San Carlos rather than the usual coastal route thus the shortened trip.

So here we are in Moalboal, the little town that never changes. I know someone in Luxembourg must be green with envy now so I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I get back.

The first internet cafe we visited only had 2 units available so that went to Char and Santi. There were also three girls huddled over a webcam flirting with a foreigner. They were giggling like schoolgirls, which they probably were. As Jessica Zafra once wrote in her blog, that guy was probably just a "steefing stoon" for them.

That internet cafe had a sign which went something like this:

Customer comment: Why is your internet so expensive?
Cafe replies: It's expensive because there aren't a lot of customers and we had to pay for our Microsoft license. These licenses are very expensive.

But a quick check at another sign revealed that their rates were P30/h! How's that for expensive?! I just love Moalboal internet cafes with their built-in webcams for developing international friendships.

Mick and I are currently at another internet cafe a few steps away from the first one. This one is not as spruced up as the first and seems to have an "A/C by request only" policy hence the musky odor probably brought about by too many teenagers engrossed with their gaming to care about such inane things as personal hygiene and proper ventilation. But Mick seems happy as a clam playing Warcraft and it only costs P25/h so I guess it's all good.

I should be thinking about vacation related stuff yet here I am rambling about internet cafes and pondering over a paper I won't be able to submit on Monday. Nerd. Nerd. Nerd.

Hello :)

Blog addicts will always find a way. Thus, Char and I are at an internet cafe in front of La Salle Bacolod trying to squeeze in all our internet needs in one hour.

We've done nothing but eat here in Bacolod! My tita said that there's really not a lot of tourist-y things here, so I guess they compensate with probably the most number of restaurants per square foot. At around 9pm last night, the streets were almost deserted but the restaurant parking lots were still teeming with people.

We just came from Mambucal, a hot/cold springs resort about an hour away from the city. It was funny how we all made a beeline for the hot spring dipping pool rather than the cold water Olympic size pool. We were on vacation after all, so who needs all that exercise?!

We leave for Cebu tomorrow at 4am. I can't wait to hit the beach :)

Model Wanted

From Ella:

Hi, we're looking for a model for our maternity line. We need a pregnant model, around 5 months along (or more) with a pre-pregnancy size of small for a day shoot on August 13.

Please send current picture and short resume (modelling experience a plus) to

ellagampongan@gmail.com (09178433891)
jencctan@gmail.com (09175325643)

or contact us throught the cel numbers above.

Thank you.

Ella Ampongan

Out on Vacation

I don't know why I'm still excited to go on vacation because it's not like I've been working my butt off these past few months thus necessitating a well-deserved break. Nor am I visiting new and exciting places because I've been to Bacolod and Cebu dozens of times. Given all that, I'm still really looking forward to the next few days. I guess a vacation is still a vacation :)

Bacolod means food, food-tripping and an uber generous ninang who promised to take me havaianas shopping. Cebu means attending the blessing of my grandparents' house which only took about 10 years to complete. Did I also mention that it has a kick-ass view from the backyard? The backyard faces the ocean offering an unobstructed view of turquoise and blue. I can't wait to go back :)

So here's the official "On a Break" photo and by the time I come back, I'd hopefully have a new official photo :)







Our flight leaves early tomorrow morning so I should start packing. But I'm still waiting for G to arrive so we can watch the last season of "Will and Grace" and then hop on to Town to watch "The Breakup". Of course, all of this seemingly useless movie watching is actually information gathering for our pet project. We figured that since we usually just end up watching movies, we might as well parlay that into something useful. Waste not want not, I always say.

See you all soon! Be good kids!

Guess who?

Guess who this comebacking starlet is who has finally decided to hop on the sexy bandwagon.

No wonder our young actresses work themselves to the bone just to get constant exposure. This Koreana is living proof that absence does not make the heart grow fonder when it comes to showbiz.

One last clue: In or out, am I in or out? (Am I in or out?)